1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,243 Well, our next speaker works as a software engineer at a company 2 00:00:05,243 --> 00:00:10,698 in Atlanta on a squad that deals with domain purchasing and setup. 3 00:00:10,698 --> 00:00:14,680 He was a part of the first Treehouse cohort in Atlanta and 4 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:20,122 originally started with no prior experience other than a school elective. 5 00:00:20,122 --> 00:00:24,748 He has recently gone on to work at the engineer two level 6 00:00:24,748 --> 00:00:27,272 with the help of his mentors. 7 00:00:27,272 --> 00:00:30,382 Please welcome Dalyn Small. 8 00:00:30,382 --> 00:00:35,312 >> I was at year 2018 in the Treehouse program. 9 00:00:35,312 --> 00:00:40,099 I did the full stack JavaScript track, I went on to work at MailChimp 10 00:00:40,099 --> 00:00:45,151 nine months later as an apprentice and three months later, full time. 11 00:00:45,151 --> 00:00:51,913 And a year from there, I ended up actually getting promoted to eng two. 12 00:00:51,913 --> 00:00:57,381 And everything's gone for a while and awesome. 13 00:00:57,381 --> 00:01:04,084 So now, first thing to start thinking about when you get in to being a mincy for 14 00:01:04,084 --> 00:01:10,395 mentorship, you wanna really start asking some important questions. 15 00:01:10,395 --> 00:01:14,990 What are your goals and where do you hope to see yourself in the long term? 16 00:01:14,990 --> 00:01:19,411 Who's already there and what can you do once you find out? 17 00:01:19,411 --> 00:01:24,496 I think the main part of this would have to be knowing what 18 00:01:24,496 --> 00:01:29,475 your goals are helps gives you an overarching focus for 19 00:01:29,475 --> 00:01:33,713 whenever you start meeting with your mentor. 20 00:01:33,713 --> 00:01:40,277 So if you want the meeting to have some sort of drive towards like, 21 00:01:40,277 --> 00:01:44,767 well, I wanna learn about, say, web hooks or 22 00:01:44,767 --> 00:01:49,397 front end or maybe something back end related. 23 00:01:49,397 --> 00:01:54,225 It can kinda help you drive that meeting and kind of get the most out of 24 00:01:54,225 --> 00:01:58,732 that meeting, when you are deciding to meet with your mentor. 25 00:01:58,732 --> 00:02:03,951 And it kinda gives you time to really dig deep into the topics that 26 00:02:03,951 --> 00:02:09,751 you really want to learn about once you do have your goals fleshed out and 27 00:02:09,751 --> 00:02:12,665 already structured it from there. 28 00:02:12,665 --> 00:02:19,502 Now, who's already there and what can you do once you find out? 29 00:02:19,502 --> 00:02:24,603 The thing about that is the people you do know that's already 30 00:02:24,603 --> 00:02:29,104 at that point that you would like to be in your career, 31 00:02:29,104 --> 00:02:35,226 you kinda wanna pull from them and look to them for some sort of guidance. 32 00:02:35,226 --> 00:02:41,448 And once you're able to see things that they're doing and 33 00:02:41,448 --> 00:02:47,418 habits that they're doing, you pick up those habits, 34 00:02:47,418 --> 00:02:52,751 you should be able to move along fairly quickly and 35 00:02:52,751 --> 00:02:57,208 where you're trying ahead career wise. 36 00:02:57,208 --> 00:02:59,760 Who do you want to help you? 37 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:01,169 It can be anyone. 38 00:03:01,169 --> 00:03:08,225 It can literally be someone on your team or someone across the company. 39 00:03:08,225 --> 00:03:13,490 Just make sure that it's someone that you know has the skill set, 40 00:03:13,490 --> 00:03:18,861 has the, I guess, the ability to help you kinda reach your goals. 41 00:03:18,861 --> 00:03:22,661 Once you're able to figure out mainly what your goals are, 42 00:03:22,661 --> 00:03:27,980 you're able to kinda figure out, well, this person is very knowledgeable here or 43 00:03:27,980 --> 00:03:30,720 this person is very knowledgeable there. 