Where/when can I mentor?
Mentorship can occur anywhere. It can be in your ...
- organization/company
- team
- local communities
- online
You can think of it as an onion, peeling back different layers:
- self > team > department > organization > industry
- it can take place in physical locations
- can happen online/remotely
You're the one taking the first step and initiative. Sometimes, people want to reach out, but feel uncomfortable/shy. Or they don't want to inconvenience. Similarly, they may not know who is willing to share.
Taking the initiative, you can mentor at:
- schools
- meetups
- conferences
- hackathons
- internal events
- organizations
More details coming soon.
You can be a like a lighthouse, signaling to others, "Hi, I'm here, feel free to reach out!"
For example:
- posting a welcoming message (with what type of info to ask), on your
- social media, Twitter pinned tweet/bio
- LinkedIn summary
- personal site/blog
For those with large followings, there are ways to manage with filters, email aliases, and more. More details to come.
- Coming soon ...
We have families, friends, hobbies, and other responsibilities. How do you fit mentorship in too?
It doesn’t have to be time consuming.
- It can be an hour a month
- 10 minutes over a span of many months
Be mindful of when you can help, and then do it. Stay flexible and adaptable as your schedule changes.
The email
I enjoy business, product, data, psychology, tech and people. Awhile back, I reached out to an alumnus for career advice. He’s a busy individual, a co founder of a SaaS company. He replied with a lengthy email. There were follow-up questions, his opinions, and assumptions, and insights from his experience.
We never had a phone call. Or met in person. But that email exchange had an impact.
Time is not equal. I estimate that it took him about an hour to write that email. But at the same time, it easily saved me a few weeks worth of mine.
- Coming soon ...