Mentoring

[bryanburgers]

I would love to learn about mentoring. I wish somebody (@jxn) would give a talk about that.

Some things that could be covered in a talk about this

• How it usually works
• Tips for being an effective mentor
• How to get the most out of it as a mentee
• How often do you meet?
• What's an effective structure?

[jxn]

I'm open to doing this, though I'm not sure if I can keep people engaged for a whole session. It might be more worth a split session or even lightening talk unless you want me to tell stories.

I'm also not confident that I am the most qualified. In truth, I've done code-mentoring once as a mentor, once as a mentee, and I've also participated in a few failed attempts at mentoring (which, frankly, is probably where my best tips / insight come from). I've mentored a couple other times for non-development related tasks as well (foreign language, science, etc).

I couldn't speak to how it "usually" works, as each time has been quite different, but I definitely have found a few things that have and have not worked that I think are worth conveying.

[jxn]

Off-hand, here are a few thoughts on what I think a talk might cover:

• finding a mentor / mentee
• evaluating a mentor/mentee fit
• setting expectations
• schedule / topic tips
• knowing when to quit
• evaluation strategies