44 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,974 And it's like okay, well maybe I can reach out to them and 45 00:03:34,974 --> 00:03:40,838 they could consistently help me discuss and probably learn about this topic. 46 00:03:40,838 --> 00:03:44,789 Now during my apprenticeship, 47 00:03:44,789 --> 00:03:51,226 luckily my mentors were given to me and beyond that, 48 00:03:51,226 --> 00:03:55,927 it was more so informal, I would say. 49 00:03:55,927 --> 00:04:01,960 It was always based on me seeking some sort of large contextual 50 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:06,835 knowledge over a project or a specific topic, and 51 00:04:06,835 --> 00:04:12,770 we were definitely surface level, high levels get into it. 52 00:04:12,770 --> 00:04:17,914 But then I'll probably ask someone who was very knowledgeable 53 00:04:17,914 --> 00:04:23,642 over that subjects to really bring me deeper into the subject matter so 54 00:04:23,642 --> 00:04:27,347 I can be just basically more used to the team. 55 00:04:27,347 --> 00:04:31,796 And it definitely opened me up to like, okay, well hey, 56 00:04:31,796 --> 00:04:34,485 why don't we meet consistently so 57 00:04:34,485 --> 00:04:39,048 we can see how you're doing with this part of the project? 58 00:04:39,048 --> 00:04:44,812 And it kind of turns into, for me specifically, 59 00:04:44,812 --> 00:04:53,121 it turned into a mentor-mentee relationship, and yeah, and okay. 60 00:04:53,121 --> 00:04:54,373 Get to know them. 61 00:04:54,373 --> 00:04:58,965 Now, when you start getting a mentor, it's very important for 62 00:04:58,965 --> 00:05:02,537 you to basically take time out with your mentor and 63 00:05:02,537 --> 00:05:06,553 really get to know who they are, know their character. 64 00:05:06,553 --> 00:05:09,705 Know what motivates them, 65 00:05:09,705 --> 00:05:14,912 how they probably got into engineering, and 66 00:05:14,912 --> 00:05:20,405 kinda try to find some sort of relating pieces. 67 00:05:20,405 --> 00:05:26,039 And I think it will kinda bring the relationship to life more and 68 00:05:26,039 --> 00:05:28,072 make it more genuine. 69 00:05:28,072 --> 00:05:32,492 I think once you kinda really feel like you know someone, 70 00:05:32,492 --> 00:05:36,083 you're more likely to be more transparent and 71 00:05:36,083 --> 00:05:41,260 let them know what your stressors are, what you have issues with. 72 00:05:41,260 --> 00:05:44,809 And once both of you are able to relate on that, 73 00:05:44,809 --> 00:05:48,995 then you both can continue on to actually work on like, 74 00:05:48,995 --> 00:05:53,544 hey, well, this is what I do when I have this type of issue or 75 00:05:53,544 --> 00:05:58,480 this is what I do when I encounter this type of problem in my team. 76 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:04,374 So it's kinda like, well, I understand you and I understand the level that you're at. 77 00:06:04,374 --> 00:06:10,082 So I'm gonna go ahead and tell you what I did when I was at your place, 78 00:06:10,082 --> 00:06:12,499 at your level, basically. 79 00:06:12,499 --> 00:06:15,605 How do I get a mentor? 80 00:06:15,605 --> 00:06:24,105 I want to say it's very important to start thinking about, 81 00:06:24,105 --> 00:06:28,865 well, who around me is willing, 82 00:06:28,865 --> 00:06:32,778 also willing to be mentor? 83 00:06:32,778 --> 00:06:37,837 Maybe who around me is probably has that time or 84 00:06:37,837 --> 00:06:41,486 is open to that sort of position? 85 00:06:41,486 --> 00:06:46,465 I guess the way I would do it typically is I would reach out and 86 00:06:46,465 --> 00:06:51,166 I would ask if they would like to do something biweekly. 