50 Example Questions to Ask Your Mentor in Your Next Meeting

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If you know about mentoring, then you know about the significant influence it can have on both your personal and professional life. From improved chances of promotion to increased self-confidence. There are many great advantages of having a mentor to help you on your journey. But to reap the benefits, you first need to have a successful mentoring relationship. But where do you even start?

The role of the mentor is to provide guidance, advice, and support to their mentee. Offering them feedback and helping the mentee overcome any challenges they may be facing in their personal or professional career. The mentor has the experience to help counsel the mentee and must be willing to share their knowledge to ensure the mentee thrives.

Having a thriving mentoring relationship takes effort from both the mentor and mentee, requiring dedication and honest communication from both parties. Knowing what questions to ask your mentor, is one of the key steps to building great mentoring relationships.

When it comes to mentoring, there are a million questions you could ask your mentor, but we wanted to share a few of our favourites to help you get started. Remember, to add a personal twist to each one and make it unique to your wants and needs from the mentoring relationship.

Personal Stories

Learning more about your mentor's story is a great icebreaker and something we recommend speaking about when you first connect. When you have a deeper understanding of your mentor's experience and background, it can help you develop and nurture your own career goals and help you both form a meaningful mentoring relationship. Listed below are 10 questions that will allow you to know your mentor's story:

1. How did you come across your current role?
2. Going back 5 years ago, did you picture you would be where you are now?
3. Did you find it difficult to start in this industry?
4. What made you want to become a mentor?
5. Are there any goals you’re still looking to accomplish within your career?
6. What is the hardest choice you’ve made in your career?
7. What qualifications did you need to have to get where you are in your career?
8. What is your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it?
9. What are you most proud of in your career?
10. What is the most useful piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Situational

When you have meetings with your mentor, it’s important to understand the situations you’re currently facing and work together to try to overcome them. When you’re able to identify them, your mentor can act as a sounding board. Here are 10 example questions you can ask:

1. I’m considering a career transition. What would you recommend?
2. How would you suggest I progress within my career?  
3. Do you have book recommendations for the challenges I’m facing?
4. What do you think may impact me moving to the next stage in my career journey?
5. How would you resolve conflicts with colleagues?
6. How can I handle burnout from work?
7. I’m looking to take on more responsibility within the workplace, how should I approach my manager about this?
8. I want to be given more freedom and independence in my role, how can I ask for this?  
9. How can I prepare better for my upcoming performance review?
10. How do I handle this situation better?

Skill Development

One of the most common reasons people search for a mentor is to help develop their skill set. There may be specific skills your mentor can teach you to help reach your goals. Whatever the skill you're looking to gain, asking your mentor about how you can improve, will allow you to enjoy the benefits of mentoring. Here are 10 questions you can ask your mentor about skill development:

1. What skills do you consider to be my strengths?
2. What skills do I need to move ahead in my career?
3. How do I become a better team member?
4. What skill area do you think I need to improve upon?
5. How do I become better at negotiating?
6. What skills do you think I need to get the promotion I’m after?
7. How do I become a better leader?
8. How do I improve my public speaking skills?
9. How can I improve my time-management skills?
10. Are there any resources you suggest for improving my organisational skills?

Self-awareness

To ensure your mentoring relationship is thriving, you need to ask questions to your mentor that make them contribute to your self-awareness. Being self-aware, allows you to see yourself in the way others perceive you. Listed below are 10 example questions:

1. What do you see as my strengths?
2. What do you think are my weaknesses?
3. How am I perceived by leadership?
4. How could I communicate my ideas more clearly?
5. What do you consider to be my blind spots?
6. How do I come across?
7. When I was last presenting, how did I do?
8.  What do people say about me once I leave a room?
9. Can you offer me feedback on my presence in the workplace?
10. Do you think I contribute to the team?

Accountability

It’s always a good idea to ask questions to your mentor focused on accountability and how you can make your mentoring relationship flourish. Accountability helps you recognise what you need to focus on and contributes to career progression. Here are 10 questions to ask your mentor about accountability:

1. What can I do daily to improve?
2. How can I show you that I’m improving throughout this mentoring relationship?
3. Do you think I am on the right track and making progress?
4. Am I communicating enough with you?
5. Is there any other way you think we could communicate more effectively?
6. I would like to discuss my future goals with you, when can we do this?
7. Do you think I'm taking your advice on board?
8. Is there a topic you’d like to discuss?
9. How can we improve our mentoring connection?
10. Can I approach you with any questions I have, if so, how should I contact you?

Final Thoughts

The reason mentoring is highly valued by individuals and organisations across the globe, is due to its ability to completely change the mindset of those involved. When you have your first mentoring relationship, it may feel a little uncertain because you don't know what you should be asking. We hope this article was able to give you a good idea of the questions you should be asking in your mentoring meetings, and allow you to build a deeper connection with your mentor.

These questions can be used whether you meet your mentor for a coffee every month, they are your senior at work, or you connect with them virtually. Whatever way you conduct mentoring, these questions will allow you to see some real progress with your mentor.

If you want to learn more about mentoring or find your very own mentor. Make sure to visit PushFar, the world's leading mentoring and career progression platform. PushFar is completely free for individuals, with over 80,000 mentors and mentees on the platform, you'll be able to find someone who can advise and mentor you on the challenges you face.