diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 82f1f2f45d6..c3c4ffa84a3 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ All code changes must work on the minimum Node version specified in [package.jso
 
 ### Get the Code
 
-Begin by cloning this repo.  Then run `npm install` to install necessary dependencies.
+Begin by creating a fork of this repo and cloning the fork.  Then run `npm install` to install necessary dependencies.
 
 ### MongoDB Helpers