Why did you decide to become a mentor?
As a people leader, one of my biggest passions lies in developing people. Throughout my career, I have been a proud mentor both inside my organization and outside. Growing others has been a key driver of my development. I have mentored hundreds of individuals to date, including many successful engineers and leaders at FAANG, ULA and startups. MentorCruise provides me with an opportunity to extend my mentorship to mentees all over the world.
How did you get your career start?
I realized earlier in my career as a software engineer that I was keen on mentoring others and leading projects. So I learned engineering management. I was privileged to have an experienced leader who challenged, supported and rewarded me during my transition to an engineering manager. As a manager, I actively think of the opportunities my people seek, the challenges they face, and the impact I can have on their career.
What do mentees usually come to you for?
My mentees come to me for a variety of career development topics, including getting promoted, getting hired, transitioning from an IC to a manager, growing from managing a team to managing an organization, and developing leadership. We spend our introductory meeting going over two topics. First, I ensure I and the mentee themselves understand their goals and the “why” behind these goals. Second, we establish a mentorship plan to help the mentee accomplish the goals. After the first meeting, I either continue to meet with the mentee to discuss ongoing issues and strategies, or assign written tasks and review them regularly.
What's been your favourite mentorship success story so far?
Every mentorship is unique and I’m always behind each mentee. Here are a couple of examples. With our mentorship, an entry-level software engineer at FAANG got promoted to mid-level in eight months and then immediately completed their manager transition in nine months. A senior software engineer at ULA who aspired to become a manager but struggled for two years earned their manager transition after six months of our mentorship.
What are you getting out of being a mentor?
Being a mentor enables me to make an impact on more individuals outside of my day-to-day job. It also helps me better lead my team and serve my customers. Mentoring is a key responsibility of a manager. Developing employees is one of the most important principles for a business to have continuous success. It has been a fortunate and fulfilling journey for me. I encourage every leader to consider being a mentor.