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How to Massively Increase Your Success with Mentorship with Dalyn Small
23:20 with TreehouseMentorship is a powerful tool that can empower your professional development. In this video, Dalyn discusses the benefits of mentorship in his own experience, and how you can use it to up your chances of success.
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Well, our next speaker works as
a software engineer at a company
0:00
in Atlanta on a squad that deals
with domain purchasing and setup.
0:05
He was a part of the first
Treehouse cohort in Atlanta and
0:10
originally started with no prior
experience other than a school elective.
0:14
He has recently gone on to
work at the engineer two level
0:20
with the help of his mentors.
0:24
Please welcome Dalyn Small.
0:27
>> I was at year 2018 in
the Treehouse program.
0:30
I did the full stack JavaScript track,
I went on to work at MailChimp
0:35
nine months later as an apprentice and
three months later, full time.
0:40
And a year from there, I ended up
actually getting promoted to eng two.
0:45
And everything's gone for
a while and awesome.
0:51
So now, first thing to start thinking
about when you get in to being a mincy for
0:57
mentorship, you wanna really start
asking some important questions.
1:04
What are your goals and where do you
hope to see yourself in the long term?
1:10
Who's already there and
what can you do once you find out?
1:14
I think the main part of this
would have to be knowing what
1:19
your goals are helps gives
you an overarching focus for
1:24
whenever you start
meeting with your mentor.
1:29
So if you want the meeting to have
some sort of drive towards like,
1:33
well, I wanna learn about,
say, web hooks or
1:40
front end or
maybe something back end related.
1:44
It can kinda help you drive that
meeting and kind of get the most out of
1:49
that meeting, when you are deciding
to meet with your mentor.
1:54
And it kinda gives you time to
really dig deep into the topics that
1:58
you really want to learn about once
you do have your goals fleshed out and
2:03
already structured it from there.
2:09
Now, who's already there and
what can you do once you find out?
2:12
The thing about that is the people
you do know that's already
2:19
at that point that you would
like to be in your career,
2:24
you kinda wanna pull from them and
look to them for some sort of guidance.
2:29
And once you're able to see
things that they're doing and
2:35
habits that they're doing,
you pick up those habits,
2:41
you should be able to move
along fairly quickly and
2:47
where you're trying ahead career wise.
2:52
Who do you want to help you?
2:57
It can be anyone.
2:59
It can literally be someone on your
team or someone across the company.
3:01
Just make sure that it's someone
that you know has the skill set,
3:08
has the, I guess, the ability to
help you kinda reach your goals.
3:13
Once you're able to figure out
mainly what your goals are,
3:18
you're able to kinda figure out, well,
this person is very knowledgeable here or
3:22
this person is very knowledgeable there.
3:27
And it's like okay,
well maybe I can reach out to them and
3:30
they could consistently help me discuss
and probably learn about this topic.
3:34
Now during my apprenticeship,
3:40
luckily my mentors were given to me and
beyond that,
3:44
it was more so informal, I would say.
3:51
It was always based on me seeking
some sort of large contextual
3:55
knowledge over a project or
a specific topic, and
4:01
we were definitely surface level,
high levels get into it.
4:06
But then I'll probably ask someone
who was very knowledgeable
4:12
over that subjects to really bring
me deeper into the subject matter so
4:17
I can be just basically
more used to the team.
4:23
And it definitely opened me up to like,
okay, well hey,
4:27
why don't we meet consistently so
4:31
we can see how you're doing
with this part of the project?
4:34
And it kind of turns into,
for me specifically,
4:39
it turned into a mentor-mentee
relationship, and yeah, and okay.
4:44
Get to know them.
4:53
Now, when you start getting a mentor,
it's very important for
4:54
you to basically take time
out with your mentor and
4:58
really get to know who they are,
know their character.
5:02
Know what motivates them,
5:06
how they probably got into engineering,
and
5:09
kinda try to find some
sort of relating pieces.
5:14
And I think it will kinda bring
the relationship to life more and
5:20
make it more genuine.
5:26
I think once you kinda really
feel like you know someone,
5:28
you're more likely to
be more transparent and
5:32
let them know what your stressors are,
what you have issues with.
