[HN Gopher] Ask HN: How to Find a Mentor
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Ask HN: How to Find a Mentor
Hey everyone I've heard countless times through posts or videos
about advice for programmers. One of the most frequent advice is to
find a mentor, preferrably someone you look up to that can help you
in getting better at your skills by evaluating your work and giving
you advice based on his/hers experience throughout your career.
I'm from a small town with not that many people who I'm able to
relate to and it seems that the internet is a good solution for my
problem My question is how do I develop such a relationship with a
person through the internet without being pedantic or straight up
rude? Would love to hear your advice and experience Thanks
Author : pedrolins
Score : 24 points
Date : 2021-01-17 14:02 UTC (9 hours ago)
| littleninja wrote:
| Coding Coach [1] makes this simple: folks who want to be a mentor
| have posted their contact details, you reach out and see if it's
| a match. Do read their mentorship guidelines [2].
|
| [1] https://mentors.codingcoach.io/ [2]
| https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zKCxmIh0Sd4aWLiQncICOGm6...
| TRC_0FF wrote:
| Previous discussion from 2019: Ask HN: How can I find a good
| mentor?: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20032031
| russ_poll wrote:
| It can very awkward! Try and find some folks online you can
| engage with and build a bit of a relationship first. Comment on
| their articles, tweets, or projects. If you reach out, reference
| specific things they've done that you are interested in and want
| to learn more about.
|
| Part of what we're working on at SharpestMinds is reducing the
| friction to finding a mentor--https://www.sharpestminds.com/
|
| We are currently focused on Data science mentorships, but we plan
| on expanding into the broader software space in the medium-term.
| closed wrote:
| I volunteer as co-director for an organization called Code for
| Philly. We help set up collaborations between tech volunteers and
| other non-profits.
|
| One thing I've noticed is that bootcamp grads consistently
| putting in time on projects often get a _ton_ of feedback /
| mentorship.
|
| CfP is part of a network called Code for America, and with covid
| a lot of projects are meeting virtually, so I'd look for the
| nearest "Code for" group! (Or similar communities).
| joshxyz wrote:
| Covered on "Seeking Out Mentors" and "Finding the Correct Mentor"
| parts here: https://wallstreetplayboys.com/how-to-win/
|
| Also here: https://wallstreetplayboys.com/find-a-mentor/
|
| Personally from my experience it's a lot of doing your own
| research first, then making your own attempts, then asking for
| feedback in a way that isn't borderline creepy / disturbing /
| time-wasting (as covered in above refs)
| jseliger wrote:
| https://jseliger.wordpress.com/2010/10/02/how-to-get-your-pr...
| nigel_bree wrote:
| I love this article, and have recommended it many times in
| discussion with young people learning programming in other
| forums (although it's rare for them to come back to me to say
| they'd read it, so...). There are some small differences in the
| social dynamics when it comes to mentoring in the workplace,
| but the vast majority of this is still incredibly on point.
| Thanks so much for writing it.
| chingv wrote:
| Start with an easy ask.
|
| I got this question in a class I taught last week. Here's the
| advice and tips that resonated with the group:
|
| - Don't start by asking "Will you be my mentor?" or "Can you
| review my skills and give me feedback?" It's a big investment of
| time and effort, if they don't know you.
|
| - Instead, ask one or two thoughtful questions related to their
| expertise. Many people are happy to help, especially if it only
| takes 10 minutes of their time.
|
| - If they don't respond, don't let that discourage you. Sometimes
| it's a numbers game: reach out to enough people and you'll find a
| connection.
|
| - How to reach out the first time? There's a lot of ways you can
| try. Comment on an article they wrote, or email them about it.
| Engage them on a thread here on HN. Reply to them on Twitter.
| Attend an online event where people are speaking about the topics
| you're interested in.
|
| - Most importantly, _follow up_. After they respond or you get to
| talk to them, send a thank-you summarizing what you learned and
| what was most helpful for you.
|
| - Better yet, send another thank-you a month later with how their
| advice helped you: what did you do with it, and what was the
| result? People love to hear how their advice helped. You'll stand
| out from the crowd and they're more likely to continue engaging
| with you... and that's how the longer-term relationship can get
| started.
|
| If you find this advice helpful - I'd love for you to reply here
| and let me know what worked for you!
| pjettter wrote:
| I wish I'd had a mentor ever since I was a teenager (80's).
|
| The reason I answer is because I just had an idea. This doesn't
| help you, personally, right now, I suppose.
|
| Google had a 10% rule (not sure if they still do) where 10% of
| the time, an employee could spend time on personal projects.
|
| What if a company said, 10% of the time, you mentor. Those who
| seek a mentor can just apply to the company and get in line and
| wait.
|
| Possibly, these mentored people could be future hires, and the
| employees are improving their abilities/knowledge by having a
| "teacher" role.
|
| If I was Google's or any company's CEO, I would try this!
| codegeek wrote:
| Funny I have been thinking about this a lot lately as a small
| company CEO who is looking for hungry people who want to learn.
| I might just start this if I can get my lazy butt to do a bit
| more outside of the business. If you think about it, it could
| be a win win for both parties. I get to mentor people and
| whoever seems to be the person I would like to hire, I hire
| them (unless of course they go to another employer :)).
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