Meghna- great insights and great post! I agree with your insights and suggestions, and would emphasize the importance of vulnerability in approaching/working with a mentor. In addition, some points from Keith's points also apply here: - do your homework, both with regard to learning about your mentor in advance (to whatever extent possible you can collect information on their background, interests, worldview) and preparing in advance for conversations you have with them (eg, key questions you want to ask, ideas or situations you want to talk through to get advice on) - consider what value-add you can provide to them. Reciprocity is not limited to peers or personal relationships. If you think hard, there are ways you can bring value to your mentor(s), even if they are much older than you, more financially established, or better connected. A few examples: you may know a contact or resource they would benefit from being introduced to, they may be struggling with a different area of their life (eg, health/fitness or relationships) where you can offer good ideas/support, or even something as simple as sharing some interesting food or music from your experiences that they may not have had access to otherwise. Thanks for the insights, Meghna, and I look forward to seeing more guest posts from you in the future! :)

Meghna This is some great advice. I am usually the one doing the mentoring. Very often I am presented with the general help request that is not specific. It is much easier for me to help you solve problems that are specific than it is to just give you a plan that you may not want to follow. It's also important to be invested in your mentor as much as they are invested in you. This could be something as simple as commenting on their blog :-) or retweeting messages once in a while. It could be as demanding as helping them organize events. Either way, those people get more of my attention than the ones who just show up when they need help :-)

There's an old quote I remember: "The path to the correct conclusion begins with asking the correct questions." This applies equally to mentorship. Getting the most out of a mentor relationship requires the protege to be armed with the right questions. Start there and you will be amazed at how far it gets you. Kind Regards, Jonathan Hilley

Meghna, thanks for sharing your experience with mentors. As a young person entering the vast field of commercial real estate, I've found that having a great mentor is critical to success. One tip I've learned is that you have to show your passion towards your field which will justify your mentors help. You don't want to your mentor to feel as though you're wasting his time. Therefore, preparation and general curiosity towards a given career is a necessity.