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Mentorship: Add Value to Your Career, Workplace, and Community

Mentorship: Add Value to Your Career, Workplace, and Community

This is a consolidated version of a presentation that we delivered at UXPA International 2017, UXDC 2017, and an event at Triangle UXPA.

Michelle Chin

June 06, 2017
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  1. TEXT
    Mentorship: Add Value to Your Career,
    Workplace, and UX Community
    Michelle Chin, Andrew Wirtanen, and Joe Bond
    1
    @triuxpa | #UXmentorship

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  2. Bios: Who Are Y’all?
    Michelle Chin
    2
    Andrew Wirtanen Joe Bond
    // THE INTRO

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  3. What We’re Talking About Today
    3 // THE INTRO
    1. The basics of mentorship
    2. The importance of mentorship
    3. How to start a mentorship relationship
    4. Mentorship myths and legends
    5. How to build a mentorship program

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  4. 4
    The Basics
    // THE BASICS

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  5. 5
    Why Mentorship
    • By teaching, we learn
    • Mentoring is an effective way to
    learn
    • If we don’t learn, we stagnate
    • By learning and sharing, we
    improve
    • We can work toward goals
    // THE BASICS

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  6. 6
    Types of
    Mentorship
    • 5 types
    • One more might more suitable for you than
    another
    • You already might be doing some sort of
    mentorship without realizing it!
    // THE BASICS

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  7. 7
    Types of
    Mentorship
    • Direct mentorship
    • Peer mentorship
    • Mutual mentorship
    • Reverse mentorship
    • Indirect mentorship
    // THE BASICS
    A junior-level practitioner
    learns from a more
    seasoned practitioner.
    You’re
    welcome! You’ll
    do great!
    Thanks for your
    advice on the
    workshop!

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  8. 8
    Types of
    Mentorship
    • Direct mentorship
    • Peer mentorship
    • Mutual mentorship
    • Reverse mentorship
    • Indirect mentorship
    // THE BASICS
    Both individuals are peers
    and discuss / share
    knowledge.
    I haven’t; mind
    sending me the
    link?
    Did you read
    that article about
    onboarding?

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  9. 9
    Types of
    Mentorship
    • Direct mentorship
    • Peer mentorship
    • Mutual mentorship
    • Reverse mentorship
    • Indirect mentorship
    // THE BASICS
    “Cross-functional” mentorship - both
    parties learn new things the other
    knows well.
    I’d love to learn
    about CSS!
    I’d love to learn
    about user testing!

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  10. 10
    Types of
    Mentorship
    • Direct mentorship
    • Peer mentorship
    • Mutual mentorship
    • Reverse mentorship
    • Indirect mentorship
    // THE BASICS
    How do I turn on
    face swap?
    A seasoned professional learns
    from a junior professional.

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  11. 11
    Types of
    Mentorship
    • Direct mentorship
    • Peer mentorship
    • Mutual mentorship
    • Reverse mentorship
    • Indirect mentorship
    // THE BASICS
    A mentor provides guidance
    to a group of people.
    Do you think I
    should do an open
    or closed card
    sort?
    What kind of
    wireframing tool do
    you use?
    I’m interested in
    guerrilla usability
    testing.

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  12. 12
    Types of
    Mentorship
    • Direct mentorship
    • Peer mentorship
    • Mutual mentorship
    • Reverse mentorship
    • Indirect mentorship
    • Apprenticeship*
    // THE BASICS
    Not mentorship! A formalized program to
    introduce entry-level practitioners to the role
    with on-the-job training.
    Ok, I’m ready!
    Today, I’ll show
    you more weld
    joints.

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  13. 13
    Why the UX
    Community
    Needs Mentorship
    • Grow our discipline
    • Create a culture of learning and
    sharing
    • Accelerate individual professional
    growth
    // THE BASICS

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  14. 14
    How to Start a Mentorship
    Relationship
    // HOW TO START

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  15. 15
    Major Key: Keep
    it Simple
    • Mentorship doesn’t have to be
    intimidating.
    • It doesn’t have to be a formal
    relationship.
    // HOW TO START

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  16. 16
    4 Steps to
    Starting
    1. Identify your goals + availability
    2. Find a mentor/mentee
    3. Set expectations
    4. Be accountable
    // HOW TO START

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  17. 17
    Identify your
    goals + availability
    • What are your trying to achieve?
    • How often can you meet?
    • How can you meet?
    • How much you are willing to
    commit?
    // HOW TO START
    Nancy: Entry-level UXer, looking
    for someone to review her
    portfolio for her next job.
    Toby: UX designer who’s a team
    of one at a startup. Wants to
    every other month to see what
    trends are going on with other
    UX practices.
    Patty: Senior UX designer
    interested in advancing her
    career. Wants to mentor junior-
    level designers to see if she’d
    like management.
    Step #1

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  18. 18
    Find a mentor or
    mentee
    • Local UX chapter
    • Meetups
    • Workplace
    • Local universities
    • Professional network 