87 00:06:51,166 --> 00:06:55,711 Sometimes it's more so spontaneous and the person will come suddenly and 88 00:06:55,711 --> 00:06:58,287 say hey, how are you feeling about this? 89 00:06:58,287 --> 00:07:04,016 Or how would you like to approach learning about this? 90 00:07:04,016 --> 00:07:06,712 And I could actually give up some time for you. 91 00:07:06,712 --> 00:07:10,695 And I've had that before, I think, go for it, great. 92 00:07:10,695 --> 00:07:13,746 I think it's very important to take advantage of 93 00:07:13,746 --> 00:07:17,553 all opportunities to really learn from just about anybody. 94 00:07:17,553 --> 00:07:22,903 I think everybody has a valuable perspective and 95 00:07:22,903 --> 00:07:28,125 that valuable perspective can definitely help 96 00:07:28,125 --> 00:07:33,083 you grow as a mentee and grow as an engineer and 97 00:07:33,083 --> 00:07:38,062 really take you to that next level over time. 98 00:07:38,062 --> 00:07:40,926 So build your network. 99 00:07:40,926 --> 00:07:45,081 Now, I'm mentioning networking because I think in 100 00:07:45,081 --> 00:07:50,088 the beginning when you're first starting out in your career, 101 00:07:50,088 --> 00:07:54,621 it's very awkward, you don't really know anyone, and 102 00:07:54,621 --> 00:08:00,307 it becomes very difficult to even start looking for a possible mentor. 103 00:08:00,307 --> 00:08:04,453 And what you really want to do or initially want to do, 104 00:08:04,453 --> 00:08:09,904 is actually seek out like people and just start networking with them. 105 00:08:09,904 --> 00:08:16,160 Something cool at my company is that they do this thing called Coffee Buddy. 106 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:22,004 And it's like I have coffee with random people, and I think that did benefit me. 107 00:08:22,004 --> 00:08:26,204 I got to know engineers across the company, and 108 00:08:26,204 --> 00:08:29,249 that did benefit me in the future or 109 00:08:29,249 --> 00:08:34,080 current day as to when I'm working on major projects, 110 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:38,909 then I know someone who's very familiar with React and 111 00:08:38,909 --> 00:08:42,606 very familiar with some parts of the API. 112 00:08:42,606 --> 00:08:48,411 And I'm like, okay, well, I can go ahead and reach out to this person and 113 00:08:48,411 --> 00:08:55,170 It can definitely flourish and turn into a potential mentee-mentor relationship. 114 00:08:55,170 --> 00:09:03,318 So I definitely suggest that everyone takes advantage of that mentor and 115 00:09:03,318 --> 00:09:08,930 mentee relationship or that networking piece for 116 00:09:08,930 --> 00:09:12,951 that relationship to come to life. 117 00:09:12,951 --> 00:09:17,219 What is the hardest thing about finding a mentor? 118 00:09:17,219 --> 00:09:20,551 Now I wanted to bring up this kinda data. 119 00:09:20,551 --> 00:09:25,063 This was a sample size about 118 people and 120 00:09:25,063 --> 00:09:30,528 it was all newly engineers starting out their career, 121 00:09:30,528 --> 00:09:35,424 and this is the main questions that will come up. 122 00:09:35,424 --> 00:09:37,051 I don't know who to ask. 123 00:09:37,051 --> 00:09:39,319 Nobody has the time. 124 00:09:39,319 --> 00:09:41,554 I don't know where to start. 125 00:09:41,554 --> 00:09:46,183 And I think to reiterate what I was mentioning before, 126 00:09:46,183 --> 00:09:51,720 it kinda takes time when you're acclimating to your environment 127 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:57,050 to really think about well hey, I know this person is very. 128 00:09:57,050 --> 00:10:02,137 Good at this thing and I think that is key from networking and 129 00:10:02,137 --> 00:10:05,920 being able to network in your environment. 