

Ask HN: How does one chase away Mentors? - stcredzero

This is the flip-side of the usual question.  However, I think it's a good one to ask, as persons who are chased away aren't available to explain why.
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EECS
This list can be long and I'm tired from lack of sleep and coming back from
another event so I'll just give one answer off the top of my head...

One of the things that turn most people away, but particularly mentors you
want to work with, is the inability to learn and adapt. Most people are
completely oblivious to this or completely delusional in thought thinking
they're not like that if they are in fact displaying this behavior. Mentors,
investors, etc... work with people who are trainable, willing to take advice,
execute on the advice, and ask questions when they feel the need to clarify or
disagree.

Disagreeing isn't the problem. It's the behavior that a person tends to ask a
question only to argue against what they hear. There are a SWARM of people out
there like this and they don't even realize it. Other times, the wrong
impression is given due to a misunderstand on how a person reacts once advice
is given possibly due to how they may phrase a follow up question to the
advice. Word choices and gestures matter as to not give off the signal that
you're a person bent on looking for validation rather than valid advice. It's
a fine line between the two and I dare say most of the people I've encounter
can't tell the difference.

