Seek Mentors Out On Twitter

Twitter is more than tidbits of daily news and tweets about trending television. It is a great source to find like-minded people in your field and even a mentor.

Twitter influencers, experts, thought leaders and kindred spirits can help improve your teaching by supplying information and ideas that you can put into practical applications. Once you find someone to follow, you can build on that virtual relationship and use them as a mentor, either virtually or face-to-face.

Figure out who you’d like to follow.

The first step is to actually figure out who’d you like to follow. Sounds easy. But, the Internet is a BIG place and Twitter is no exception.

Use Twitter’s search to seek out influencers and people you want to follow. Type your keywords in the top search. You can also use Twitter’s filters and Advanced Search to search locally, which gives you a better opportunity for an in-person meeting.

You can try these five hashtags to get you started.

1. #GoogleET, #GoogleCE, #GoogleEI

2. #MIEExpert

3. #SkypeMT or #MinecraftMentor

4. #GoogleTeacherTribe

5. #STEAM

A search for these hashtags brings up the top results, but also people tied to them. This is a really easy way to start following an influencer and possible mentor. 

If you’re still having an issue finding who to follow, search through your other social media platforms. How many people do you know that use just ONE form of social media? You can increase your chances of connecting with a mentor if you can overlap social networks. 

Prepare to take the next step.

Once you find someone to follow that is mentor-material, do some research and learn as much as you can about them. Start a virtual conversation or check out any podcasts or blogs they have to find common areas of interest. Do they seem comfortable sharing their knowledge? If so, continue on.

The approach.

Build a rapport with your potential mentor. Promote their tweets, ask for their advice, comment on their blogs and so on. Treat the virtual world as you would the real one and get to know them slowly. The key is to build a dialog and show you have something of value to contribute. 

When you’re ready, email the influencer and simply ask if they would be willing to act as a mentor to you. Email works great because it is - literally - the electronic equivalent of a letter. It is more formal than a DM but not so formal as a mailed piece of paper.

Once you create and facilitate that online relationship, you can decide both decide if, when and how you want to meet in person. Even if you never get to that stage, there’s so much powerful information out there that just following posted advice provides a great opportunity for personal and professional growth. Reach out to Arey Jones for more advice on your professional development.

6 Markers of Memorable Mentors

We’ve all had at least one teacher or adult make a notable impression upon our lives. They singled us out, pushed us out of our comfort zone, guided us in our chosen craft, or put us on the road to our destined career--or all of the above.

Being someone’s mentor isn’t easy, however. It takes time, dedication, patience, self-control, and generosity--all the qualities that make a great educator (and a pretty decent human being). Here are ways to develop those traits and use them to benefit your mentee.

Make sure you’re ready.

Being a mentor is an important job--and it’s one you must do on top of the other important jobs that fill your life. Make sure you have the time, emotional intelligence, mental bandwidth, and organization skills to properly nurture a mentee, and you must be willing to work with students and young professionals who may have different backgrounds, education, opinions, and strengths. Remember, this is mentoring, not cloning. There’s a good chance you’ll both come away learning something valuable.

Light the fire with a good match.

One of the reasons your mentee approached you (or the other way around) is likely because you both share an enthusiasm for your job or your field of study. Embrace this and use it to shine a light on your mentee’s potential strengths, opportunities, and challenges. While this enthusiasm will fuel your initial arrangement, pay close attention to how well the two of your work together. Chances are the arrangement will either add to your own fires, or it will sap your energy and burn you both out. Be aware of this chemistry early so you can either mix it up or dissolve it before any damage is done.

Remember where you started.

It can be easy for those of us established in our respective fields to forget what it was like at the beginning of our studies and careers. Your mentee may enter into the relationship with idealism and unrealistic expectations; your job is to harness that passion and direct it toward what’s possible. Help them focus their efforts, find the tools, and develop the necessary skills. Meet them where they are, so they can determine for themselves the best way to go.

Be generous with your knowledge.

Great mentors are teachers, and great teachers are always learning. Take the time to clearly share what you know about your field, the industry, or the task at hand, and don’t let your mentee be the only one asking the questions. Make sure you both stay in tune with the process by asking how they are doing, what they are getting from the experience, and how you can be of greater assistance.

Stay available and accountable.

Establish a regular schedule for meetings so that you both can plan your time accordingly and hold each other accountable. Set the tone for these sessions, and have specific objectives. These expectations also serve as boundaries so that you can both tend to the other important aspects of your lives.

Remain objective and fair.

Perhaps one of the hardest parts about being a mentor is attempting to be an active observer. Mentorship is not friendship (think more LinkedIn and less Facebook); you are their advocate, but you do not owe them any favors, nor do they owe you any allegiance. For a mentorship to work, the mentor must feel comfortable conveying honest assessments and constructive feedback, and the mentee must feel comfortable approaching you for advice and guidance, even if one of their challenges is working with you or your field. Your role is to guide. Their role is to learn. There should be no hidden agenda or ulterior motives.

Mentorships can have a profound effect on education, careers, and personal lives. If you have a moment, we’d love to hear your stories about what being a mentor (or being mentored) meant to you.