Choosing a Mentor Posted on November 21, 2007 Joachim F. Hallmayer (bio) gives advice about finding a mentor who's a good match.

It’s very important I think that you choose your mentor properly the first time. It’s easy to say, and you don’t go out and say, “Oh, no, this guy is not really what I want; I don’t take the job,” very often. But on the other hand, it’s quite clear: if you have the feeling that, from the beginning basically, if you have any bad feelings, then don’t do it. Don’t even start. I mean, think twice before starting something which you think is not the right thing for you.

The most important usually, as in many relationships, I think is that if there are problems that they are brought out into the open very early, actually, rather than late. I mean, it is difficult to discuss issues like publications, credit, and so on and so on, but it has to be discussed, I think, up front. And if you have questions, then just ask.

I mean, the biggest problem certainly in science is usually who writes up what and who gets credit for what and who takes it later on. And as a trainee, it will help if you see both sides. You have to see the mentor’s side, who is also under a lot of pressure, as well as your own demands. The best is if they both fit together, but it’s not always the case.

The question is also, “Do you go more to a more senior mentor or do you choose a more younger mentor?” Now certainly, most people would say, “Oh, take a more senior mentor,” which is for many people true. However, having said this, there are some really very, or some young people who have an enormous amount of pace at the moment, which are really basically on the way up.

So this can be extremely, well, if you come into the right lab at the right moment, this can be the best world that could ever happen to you or in the right thing. So a young person with a lot of dynamic can be excellent, absolutely no doubt. So you have to really — there is no simple rule.

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