5:36
And once both of you
are able to relate on that,
5:41
then you both can continue
on to actually work on like,
5:44
hey, well, this is what I do when
I have this type of issue or
5:48
this is what I do when I encounter
this type of problem in my team.
5:53
So it's kinda like, well, I understand you
and I understand the level that you're at.
5:58
So I'm gonna go ahead and tell you
what I did when I was at your place,
6:04
at your level, basically.
6:10
How do I get a mentor?
6:12
I want to say it's very important
to start thinking about,
6:15
well, who around me is willing,
6:24
also willing to be mentor?
6:28
Maybe who around me is
probably has that time or
6:32
is open to that sort of position?
6:37
I guess the way I would do it
typically is I would reach out and
6:41
I would ask if they would like
to do something biweekly.
6:46
Sometimes it's more so spontaneous and
the person will come suddenly and
6:51
say hey, how are you feeling about this?
6:55
Or how would you like to
approach learning about this?
6:58
And I could actually give up some time for
you.
7:04
And I've had that before,
I think, go for it, great.
7:06
I think it's very important
to take advantage of
7:10
all opportunities to really
learn from just about anybody.
7:13
I think everybody has
a valuable perspective and
7:17
that valuable perspective
can definitely help
7:22
you grow as a mentee and
grow as an engineer and
7:28
really take you to that
next level over time.
7:33
So build your network.
7:38
Now, I'm mentioning
networking because I think in
7:40
the beginning when you're first
starting out in your career,
7:45
it's very awkward,
you don't really know anyone, and
7:50
it becomes very difficult to even
start looking for a possible mentor.
7:54
And what you really want to do or
initially want to do,
8:00
is actually seek out like people and
just start networking with them.
8:04
Something cool at my company is that
they do this thing called Coffee Buddy.
8:09
And it's like I have coffee with random
people, and I think that did benefit me.
8:16
I got to know engineers
across the company, and
8:22
that did benefit me in the future or
8:26
current day as to when I'm
working on major projects,
8:29
then I know someone who's
very familiar with React and
8:34
very familiar with some parts of the API.
8:38
And I'm like, okay, well, I can go
ahead and reach out to this person and
8:42
It can definitely flourish and turn into
a potential mentee-mentor relationship.
8:48
So I definitely suggest that everyone
takes advantage of that mentor and
8:55
mentee relationship or
that networking piece for
9:03
that relationship to come to life.
9:08
What is the hardest thing
about finding a mentor?
9:12
Now I wanted to bring up this kinda data.
9:17
This was a sample size
about 118 people and
9:20
it was all newly engineers
starting out their career,
9:25
and this is the main
questions that will come up.
9:30
I don't know who to ask.
9:35
Nobody has the time.
9:37
I don't know where to start.
9:39
And I think to reiterate what
I was mentioning before,
9:41
it kinda takes time when you're
acclimating to your environment
9:46
to really think about well hey,
I know this person is very.
9:51
Good at this thing and
I think that is key from networking and
9:57
being able to network in your environment.
10:02
So once you do that, it definitely should
give you more fuel to actually go out and
10:05
reach out and
actually talk to people who, like, well,
10:13
I know who to ask now cuz I
talked to this person before or
10:18
once you get to know some people
you know what type of time and
10:24
what type of timeline they may have.
10:29
So don't be afraid to network and
really take advantage of that,
10:33
and I think my experience specifically,
I think one specific
10:39
experience I can recall is I was
being moved on to a new team and
10:44
there was a certain large
project we had to work on and
10:50
I didn't really know much of anything.
10:55
I needed a lot more consensual knowledge,
but
10:58
someone on the team did have that and
I decided to go ahead and ask them, well,
11:02
hey, can we meet bi-weekly and
they were completely open to it.
11:08
And I think it kinda just went
into a consistent meeting and
11:13
it became a mentor-mentee relationship.
11:18
How can my mentor help?
11:25
My mentor, I think this is a very
important question because I
11:28
think different people can really
best help in different ways.
11:34
Some people learn a lot
differently from each other.
11:40
And I noticed I had to often
switch up strategies for
11:45
how I communicate to my mentors.
