From First Meeting to Lasting Connection: A Mentorship Checklist

By Saeed Mirshekari

Mar 12, 2023

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Why Data Science Mentoring?

Mentoring is a great way to help others succeed. But it's also a way to help yourself improve as a mentor and grow your network of contacts.

The Best Way To Manage 1-on-1 Mentoring Meetings

Mentors and mentees should have a clear idea of what they want out of the relationship, including how many meetings they can commit to, any travel or holiday plans during the mentoring period, what they'd like to get out of the relationship and set goals, and when they'll meet next.

Then they should establish the relationship by reviewing any action items from previous meetings and discussing specific career goals and asking your mentee to share their Development Card with you. They should also suggest that your mentee use an action planning log.

Subsequent meetings should be used for understanding development needs, sharing knowledge, and agreeing on deliverables. When appropriate, introduce your mentee to relevant networks or groups; candidly share personal assumptions and limitations; wrap up with finalizing action items and review goals; keep in touch with each other after ending your relationship (if applicable).

A Checklist for Mentors

First Meeting: Set expectations and goals.

• Introduce yourselves, including personal and professional experiences, career paths and ambitions.
• Agree on a number of meetings you both can commit to.
• Advise of any travel or holiday plans during the mentoring period.
• Discuss what you both would like to get out of the relationship and set goals.
• Set a date and time for your next meeting and any action items.
• Share some information about yourself.

Second Meeting: Establishing the relationship.

• Follow up on any action items from previous meetings.
• Discuss specific career goals and ask your mentee to share their background and goals with you
• Suggest to your mentee that they use an action planning log.
• Agree on a date and time for your next meeting.
• Define the deliverables and desired outcomes.

Subsequent Meetings: Understand development needs and share knowledge

• Follow up on any action items from previous meetings.
• When appropriate, introduce your mentee to relevant networks or groups.
• Candidly share personal assumptions and limitations.

Wrapping up Mentoring: Sustaining the relationship.

• If ending your relationship, finalize action items and review goals.
• Mentees to reflect on lessons learned and share success stories
• Keep in touch.

Conclusion

If you are interested in pursuing a career in data science, it's an exciting and challenging field that requires a lot of skills and knowledge to master. While there are many resources out there to help you learn, there's nothing quite like having a one on one mentor to guide you.

A mentor can be a valuable asset in your journey, providing you with advice, support, and real-world insights that you won't find in a textbook or online course. Trust me, I know from personal experience! That's why I'm here to tell you that having a mentor in data science is essential to your success.

In this article, we explored a check list of items that help mentors and mentees to get the best out of their one on one mentoring sessions while enjoying this professional relationship.