you are unique & you bring a whole lot to the party!

Jun 6

It is almost time to reach out to your desired mentor to ask for an exchange. But how are you dropping all possible insecurities of being unworthy or not qualified enough to reach out to a high caliber professional?

comparison & feeling unworthy vs. the competition is the #1 concern of people I talk to!

I encourage you to immediately drop these limiting beliefs. Every individual has a unique value proposition linked to for instance their experience, academic background, work profession, hobbies, social engagements or geographic background. However, it is up to you to pinpoint what makes you unique and how you can provide value to the desired mentor?

you being you is your superpower because there is only one YOU!

Once you grasped this notion, you will stand proud and realize that your experience, learning, and interests make you unique! There are no two people in the world who are the same! This implies that there is something you know or something that you have done that can be of value to another person. It is merely up to you to recognize what it is!

how to identify your value proposition?

I encourage you take a piece of paper and write down all the things that you have done, know or read within the following categories:

1) Background: country of origin, language, ethnicity

Where are you from? What is your ethnicity?
How has your background shaped your life?
What languages do you speak?

2) Academic experience

Where did you study? What did you learn?
How is this academic experience relevant to global happenings, trends, economic situations?

3) Professional experience

What is your key competence?
What strategic projects are you working on?
Which market or consumer trends have you been observing?

4) Hobbies

How do you spend your free time?
Have hobbies contributed to your leadership skills or made you a team player?
How have you grown due to these hobbies? Did you experience any setbacks?

5) Social engagement

Are you engaging in social work? How is this work impacting the lives of others?
What is your contribution to making a difference?

6) Skills: writing, designing, trading

Are you a pro in certain skills?
What is it that you do and how does it benefit others or create an impact?

7) Interest: art, music, travel, reading

What are your interests?
How are you keeping up to date with these interests?

Once you are done outlining all the areas that you enjoy, link them to the profile and background of the mentor you would like to work with.

so how to link? there is always a match!

Refer to all the research you have conducted about the mentor, for instance the strategy of creating a mentor setcard. Particularly eyeing the mentor’s career path (LinkedIn) and online publications - any online articles or interviews, YouTube and Ted Talk speeches, thoughts on Twitter, pictures and interest on Instagram?

Afterwards, identify 3 areas of common interests. Do you have a similar academic background or do you both like to travel? These 3 commonalities will be the basis of your value proposition.

Once you selected the 3 areas of common interest, consider all the relevant information that you know or have read about this topic. This is going to be the information that you are going to share with the mentor!

commonality example:

You are studying digital Marketing & the mentor is a digital Marketeer

Scenario: Your mentor is a Digital Marketeer and his company works on a project reinventing the e-commerce shopping experience.

Now ask yourself: What are you working on or what insights did you read recently (Business Insider, MarketWatch, Forbes, Financial Times, Mintel, Datamonitor) that might help the digital marketer with the project? Refer to any market data, consumer consumption habits and trends that could be relevant for the project. This information is your value proposition!

do not glorify the desired mentor, be confident in your abilities! Everyone is always bringing something the party!

You want to refrain yourself from solely glorifying the desired mentor, i.e. “I am so inspired by your career”. This can be implemented in your E-mail, but shall not be the core content! Instead focus on the value proposition. You have one shot to grasp the mentor’s attention and to showcase your knowledge and expertise. This is only achieved by presenting information or data that is of value!

consider the “what do you know” & bridge it with the “what’s in it for them”!

my success formula is:

your information presented + the benefit for them = the value proposition

It is sometimes very simple, for instance you are a millennial and your mentor is Gen X, thus you are a pro at all things millennial (i.e. Tik Tok, Instagram, etc.) and can share this knowledge with the mentor.

Once you found your uniqueness and the value it can give another person, you will find that you always have information to share!

In next week’s Monday Minutes, I am going to provide you with action steps on how to land that sought-after exchange with the desired mentor.

Monday Minutes are my personal & independent reflections for inspirational purposes only. They are not professional career advice, they simply outline my experience & advice that has been shared with me and helped me personally.

Carolyne Denzler