How to Locate and Screen Mentors/Protégés

Tuesday December 30th, 2003

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Surveys have identified common activities among protégés when finding mentors. They include identifying prospects through prior or existing business relationships, trade or professional associations, vendors and from contractors the minority firm had served as a subcontractor. Because mentorship requires close working relationships, companies are more apt to service as mentors to other companies they already know.

For the most part, mentoring relationships are consummated principally at the desire of the mentor, which may have a formal or informal in-house mentoring program. Generally, the mentor looks for certain characteristics in a protég?

1	Show good potential for success.
2	Be in the mentor’s market segment or in a complementary market.
3	Be willing to invest the time to learn.
4	Be trustworthy.
5	Have a good work ethic.
6	Be willing to compromise.

A typically screening process may entail the following:

1	An analysis of the firm’s background and history.
2	An analysis of the firm’s services and products.
3	A review of the firm’s staff and experiences.
4	A review of the firm’s quality assurance controls.
5	A review of the firm’s equipment.
6	A review of the firm’s contracts.
7	An analysis of the firm’s background and history.
8	A review of the firm’s financial conditions.

This process of review and analysis provides the mentor with a broad look at the business operations of the prospective protég?and highlights the areas the mentor can be most effective in the development of the protég?

Access to working capital has historically been identified as the greatest need by the minority firm (protég? and at times can be assisted by the large corporation (mentor) to access its networks of financiers.