130 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:13,585 So once you do that, it definitely should give you more fuel to actually go out and 131 00:10:13,585 --> 00:10:18,997 reach out and actually talk to people who, like, well, 132 00:10:18,997 --> 00:10:24,180 I know who to ask now cuz I talked to this person before or 133 00:10:24,180 --> 00:10:29,816 once you get to know some people you know what type of time and 134 00:10:29,816 --> 00:10:33,365 what type of timeline they may have. 135 00:10:33,365 --> 00:10:39,256 So don't be afraid to network and really take advantage of that, 136 00:10:39,256 --> 00:10:44,826 and I think my experience specifically, I think one specific 137 00:10:44,826 --> 00:10:50,288 experience I can recall is I was being moved on to a new team and 138 00:10:50,288 --> 00:10:55,000 there was a certain large project we had to work on and 139 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,672 I didn't really know much of anything. 140 00:10:58,672 --> 00:11:02,418 I needed a lot more consensual knowledge, but 141 00:11:02,418 --> 00:11:08,661 someone on the team did have that and I decided to go ahead and ask them, well, 142 00:11:08,661 --> 00:11:13,963 hey, can we meet bi-weekly and they were completely open to it. 143 00:11:13,963 --> 00:11:18,995 And I think it kinda just went into a consistent meeting and 144 00:11:18,995 --> 00:11:22,807 it became a mentor-mentee relationship. 145 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:28,403 How can my mentor help? 146 00:11:28,403 --> 00:11:34,317 My mentor, I think this is a very important question because I 147 00:11:34,317 --> 00:11:40,477 think different people can really best help in different ways. 148 00:11:40,477 --> 00:11:45,069 Some people learn a lot differently from each other. 149 00:11:45,069 --> 00:11:49,801 And I noticed I had to often switch up strategies for 150 00:11:49,801 --> 00:11:52,892 how I communicate to my mentors. 151 00:11:52,892 --> 00:11:56,660 And if I want to get the most out of that session I do, 152 00:11:56,660 --> 00:12:01,656 out of that time I have with my mentor, it's something that I really 153 00:12:01,656 --> 00:12:05,798 have to kinda learn over time as I'm meeting with them. 154 00:12:05,798 --> 00:12:10,666 Once I meet with them, well, did shadowing work very well or 155 00:12:10,666 --> 00:12:15,629 did talking about a specific technical topic go very well that 156 00:12:15,629 --> 00:12:19,171 I feel like I've benefited a lot from that. 157 00:12:19,171 --> 00:12:24,609 And that's just something you kinda have to figure out over time. 158 00:12:24,609 --> 00:12:25,871 How should they help you? 159 00:12:25,871 --> 00:12:29,592 Here's some examples that I've seen. 160 00:12:29,592 --> 00:12:34,540 Perspective, meaning whatever they end up showing you, or 161 00:12:34,540 --> 00:12:38,713 whatever they feel on how you structure your code or 162 00:12:38,713 --> 00:12:43,855 topics they may talk about in relation to what you're coding or 163 00:12:43,855 --> 00:12:48,533 what you're working on, I think it's very important. 164 00:12:48,533 --> 00:12:52,783 Their perspective, their experience has a lot of value, 165 00:12:52,783 --> 00:12:56,091 especially when you're just starting out. 166 00:12:56,091 --> 00:13:01,151 I've done prototyping with my mentor before, 167 00:13:01,151 --> 00:13:05,955 I prototype just a small project working with 168 00:13:05,955 --> 00:13:11,026 classes in PHP, I didn't know PHP at the time. 169 00:13:11,026 --> 00:13:16,941 So he definitely guided me by helping me prototype certain things and 170 00:13:16,941 --> 00:13:22,758 that really kinda gave me the fundamental knowledge that I needed. 171 00:13:22,758 --> 00:13:27,294 Career goals, they can also help you develop your goals. 