Developing a Culture of Mentorship

It’s easy to spend your entire day, heads down, coding projects without thinking twice about other developers around you. We often get too absorbed with completing our immediate deadlines to spend any time considering the future of our projects, the future of our teams.

By not mentoring new developers we are failing our future. We are failing at providing new developers with the industry experience they need to be a one-day successful candidate for our teams.

Let’s talk about ways we can contribute to mentoring new developers in our teams and in our communities.

Transcript

1. DEVELOPING A CULTURE OF MENTORSHIP @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
2. I HAVE TAUGHT OVER 300 WOMEN HOW TO CODE @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
4. FOUNDER & CEO DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT • Love Obsessed with Dogs • Shoot Archery • Passionate about teaching others @tessak22 all over the internet @TESSAK22 ABOUT ME SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
5. REACH OUT All the socials as @tessak22
 me@tessak22.com tessak22.com Please share pics 
 and commentary using #drupalcorn @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
6. JOB OUTLOOK In 2016, there was 162,000 total jobs In 2026, there is expected to be 188,000 jobs 10% of developers will retire over the next 10 years @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
7. JUNIOR WEB DEVELOPER JOBS Only 22% required no experience 18% required one year experience 60% required 2+ years experience @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
8. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
9. HOW IN THE WORLD ARE THEY GETTING THIS EXPERIENCE?! @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
10. “ Be the change that you wish to see in the world. -Mahatma Gandhi @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
11. FOR ORGANIZATIONS @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
12. WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE JUNIOR DEVELOPERS @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
13. TEAM MORALE Mentoring is rewarding and good for team morale. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
14. FINDING GOOD PEOPLE IS HARD Finding good people with the right skills is even harder. Hire the right people and give them the right skills. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
15. PASSION IS INFECTIOUS Junior developers are full of passion and drive to succeed, that will naturally ignite your team. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
16. NEW IDEAS & THINKING Diverse teams are the most successful teams. New developers will bring new ideas and thought processes. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
17. HOW TO GET STARTED @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
18. WRITE BETTER JOB DESCRIPTIONS If you are willing to hire new developers, do not require experience, instead focus on personality traits, like desire to learn. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
19. CREATE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Partner experienced developers with new developers that share similar goals and coding interests. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
20. DO NOT REQUIRE INVOLVEMENT Some people do not enjoy teaching others. Be aware of your current teams interest before making any decisions. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
21. MANAGERS ARE NOT MENTORS Mentees need to have an open relationship with someone they can confide in and relate to. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
22. OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION Ensure there are methods in which they can openly communicate with you and their mentor. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
23. TRACK PROGRESS & MAKE GOALS Make a habit of having regular check-ins. Do not just create partnerships and expect them to succeed. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
24. BUILD A PROGRAM Your newly mentored developers will be excited to share the knowledge and skills they learned. Turn them into mentors. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
25. FOR DEVELOPERS @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
26. GROW YOUR NETWORK You will meet a variety of other developers and companies as you start to search for new developers to mentor. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
27. IT FEELS GOOD I call this “Selfish Acts of Selflessness.” Doing good things makes you feel good. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
28. STEP OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE And enjoy it. You will likely begin to attend more local tech events and meet some great people. There might even be beer. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
29. MASTER YOUR OWN SKILLS Teaching means you need to know your stuff. Mentoring will help you dig into things you may already know a little deeper. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
30. THEIR SUCCESSES FEEL LIKE YOUR SUCCESSES When your mentee meets their goals or lands their first job, their success will feel like your own, and it feels good. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
31. NEW LIFELONG FRIENDSHIP Your mentee will always appreciate everything you have done for them. You just made yourself a new friend. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
32. WHERE TO FIND MENTEES @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
33. COLLEGES OR SCHOOLS Universities, Technical College, High Schools or other private or public schools. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
34. CODE SCHOOLS OR BOOTCAMPS This is often the best place to find them. Our local code school has a mentorship program to get involved with. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
35. LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS OR GROUPS Check meetup.com for local meetups and tech groups. 
 Consider Girl Develop It, YesWeCode & Women Who Code @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
36. HACKATHONS Volunteer or put together a team for a local hackathon. You are definitely bound to be teamed up with or meet developers there. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
37. CONFERENCES Conferences or other conference-like events. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
38. TIPS FOR BEING A GOOD MENTOR @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
39. BOOST THEIR CONFIDENCE Even the most experienced developer gets imposter syndrome. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
40. GUIDE THEIR CAREER PATH Talk them through their career path and goals for future jobs. Provide information so they can make educated decisions. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
41. BE AVAILABLE Be available to them when they need you. Schedule regular in- person meetings or online coding sessions. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
42. SHARE RESOURCES WITH THEM You don’t know what you don’t know – they may overlook something because they don’t know they should learn it. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
43. WORKING CODING EXAMPLES Many people need to do in order to learn. Give them working coding examples, ideally heavily commented. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
44. LIVE CODING SESSIONS Working on a project will help them think through why one method vs the other, as well as allow them to contribute and feel like a developer. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
45. CODE REVIEWS Never tell them they did something wrong – instead ask them their thought process and encourage them to think of other solutions. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
46. LEAD A STUDY GROUP You can help more people at one time and the junior developers will have peers they can relate to. Power in numbers. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
47. TIPS FOR BEING A GOOD MENTEE @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
48. SET EXPECTATIONS Before you kick start your relationship, set expectations with your mentor about what you are hoping to achieve. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
49. RESPECTFUL OF THEIR TIME Ask your mentor their availability and what days and times work best for them. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
50. COME PREPARED WITH AN AGENDA Use your time wisely and come prepared with questions, topics to review and follow up from previous meetings. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
51. MENTORS ARE VOLUNTEERS Always remember that your mentor is a volunteer, unless it is required by your employer. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
52. OWN YOUR LEARNING Your mentor can provide you with great information, but you must be the one to actually use it. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
53. EXPRESS YOUR APPRECIATION Everyone likes to feel appreciated. This is especially important in a mentee & mentor relationship. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
54. @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN
56. FOLLOW UP Reach out if you or your company needs help getting started with mentorship. @tessak22 // me@tessak22.com @TESSAK22 SLIDO.COM #DRUPALCORN