If you’re filling the role of “mentor” for someone, you’re doing a great service to another professional. Mentors have been shown to be incredibly beneficialfor flourishing professionals and can often be the difference in whether someone succeeds in their career or not. For young professionals, mentors serve as guides and sounding boards to help show them the ropes in their career. Mentorship is vitally important for young professional women, especially as they try to grow their careers in many industries that are male-dominated. Here are some tips for you to be an even better mentor than you already are and make sure your mentee is getting the full benefit of a great mentor.

There’s no one-size-fits-all

With any new mentorship, make sure to approach it with the attitude that you’ll need to start from scratch. You may have been a mentor before or have other mentees, but there’s no clear way to be a mentor to any person you work with. Each mentee will have different goals, career paths, and personalities, so remember this point.

Set expectations

At the start of the mentorship, sit down with your mentee and set clear expectations of what you want from each other. The two of you may have drastically different expectations so it’s important to clarify what you’re each looking for from the relationship at the beginning.

Connect personally

In order to have as successful a mentorship as possible, you’ll want to connect with your mentee on a personal level. Talk about your lives outside of work; your families, hobbies, and what made you interested in your career field in the first place.

Think before speaking

When your mentee asks your opinion on a topic or comes to you for advice, if it’s something more serious, take some time to think over your response. You may think you know how you want to reply, but you want to offer them the best advice and feedback possible. Take time to think over situations and view all sides of it before directing your mentee.

Communicate honestly

Sometimes, your mentee may experience something or ask you questions on a situation that you do not have much experience with. Instead of pretending like you know what they’re going through, be honest about your own experience. Work together to find a solution that best fits them.

Celebrate achievements

Whenever your mentee achieves some kind of milestone, take that opportunity to celebrate their achievement. It helps strengthen your personal connection and shows them that smaller accomplishments are important; you do not have to only celebrate promotions. You can congratulate them on something as small as meeting a deadline they were stressed about; reinforce that they’re good at what they’re doing and can meet goals.

Utilize materials

To best help your mentee, keep your eyes open for materials that can help them in their careers and to reach their goals. When you first establish expectations and what your mentee is looking to get out of your relationship, you should have clear goals. Find areas where they want to improve in their careers and then direct them toward online courses, articles, podcasts, or some other resources to help them reach these goals.