172 00:13:27,294 --> 00:13:30,967 I think knowing the type of experience they have and 173 00:13:30,967 --> 00:13:35,666 knowing the types of questions that they would ask themselves can 174 00:13:35,666 --> 00:13:40,023 really help me develop my own goals and ask myself the serious 175 00:13:40,023 --> 00:13:45,089 questions that I need to ask in order to progress further in my career. 176 00:13:45,089 --> 00:13:46,561 So, yeah. 177 00:13:46,561 --> 00:13:51,476 And also another thing too I think after every meeting, 178 00:13:51,476 --> 00:13:55,251 you want to leave with these action items. 179 00:13:55,251 --> 00:13:59,303 And action items kinda let you know, okay, well, 180 00:13:59,303 --> 00:14:04,218 we just had a meeting, and now I know I want to leave with this. 181 00:14:04,218 --> 00:14:07,982 So I want to do these things, and I want to come back and 182 00:14:07,982 --> 00:14:12,604 I want to talk about these things and see if any progress was made. 183 00:14:12,604 --> 00:14:18,232 And we can kinda adjust from there if there wasn't much progress or 184 00:14:18,232 --> 00:14:20,754 we can at least talk about it. 185 00:14:20,754 --> 00:14:23,287 Don't feel bad about reaching out. 186 00:14:23,287 --> 00:14:25,894 Mentors usually wants to be mentors. 187 00:14:25,894 --> 00:14:30,655 If there's something you want to ask them about, ask them if you feel like they may 188 00:14:30,655 --> 00:14:35,086 not have enough context on the issue you're working with, give it to them. 189 00:14:35,086 --> 00:14:38,640 If you feel like they might not have time, 190 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:42,513 reschedule some time for when they are free. 191 00:14:42,513 --> 00:14:46,056 I think it's important to try and be persistent and 192 00:14:46,056 --> 00:14:51,253 consistent in that mentor-mentee relationship, especially if you're 193 00:14:51,253 --> 00:14:56,541 trying to continuously learn from someone and just absorb that knowledge. 194 00:14:56,541 --> 00:15:00,841 You don't wanna think too much about like, hey, well, 195 00:15:00,841 --> 00:15:06,052 I don't know if I wanna do this or I'm worried if I might be annoying. 196 00:15:06,052 --> 00:15:10,073 But I think it's very important to just go out there and 197 00:15:10,073 --> 00:15:13,921 actually try to not really consider that too much but 198 00:15:13,921 --> 00:15:18,135 you definitely wanna think about how they are timewise. 199 00:15:18,135 --> 00:15:22,350 But I think that's why we kinda create that initial 200 00:15:22,350 --> 00:15:27,351 communication with your mentor so when you get to know them, 201 00:15:27,351 --> 00:15:31,663 you can kinda gauge, well, okay, well my mentor, 202 00:15:31,663 --> 00:15:37,154 most probably rather prefers me to schedule some time in advance or 203 00:15:37,154 --> 00:15:40,684 I should probably take notes beforehand so 204 00:15:40,684 --> 00:15:44,443 we can know exactly what we gonna talk about. 205 00:15:44,443 --> 00:15:47,801 What does having a good mentor or mentee relationship look like? 206 00:15:47,801 --> 00:15:50,991 Honestly, it can be anything. 207 00:15:50,991 --> 00:15:55,941 It depends on you and your mentors. 208 00:15:55,941 --> 00:15:59,949 But being a great mentor means having dedicated, 209 00:15:59,949 --> 00:16:04,625 being dedicated to learning and practicing new skills and 210 00:16:04,625 --> 00:16:10,174 the more you put into the relationship then the more you get out of it. 211 00:16:10,174 --> 00:16:16,566 I think for my mentors, I've met with usually bi-weekly, 212 00:16:16,566 --> 00:16:22,091 one I met with at hot or just at any time or any moment. 213 00:16:22,091 --> 00:16:27,793 It honestly depends on probably what's going on at the time or 214 00:16:27,793 --> 00:16:31,531 what type of feeling you get at the time. 215 00:16:31,531 --> 00:16:35,195 And honestly it depends on you and your mentor. 