Mentoring: you need several mentors, and none of them has to be your supervisor

Many researchers expect a single supervisor to advise on research, career strategy, teaching, funding, and wellbeing. No one person covers all of that well, and expecting it sets both sides up to fail.

Different mentors for different things

• Technical: someone who knows your methods deeply.
• Career: someone a few steps ahead in the path you want.
• Cultural: someone who understands the system you are new to.
• Peer: someone at your own stage who can be honest.

Mentoring is usually informal

• Most mentoring relationships were never formally agreed.
• They begin with one specific question and continue.
• Do not wait to be assigned a mentor.

Asking well

• Ask about a specific decision, not for general mentorship.
• Keep the first request small.
• Report back on what you did with the advice — this is what continues a relationship.

Mentoring others early

• You can mentor someone one year behind you.
• It teaches you what you know and what you do not.
• It also builds the reputation that brings you opportunities.

When a relationship is not working

• Not every pairing fits, and that is not a failure.
• Let it become less frequent rather than ending it formally.
• Add another mentor rather than replacing one.

One thing worth remembering

Ask about a specific decision rather than for general mentorship.

Will you mentor me is a large open commitment that most people hesitate over; how would you approach this choice is a question almost anyone will answer — and that answer is where the mentoring relationship actually begins.

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