    (e.g. LinkedIn, Twitter)
    // HOW TO START
    Step #2 LinkedIn
    Twitter
    Medium
    Think
    Locally
    UXPA chapter,
    meetups,
    workplace,
    universities

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  19. 19
    Find a mentor or
    mentee
    • Local UX chapter
    • Meetups
    • Workplace
    • Local universities
    • Professional network 

    (e.g. LinkedIn, Twitter)
    // HOW TO START
    Step #2
    Nancy: Entry-level UXer, looking
    for someone to review her
    portfolio for her next job.
    Found her mentor Andres
    through the mentorship program
    with her local UXPA chapter.
    Toby: UXer who’s a team of one
    at a startup. Wants to every
    other month to see what trends
    are going on with other UX
    practices.
    Found his mentor Maya at a UX
    meetup.
    Patty: Senior UX designer
    interested in advancing her
    career. Wants to mentor junior-
    level designers to see if she’d
    like management.
    Found her mentee Melissa on
    her team.

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  20. 20
    Set expectations
    • Mutually agree to how things will
    work based on what you outlined in
    Step 1.
    // HOW TO START
    Step #3
    - Mentee: Will your goals be met?
    - Mentor: Can you help with the
    mentee’s goals?

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  21. Step 3: Set Expectations
    Nancy + Andres decide to meet
    for coffee to see he's the right
    person to provide feedback. She
    will send over the portfolio via
    email, then they’ll meet in
    person to provide feedback.
    After that they will follow up via
    email.
    Timeframe: 3 months
    Toby + Maya decide to meet for
    lunch every other month to talk
    about trends. If there are quick
    questions, Toby can send them
    over email.
    Timeframe: 6 months
    Patty + Melissa decide to meet
    twice a month to review UX work
    and refine skills. Patty offers to
    provide recommendations for
    books, tools, and resources, if
    needed.
    Timeframe: 3 months
    21 // HOW TO START

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  22. 22
    Be Accountable
    • Respect the effort each party is
    putting in to make this work.
    • Have an open line of
    communication.
    • Be professional.
    • DON’T use this for short-sighted
    gains!
    // HOW TO START
    Source
    Step #4

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  23. 23
    Myths of Mentorship
    // MYTHS OF MENTORSHIP

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  24. 24
    I don’t have
    enough experience
    • Try out a different model like peer-
    to-peer mentorship.
    • Mentor somebody outside of your
    discipline.
    • Write a blog post and push it out to
    your company (indirect
    mentorship).
    Myth #1
    // MYTHS OF MENTORSHIP
    Source

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  25. 25
    I don’t have
    anything to teach
    • Tell a story about your last project.
    • Explain a new tool you picked up to
    a coworker.
    • Respond on Twitter to an article
    you just read.
    Myth #2
    // MYTHS OF MENTORSHIP
    Source

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  26. 26
    I don’t have
    have time
    • Set boundaries for your mentorship
    relationship.
    • Mentor a coworker at your office.
    • Talk to your manager and see if you
    can get it added to your
    responsibilities at work.
    Myth #3
    // MYTHS OF MENTORSHIP
    Source

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  27. 27
    How to Build a 

    Mentorship Program
    // THE BLUEPRINTS

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  28. 28
    Why Build a
    Program?
    • Mentorship at scale can do a lot of good
    • If you build it, mentors will come
    • It’s fun!
    // THE BLUEPRINTS
    Source

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  29. 29
    Our Mentorship
    Program
    • Started Triangle UXPA Mentorship program
    in 2014
    • Created Mentorship Director position in
    2014
    • Created web page to explain the program
    • Emailed our members with links to apply
    to the program
    • Mentorship Director coordinated with
    mentors and mentees
    • Started a Slack channel
    // THE BLUEPRINTS

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  30. 30
    The Value of 

    the Program
    • Mentees can browse a directory to
    find the right match
    • New UX professionals have been
    created
    • Mentees have become mentors
    // THE BLUEPRINTS
    Source

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  31. 31
    The Framework
    1. How do people sign up?
    2. How are mentors and mentees
    matched?
    3. How will facilitators follow up?
    4. How does this program scale?
    // THE BLUEPRINTS
    Source

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  32. 32
    Best Practices
    • Start Small: It makes things
    manageable
    • Get Support: Your local UX chapter
    or company might offer to host the
    program
    • Don’t Give Up: It’s tough, but it’s
    worth the endeavor
    // THE BLUEPRINTS
    Source

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  33. 33
    A Quick Mentorship Activity
    // TEACH ONE THING, LEARN ONE THING

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  34. 34
    Teach + Learn
    1. Find a partner.
    2. Find something interesting you
    could teach them.
    3. Find something interesting you
    want to learn from them.
    4. If you feel comfortable, share
    contact information and follow up.
    // TEACH ONE THING, LEARN ONE THING
    Source

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  35. 35
    Questions?
    // Q&A
    Michelle Chin
    @soysaucechin
    Andrew Wirtanen
    @awirtanen
    @triuxpa | #UXmentorship
    Joe Bond
    @byjoebond

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