You should be a mentor
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You should be a mentor
1–10 of 27 posts
Re: You should be a mentor
#2For me the only criteria is to stay away from 'mentors' who have never worked on a product.
Being in Pakistan, I get to meet tons of industry experts who have racked up millions solely by outsourcing and creating low-quality software for cheap. All they do is that they bring you down to their own ambition-level. Don't listen to them !
some real life examples:
"so why would you like to hire such an expensive resource here when you can get two average developers for a lot less and he can get your job done? that's bur resource management"
"you mentioned celebrities in your pitch but let me just tell you one thing , those people will never use your app"
Re: You should be a mentor
#3For me the only criteria is to stay away from 'mentors' who have never worked on a product. Being in Pakistan, I get to meet tons of industry experts who have racked up millions solely by outsourcing and creating low-quality software for cheap. All they do is that they bring you down to their own ambition-level. Don't listen to them ! some real life examples: "so why would you like to hire such an expensive resource…
I understand where you're coming from, but the examples provided are not that good. First of all, I'd build everything with the possibility in mind that celebrities won't actually use my app. Helps me focus on the benefits for the average user. Secondly, if a pair of good developers can truly get the job done for a lot less, I would seriously consider going that route instead of an expensive solo hero.
Having said that, too limited ambition can get you the same result that too much ambition can.
Re: You should be a mentor
#4 I think calling yourself a "mentor" gets the response it does because it is like calling yourself "successful"- according to who? It just doesn't fit into the model of western culture of speaking with humility. It risks alienating people- no one would disagree with you if you said "I really listen to people at these events." Aren't you actually suggesting that you try to be a good listener and offer helpful advice.
Re: You should be a mentor
#5“That guy doesn’t know shit. Why should I listen to him?"
If you have to ask that question, then you already know the answer.
With a good mentor, thoughts like that would never even enter your mind. Why? Because a good mentor would never just tell you what to do, he/she would share data in such a way that you would learn what to do.
If you don't find a way to turn mentor input into new actionable wisdom very quickly (even instantly) and feel confident about it, then it's probably time to find another mentor.
Re: You should be a mentor
#6Great post!
I've started a number of businesses over the past 10 years, first of which was when i was 17, i've learned so much over this time, but had dismissed it as general knowledge.
Recently I took part in an accelerator here in the UK and one of the things I enjoyed most was offering advise to other teams, even just on simple things like Tax/Vat etc. I really didn't appreciate that much of the knowledge I've amassed over the past 10 years was valuable to people in the early stage of a new business.
I'm hoping to be invited back to that accelerator as a mentor this year, and I'd hope I can do this for other accelerators too as it's extremely rewarding, I'd almost say I find it more rewarding helping others than building my own startup!
Re: You should be a mentor
#7“That guy doesn’t know shit. Why should I listen to him?" If you have to ask that question, then you already know the answer. With a good mentor, thoughts like that would never even enter your mind. Why? Because a good mentor would never just tell you what to do, he/she would share data in such a way that you would learn what to do. If you don't find a way to turn mentor input into new actionable wisdom very quickly…
Can you please elaborate on what you think is a good mentor, and how one may become a good mentor?
On that note, I've been considering of mentoring entry/medium-level developers for some time now but I seriously don't know what exactly that entails.
My goal is to help people understand and appreciate the importance of well formed, semantic HTML and CSS and unobtrusive javascript.
My belief is that all these different libraries/frameworks (Backbone, Angular, Bootstrap, Foundation, etc etc) confuse new comers and abstract them from actually learning the importance of well written HTML/CSS/JS in developer productivity and application maintenance.
Sometimes these libs make it very easy for developers to focus too much on short term gains at the expense of long-term maintainability and understanding what the code they publish actually does!
If anyone wants to help me become a mentor by mentoring them on HTML, CSS, JS please let me know.
Re: You should be a mentor
#8This post read like a bit of a humblebrag to me. I think it's fine to go to events and share experiences as part of conversation - the community is a big part of making a great event. To go to an event with the mindset of being a mentor to other people when you're just another guy trying to get a startup off the ground would definitely put me off.
“That guy doesn’t know shit. Why should I listen to him? Why is he even here?” I'd be that guy. I wouldn't be presuming you don't know shit or wondering why you're here, but rather wondering why a guy in the same position as most people trying to launch a startup is mentoring people.
Having said that, promoting oneself seems to be part of entrepreneurial culture and I don't blame you for seizing the opportunity to do it.
Re: You should be a mentor
#9The same advice applies for undergrads (though I wouldn't call myself a mentor). For a year or two now I've been part of a group of students who hold volunteer CS "office hours". We normally get visits from frustrated students who aren't in CS, and are able to make a huge difference for these people.
We don't get paid, but I still benefit from it, of course; my knowledge and teaching ability have both greatly improved. It's fun, too =)
A word of advice: operate outside of your school's official tutoring system. Just get a bunch of friends and make yourselves known within your department: you'll spend less time working the system and more time helping people. Feel free to get in touch for advice.
Re: You should be a mentor
#10Yes you should be a mentor or whatever you want to call it. It does not mean you have to be an absolute expert at something to be a mentor. It means that you are willing to advice/share your experiences with someone else with the goal of helping them with whatever you can. For example, so what if you are not a superstar code ninja/rockstar or whatever it is. You can still talk to someone about what you know and give them some options to think about.
I would encourage everyone to be a "mentor". Go and talk to some younger/junior/less experienced people and you will realize how much they need you. No matter how small, you could make a difference. And you want to know another secret? You will suddenly realize how much you actually know when you try to teach/mentor someone else. You will also improve your own skills including communication, interaction etc etc.