Note! 28 Things to Ask Mentors During Your Intern

Congratulations on your internship! Internships can be a great opportunity to develop yourself and learn from more experienced people.

In internships, you can put the skills you’ve learned into practice in more professional situations.

In your routine as an intern, usually the company will guide you through a manager or mentor. In addition to your work being assessed, you can also learn a lot from mentors.

Questions for the Apprentice Mentor

A mentor is someone you can trust as someone who provides professional advice and direction from a more experienced perspective. So, take advantage of your internship opportunity by actively asking questions, OK!

If you are confused or don’t know what questions to ask your mentor, take a look at the following review first!

1. Ask about Failure

As a more experienced person, the mentor must have gone through phases that you have not met, one of which is the failure phase. You can use a mentor’s failure as a guide to better prepare yourself to avoid doing the same thing or choosing the same steps as the mentor’s mistakes in the past. Things you can ask include:

1. What’s a mistake you’ve made that you want others to not repeat?
2. What do you wish you knew before experiencing a failure in the past?
3. How to deal with failure?
4. What are the signs I need to watch for so that I should give up and stop chasing?
5. How do you measure a risk too big to take?
6. How to determine weaknesses that can be improved?
7. How do you bounce back from failure?

Related article: Confident Tips to Be the New Kid at the Office

2. Ask about Success

The mentor is in the position you want to achieve in the future. To get to that position, you might ask them what steps they have taken to get there. You can be more specific by asking questions such as:

1. How was your career journey to reach this position?
2. What step are you most grateful for for taking that step?
3. What can I do to become (…)? (You can fill it with the position or ideals you want to achieve)
4. Who are the people I can contact to learn more about materials/skills (…)?
5. How do I brand myself towards the career I want to pursue?
6. What do you like about this industry?
7. What should success look like in my current career position?

3. Ask About Situation

You can, you know, make a certain scenario and ask the mentor how you should behave in that situation. With imagination, you can get a “how-to” picture without having to experience it first. You can ask questions:

1. For example I have a boss who is a bit demanding, how do I handle it?
2. On the team, I met people who were the opposite of me. How can we work together better?
3. I have two different career goals. Can you help me to weigh and make a decision?
4. There will be my first presentation with a client. What do you think I need to prepare? What can’t I do?
5. In my previous job, I didn’t perform well. What other steps can I take to prevent it from happening again?
6. How do you educate a client without being patronizing?
7. In the previous presentation, another mentor said that I should be more strategic and ‘sell’? What does it mean?

Related Article: High Earning Skills That Students Can Learn On Their Own During College

4. Ask Mentors About You

Mentors have access to information about you, from your background, character, to your emotional level. During your initial recruitment, adaptation process, and while working together, mentors have an objective record and observation of your performance. Take advantage of that assessment so that you can develop more. Examples of questions you can ask include:

1. What are my strengths?
2. What are my flaws or bad habits that bother you? What can I do to change it?
3. What do you like about my work?
4. What kind of person character works best with my character?
5. How can I communicate more assertively?
6. What type of job suits me best?
7. What are the next steps I can take after completing the internship?

So, those are the questions you can ask Tumbooh ‘s version of the mentor . Feel free to ask questions and stay open to criticism, ok? Try mentioning other questions that you might be able to ask your mentor during your internship!