11:49
And if I want to get the most
out of that session I do,
11:52
out of that time I have with my mentor,
it's something that I really
11:56
have to kinda learn over time
as I'm meeting with them.
12:01
Once I meet with them, well,
did shadowing work very well or
12:05
did talking about a specific
technical topic go very well that
12:10
I feel like I've benefited
a lot from that.
12:15
And that's just something you kinda
have to figure out over time.
12:19
How should they help you?
12:24
Here's some examples that I've seen.
12:25
Perspective, meaning whatever
they end up showing you, or
12:29
whatever they feel on how
you structure your code or
12:34
topics they may talk about in
relation to what you're coding or
12:38
what you're working on,
I think it's very important.
12:43
Their perspective,
their experience has a lot of value,
12:48
especially when you're just starting out.
12:52
I've done prototyping
with my mentor before,
12:56
I prototype just a small
project working with
13:01
classes in PHP,
I didn't know PHP at the time.
13:05
So he definitely guided me by helping
me prototype certain things and
13:11
that really kinda gave me
the fundamental knowledge that I needed.
13:16
Career goals,
they can also help you develop your goals.
13:22
I think knowing the type
of experience they have and
13:27
knowing the types of questions
that they would ask themselves can
13:30
really help me develop my own goals and
ask myself the serious
13:35
questions that I need to ask in order
to progress further in my career.
13:40
So, yeah.
13:45
And also another thing too I
think after every meeting,
13:46
you want to leave with these action items.
13:51
And action items kinda let you know,
okay, well,
13:55
we just had a meeting, and
now I know I want to leave with this.
13:59
So I want to do these things,
and I want to come back and
14:04
I want to talk about these things and
see if any progress was made.
14:07
And we can kinda adjust from there
if there wasn't much progress or
14:12
we can at least talk about it.
14:18
Don't feel bad about reaching out.
14:20
Mentors usually wants to be mentors.
14:23
If there's something you want to ask them
about, ask them if you feel like they may
14:25
not have enough context on the issue
you're working with, give it to them.
14:30
If you feel like they might not have time,
14:35
reschedule some time for
when they are free.
14:38
I think it's important to try and
be persistent and
14:42
consistent in that mentor-mentee
relationship, especially if you're
14:46
trying to continuously learn from
someone and just absorb that knowledge.
14:51
You don't wanna think too much about like,
hey, well,
14:56
I don't know if I wanna do this or
I'm worried if I might be annoying.
15:00
But I think it's very important
to just go out there and
15:06
actually try to not really
consider that too much but
15:10
you definitely wanna think
about how they are timewise.
15:13
But I think that's why we
kinda create that initial
15:18
communication with your mentor so
when you get to know them,
15:22
you can kinda gauge, well,
okay, well my mentor,
15:27
most probably rather prefers me to
schedule some time in advance or
15:31
I should probably take notes beforehand so
15:37
we can know exactly what
we gonna talk about.
15:40
What does having a good mentor or
mentee relationship look like?
15:44
Honestly, it can be anything.
15:47
It depends on you and your mentors.
15:50
But being a great mentor
means having dedicated,
15:55
being dedicated to learning and
practicing new skills and
15:59
the more you put into the relationship
then the more you get out of it.
16:04
I think for my mentors,
I've met with usually bi-weekly,
16:10
one I met with at hot or
just at any time or any moment.
16:16
It honestly depends on probably
what's going on at the time or
16:22
what type of feeling you get at the time.
16:27
And honestly it depends on you and
your mentor.
16:31
And this is just some data on,
well, the same 118 responses like,
16:35
what type of meetings they do or
how often they meet?
16:41
And it could definitely vary
from person to person but
16:46
I think it's honestly whatever works for
you and your mental and
16:49
once you figure out what does work,
it kinda allows you to take full
16:54
advantage of that and
the longevity of that is just increases.
16:58
So you always want to give feedback.
17:05
Feedback, don't be afraid to give,
17:08
let your mentor know if things
are going great or can be better.
17:11
Have constructive and specific feedback.
17:17
Explain what you like to change and
why, finish off on a positive note and
17:19
acknowledge the efforts of your mentor.
