Express your appreciation. Mentors take time out of their busy schedules to help you because they have deemed you worthy of making an investment of their time. Thus, it goes without saying that you should always be appreciative of any help that your mentor gives you, even if you decide to not take their advice.
Which leads to the next piece of advice: Follow up with your mentor. No matter whether you take their advice or go in another direction, be sure to keep your mentor in the loop on how you decide to approach a given situation, and most importantly, be sure to regularly check in with your mentor to let him or her know how things are going. Many younger mentees make the mistake of only approaching their mentors for advice and forgetting to update on how things play out. However, there is no better way to say thank you than by keeping your mentor updated so he or she will have the rewarding experience of watching your career develop.
Advice from Michelle Molinaro Burke Counsel at Porzio, Bromberg and Newman, P.C.
Jessica Pieri is an associate with the Law Offices of Alfred F. Morrocco and Associates in Bristol, Connecticut.