216 00:16:35,195 --> 00:16:41,390 And this is just some data on, well, the same 118 responses like, 217 00:16:41,390 --> 00:16:46,014 what type of meetings they do or how often they meet? 218 00:16:46,014 --> 00:16:49,703 And it could definitely vary from person to person but 219 00:16:49,703 --> 00:16:54,131 I think it's honestly whatever works for you and your mental and 220 00:16:54,131 --> 00:16:58,723 once you figure out what does work, it kinda allows you to take full 221 00:16:58,723 --> 00:17:03,076 advantage of that and the longevity of that is just increases. 222 00:17:05,336 --> 00:17:08,787 So you always want to give feedback. 223 00:17:08,787 --> 00:17:11,883 Feedback, don't be afraid to give, 224 00:17:11,883 --> 00:17:17,026 let your mentor know if things are going great or can be better. 225 00:17:17,026 --> 00:17:19,437 Have constructive and specific feedback. 226 00:17:19,437 --> 00:17:24,865 Explain what you like to change and why, finish off on a positive note and 227 00:17:24,865 --> 00:17:27,983 acknowledge the efforts of your mentor. 228 00:17:27,983 --> 00:17:32,217 Just remember that this could be a learning experience for you and 229 00:17:32,217 --> 00:17:33,148 your mentor. 230 00:17:33,148 --> 00:17:35,302 So give feedback. 231 00:17:35,302 --> 00:17:40,046 I think it's very important to do that in order to get to 232 00:17:40,046 --> 00:17:45,008 better understanding of how you want the meetings to go. 233 00:17:45,008 --> 00:17:49,718 And also keep in mind that your mentor is also probably learning how to be 234 00:17:49,718 --> 00:17:50,671 a mentor too. 235 00:17:50,671 --> 00:17:54,623 So have patience, just like they have patience with you. 236 00:17:54,623 --> 00:17:59,574 I think it's very important as the mentee to have, if not more, 237 00:17:59,574 --> 00:18:04,342 patience with them just so you can kinda give it time to grow and 238 00:18:04,342 --> 00:18:08,764 understand like, okay, well, we can do this and that. 239 00:18:08,764 --> 00:18:11,459 And that could probably work better for 240 00:18:11,459 --> 00:18:15,061 this relationship that we're trying to continue. 241 00:18:15,061 --> 00:18:17,418 My experience. 242 00:18:17,418 --> 00:18:21,587 Networking played a huge role in getting me connected to my mentors. 243 00:18:21,587 --> 00:18:25,271 I'd say I have a few mentors, some I meet with bi-weekly, 244 00:18:25,271 --> 00:18:27,052 others I meet with monthly. 245 00:18:27,052 --> 00:18:30,084 All but two, I'd say happened informally. 246 00:18:30,084 --> 00:18:35,046 When meeting with my mentors I usually try different things or 247 00:18:35,046 --> 00:18:37,820 alternative ways for me to learn. 248 00:18:37,820 --> 00:18:40,125 Continue to have a growth mindset. 249 00:18:40,125 --> 00:18:44,995 Even when you reach your learning goals, be prepared to evolve them and 250 00:18:44,995 --> 00:18:48,575 figure out what more you can learn from your mentor. 251 00:18:48,575 --> 00:18:50,536 There's always room for growth, 252 00:18:50,536 --> 00:18:54,861 there will always be value in maintaining a relationship with your mentor or 253 00:18:54,861 --> 00:18:58,731 finding new mentors to help you further your growth in your career. 254 00:18:58,731 --> 00:18:59,341 Wrap up. 255 00:18:59,341 --> 00:19:04,350 Now, just to reiterate on what I was presenting. 256 00:19:04,350 --> 00:19:08,130 A mentor can literally be anyone inside or 257 00:19:08,130 --> 00:19:13,314 even outside of work as long as they are capable of helping 258 00:19:13,314 --> 00:19:19,055 you reach your goals with their own knowledge and experience. 259 00:19:19,055 --> 00:19:21,931 Try to have learning goals or career goals set. 260 00:19:21,931 --> 00:19:26,936 So when you do meet your mentor, there is a focal point that 261 00:19:26,936 --> 00:19:32,879 can help drive the meeting so you can get the most out of that meeting. 