Ask Me Anything - 60 Minutes

“A few years ago, I was promoted to lead an org of roughly 60 people, including managers, staff engineers, and TLs. Despite the team size and scale, I was operating like an IC (heavily involved in system design and tried…” “A few years ago, I was promoted to lead an org of roughly 60 people, including managers, staff engineers, and TLs. Despite the team size and scale, I was operating like an IC (heavily involved in system design and tried to solve every technical problems). Reading books, getting company provided coach, and working with internal mentor wasn't working for me I wanted to be an effective leader and scale my management style to run my org effectively I reached out to a few mentors on MentorCruise and Paul was the right fit after our intro session. There are a few things I learned under his mentorship 1. Patience: Initially, he let me bring him simple problems and gave me answers. After a few months, he pointed out that I wasn't spending enough time to think through my problem because I knew he was my safety net. That hit me hard since it's true yet I did not feel upset. Paul's patience and humanity made me feel like he wanted me to grow 2. 90% of the problems are solvable by having a backbone. Paul acted as a sounding board, giving me the confidence to have a backbone to have tough conversation with my manager, stakeholders, and direct reports 3. Engineering management mechanism: Paul shared mechanisms like weekly reviews, owner with date, set goal, let them figure out. These are simple yet effective framework to run the team at my scale The change is so big - I re-read my old notes and I would fire my two-year-ago self from asking those questions or taking/not taking actions to manage my team. By applying these frameworks and having Paul as my sounding board, my org has delivered outsized results including a conversion optimization that's equivalent to 12 months of a/b testings. We also stabilized our infra, moving from the least stable team in the company to one of the most reliable I am very lucky to have Paul as my mentor for the past few years” Read more Show less

Ekk

Standard Plan · 2 years

“Paul is a great mentor with a strong understanding of career progression through driving impact in software teams. If you're looking for principled decision making, effective promotion plan building, and being shown you…” “Paul is a great mentor with a strong understanding of career progression through driving impact in software teams. If you're looking for principled decision making, effective promotion plan building, and being shown your blind spots, look no further than sessions with Paul.” Read more Show less

Sean

Standard Plan · 4 months

“I engaged Paul Kim as a mentor to help me move to a new job that would advance my career as a software engineer. At the time, I lacked a clear understanding of the job search process, industry expectations for senior so…” “I engaged Paul Kim as a mentor to help me move to a new job that would advance my career as a software engineer. At the time, I lacked a clear understanding of the job search process, industry expectations for senior software engineers, and the steps required to advance my career. Paul provided a structured approach to career development. He began by helping me define a clear vision for my next role, then worked with me to translate that vision into concrete, actionable goals. These included identifying target companies, preparing for technical interviews, improving communication skills, and setting weekly milestones. He also supplied curated technical resources and interview materials aligned with the roles I was targeting. During our sessions, Paul provided feedback on both technical and non-technical dimensions of the job search. He emphasized clarity in communication, goal-setting discipline, and maintaining a high standard of execution. He regularly reviewed my progress and held me accountable to the goals we had defined. Paul provided constructive feedback when needed. The outcome of this mentorship was a successful transition to a new senior engineering role that aligned with my criteria for compensation, team quality, and product vision. Additionally, the mentorship helped me build confidence in evaluating roles, advocating for my needs, and developing new skills in a time-efficient manner. Although the mentorship has now concluded, the frameworks and habits developed during the process remain applicable to my ongoing career development. I recommend Paul Kim to software engineers seeking to transition into more senior roles or more aligned work environments, particularly those looking for structured, high-signal guidance from an experienced mentor. Thank you Paul!” Read more Show less

Brandon

Lite Plan · 1 year

“As mentioned in my last review, Paul has been an invaluable resource for focusing and implementing my career goals. He has great advice on balancing short-term and long-term goals, as well as day-to-day work and busines…” “As mentioned in my last review, Paul has been an invaluable resource for focusing and implementing my career goals. He has great advice on balancing short-term and long-term goals, as well as day-to-day work and business value.” Read more Show less

Joseph

Standard Plan · 6 months

“Paul is a great mentor! Helps you narrow your goals and iteratively approach them.”

Moin

Standard Plan · 1 month