Why can a mentor help your tech career?

Hi everyone!

Have you ever wondered how to accelerate your professional growth in tech? Whether you're starting in technology or already have experience, you've probably heard the word mentor at some point. You might have even received or given mentorship. If you'd like to know how to get started (either as a mentor or mentee), this post is for you. We'll cover basic concepts and tips to make the most of mentorship.

In my case, when I started my tech career, I was fortunate to meet people who were key to my personal and professional growth. Although I didn't have formal mentorship initially, interactions with these people served as guidance that added tremendous value, helping me direct my efforts and advance in my career.

What is mentorship?

Mentorship is a space to learn and get guidance from an expert in a particular field. The main roles are:

• The mentor: responsible for guiding the session and sharing their experience

• The mentee: who receives and benefits from the mentorship

Common activities include:

• Portfolio and CV review

• Interview preparation

• Career planning and goal setting

Each mentorship is unique and adapts to the mentee's needs.

What's the difference between a mentor, coach, and sponsor?

Although these roles are often confused, each has a distinct purpose:

• Mentor: Shares experience and knowledge to guide your professional development

• Coach: Helps you find your own answers through questions and reflection. Doesn't necessarily have direct experience in your field

• Sponsor: Uses their position of influence to advocate for you and create concrete opportunities in spaces where you're not present

For example:

• A mentor might help improve your portfolio

• A coach would guide you to identify your strengths

• A sponsor could recommend you for a key position

Do all mentors follow the same path?

Not at all! Some people become mentors after leading teams, facing unique challenges, or simply learning directly from experience. What's valuable about these mentors is that they perfectly understand the challenges of learning without formal guidance and can share practical strategies that really work.

Why is it a game-changer?

In my experience, mentorship can make a significant difference in your career by helping you:

• Avoid common mistakes others have faced

• Focus your time and energy on truly beneficial areas for your goals

• Accelerate your professional development with experience-based advice

Where can I find a mentor?

There are several ways to find mentors in technology:

1. LinkedIn: Contact professionals politely and respectfully. Introduce yourself, your goals, and why you think they can help you

2. Tech communities: Connect with people passionate about sharing knowledge at meetups, annual events like DevFest, International Women's Day, AWS Community Day, and others

3. Specialized platforms: ADPList or Topmate

If you know others, share them in the comments to help others!

What are the next steps?

Working on your personal plan can help you get more out of mentorship:

1. Define your specialization area. If you're not sure yet, check platforms like roadmap.sh, where you'll find different paths with relevant topics. If this doesn't help clarify, don't worry, a nice project is coming to help you discover what someone does in specific roles!

2. Set clear and measurable objectives. For example, if you want to get into Data Science, start by learning Python, studying basic algorithms, finding interesting challenge repositories, and participating in Kaggle competitions

3. Prepare specific questions. Having clarity about what you want to learn will make sessions more productive

4. Keep track of your progress. Use GitHub, note apps, or even a physical notebook to document your progress. Remember, everyone's progress is unique, so go at your own pace and enjoy the process

What if I think I'm ready to mentor others?

First, congratulations on making this decision! Being a mentor is a great opportunity to give back to the community and continue learning. Some recommendations:

• Review feedback techniques, such as:

  • Radical Candor: balance showing you personally care with directly challenging

  • Hamburger Technique: start with something positive, then constructive criticism, and end with another positive aspect

• Learn to ask the right questions to guide the mentee and encourage reflection

• Ask for feedback regularly to identify areas for improvement and know your strengths as a mentor

Resources

• Mentors vs Coaches vs Sponsors

• Radical Candor

• Hamburger Technique

If you have any additional tips, share them in the comments! I'd love to hear about your experiences and learn from them.

Until the next post, let's keep coding and learning together!