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Tips for Being an Effective Software Developer Mentor
Mentorship can help facilitate growth in both the mentee and mentor. If you’ve had a great mentor, you know the impact they’ve made on you. Each mentor has their own style and what works best for them. For myself, I’ve taken bits and pieces from my other mentors along with forming my own style.
Your company may or may not have a dedicated mentor program. If they don’t, that shouldn’t stop you from trying to mentor your peers. Part of being a veteran in the field is giving back to those who are just learning their position. Mentoring shouldn’t be just for Juniors. It can be for nearly any level in the development chain as we should always continue to grow and try to never be the smartest one in the room; however, this article will be more targeted for mentoring mid level and junior.
Get to know them
It doesn’t have to be all work and no play, so get to know your mentee. You’re bound to have something in common, and if all else fails, at least you both like to code. The better you get to know each other, the better your interactions will be.
Don’t be scared about not knowing it all
A worry of mine used to be “what if I’m not able to figure it out” when faced with a question from my mentee. As developers, we aren’t…