262 00:19:32,879 --> 00:19:37,895 Really try to get to know your mentor to establish a genuine relationship in order 263 00:19:37,895 --> 00:19:42,791 to maintain a strong and transparent line of communication with your mentor. 264 00:19:42,791 --> 00:19:47,336 And never be afraid to give your mentor feedback. 265 00:19:47,336 --> 00:19:52,397 So you and your mentor can develop a better strategy to learn. 266 00:19:54,228 --> 00:19:55,453 And thank you. 267 00:19:55,453 --> 00:20:00,057 Questions, let's see what I can, Into further questions. 268 00:20:01,816 --> 00:20:08,329 I see a question saying how long you should stay with your mentor. 269 00:20:08,329 --> 00:20:12,316 Honestly, that depends on you. 270 00:20:12,316 --> 00:20:19,124 I think there's more value out of just keeping it going as long as you can and 271 00:20:19,124 --> 00:20:23,030 as long as there's mutual benefit there. 272 00:20:23,030 --> 00:20:28,016 The mutual benefit for them being able to teach you and benefit for 273 00:20:28,016 --> 00:20:32,834 you being able to learn from them as long as that's available. 274 00:20:32,834 --> 00:20:37,175 I think it's important to keep that relationship going, 275 00:20:37,175 --> 00:20:39,933 keep that actually moving forward. 276 00:20:39,933 --> 00:20:45,850 How important is it to engage in social opportunities outside of work? 277 00:20:45,850 --> 00:20:49,139 I think it's super important. 278 00:20:49,139 --> 00:20:53,722 I think that's kind of the idea behind networking. 279 00:20:53,722 --> 00:20:58,738 And once you really get into networking, you kinda have 280 00:20:58,738 --> 00:21:03,754 a large support system, a large group of people that you 281 00:21:03,754 --> 00:21:09,107 can pull from if you ever needed some guidance or some help. 282 00:21:09,107 --> 00:21:13,889 Let's see what else, can mentors be your co workers? 283 00:21:13,889 --> 00:21:18,033 Definitely, my co workers on my very team, 284 00:21:18,033 --> 00:21:22,064 one co worker I do have is a mentor of mine and 285 00:21:22,064 --> 00:21:27,890 I've been meeting with him biweekly for a couple months now. 286 00:21:27,890 --> 00:21:32,949 And I think it's just served me very well and it just did 287 00:21:32,949 --> 00:21:39,769 me wonders when it comes to being able to actually acclimate to the team and 288 00:21:39,769 --> 00:21:44,389 learn what context I needed to learn in order to get 289 00:21:44,389 --> 00:21:49,231 the most out of the work that I was doing on that team. 290 00:21:49,231 --> 00:21:50,197 Any tips for 291 00:21:50,197 --> 00:21:55,715 people who may be uncomfortable reaching out to people in general? 292 00:21:55,715 --> 00:21:59,527 Well, I'm kind of an introvert too. 293 00:21:59,527 --> 00:22:06,408 So I guess, the best tip I can give is just know that when you do reach out and 294 00:22:06,408 --> 00:22:10,738 you're nervous or you're awkward about it, 295 00:22:10,738 --> 00:22:17,178 that it's okay to feel that way and it's okay to be nervous about it. 296 00:22:17,178 --> 00:22:21,641 Just know that all you're trying to do is learn and 297 00:22:21,641 --> 00:22:26,426 there's always gonna be somebody willing to give you 298 00:22:26,426 --> 00:22:30,911 information and willing to teach you something. 299 00:22:30,911 --> 00:22:37,515 So don't be afraid to reach out and try to find people, try to network, 300 00:22:37,515 --> 00:22:44,668 then you'll find that people who are willing to actually give you the time and 301 00:22:44,668 --> 00:22:49,621 the information and the guidance that you will need, 302 00:22:49,621 --> 00:22:54,709 especially when you're starting out in your career. 303 00:22:54,709 --> 00:23:01,232 And if you want to definitely reach out to me and 304 00:23:01,232 --> 00:23:08,089 link out to me, just reach out to me on LinkedIn, 305 00:23:08,089 --> 00:23:14,802 Dalyn Small, D-A-L-Y-N S-M-A-L-L. 306 00:23:14,802 --> 00:23:19,448 And thanks for joining in on my presentation.