17:24
Just remember that this could be
a learning experience for you and
17:27
your mentor.
17:32
So give feedback.
17:33
I think it's very important
to do that in order to get to
17:35
better understanding of how
you want the meetings to go.
17:40
And also keep in mind that your mentor
is also probably learning how to be
17:45
a mentor too.
17:49
So have patience,
just like they have patience with you.
17:50
I think it's very important as
the mentee to have, if not more,
17:54
patience with them just so
you can kinda give it time to grow and
17:59
understand like, okay, well,
we can do this and that.
18:04
And that could probably work better for
18:08
this relationship that
we're trying to continue.
18:11
My experience.
18:15
Networking played a huge role in
getting me connected to my mentors.
18:17
I'd say I have a few mentors,
some I meet with bi-weekly,
18:21
others I meet with monthly.
18:25
All but two, I'd say happened informally.
18:27
When meeting with my mentors I
usually try different things or
18:30
alternative ways for me to learn.
18:35
Continue to have a growth mindset.
18:37
Even when you reach your learning goals,
be prepared to evolve them and
18:40
figure out what more you
can learn from your mentor.
18:44
There's always room for growth,
18:48
there will always be value in maintaining
a relationship with your mentor or
18:50
finding new mentors to help you
further your growth in your career.
18:54
Wrap up.
18:58
Now, just to reiterate on
what I was presenting.
18:59
A mentor can literally be anyone inside or
19:04
even outside of work as long
as they are capable of helping
19:08
you reach your goals with their
own knowledge and experience.
19:13
Try to have learning goals or
career goals set.
19:19
So when you do meet your mentor,
there is a focal point that
19:21
can help drive the meeting so
you can get the most out of that meeting.
19:26
Really try to get to know your mentor to
establish a genuine relationship in order
19:32
to maintain a strong and transparent
line of communication with your mentor.
19:37
And never be afraid to
give your mentor feedback.
19:42
So you and your mentor can develop
a better strategy to learn.
19:47
And thank you.
19:54
Questions, let's see what I can,
Into further questions.
19:55
I see a question saying how long
you should stay with your mentor.
20:01
Honestly, that depends on you.
20:08
I think there's more value out of just
keeping it going as long as you can and
20:12
as long as there's mutual benefit there.
20:19
The mutual benefit for them being
able to teach you and benefit for
20:23
you being able to learn from them
as long as that's available.
20:28
I think it's important to
keep that relationship going,
20:32
keep that actually moving forward.
20:37
How important is it to engage in
social opportunities outside of work?
20:39
I think it's super important.
20:45
I think that's kind of
the idea behind networking.
20:49
And once you really get into networking,
you kinda have
20:53
a large support system,
a large group of people that you
20:58
can pull from if you ever needed
some guidance or some help.
21:03
Let's see what else,
can mentors be your co workers?
21:09
Definitely, my co workers on my very team,
21:13
one co worker I do have
is a mentor of mine and
21:18
I've been meeting with him biweekly for
a couple months now.
21:22
And I think it's just served
me very well and it just did
21:27
me wonders when it comes to being able
to actually acclimate to the team and
21:32
learn what context I needed
to learn in order to get
21:39
the most out of the work that
I was doing on that team.
21:44
Any tips for
21:49
people who may be uncomfortable
reaching out to people in general?
21:50
Well, I'm kind of an introvert too.
21:55
So I guess, the best tip I can give is
just know that when you do reach out and
21:59
you're nervous or you're awkward about it,
22:06
that it's okay to feel that way and
it's okay to be nervous about it.
22:10
Just know that all you're
trying to do is learn and
22:17
there's always gonna be
somebody willing to give you
22:21
information and
willing to teach you something.
22:26
So don't be afraid to reach out and
try to find people, try to network,
22:30
then you'll find that people who are
willing to actually give you the time and
22:37
the information and
the guidance that you will need,
22:44
especially when you're
starting out in your career.
22:49
And if you want to definitely
reach out to me and
22:54
link out to me,
just reach out to me on LinkedIn,
23:01
Dalyn Small, D-A-L-Y-N S-M-A-L-L.
23:08
And thanks for
joining in on my presentation.
23:14
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