Experiences from a Mentee/MentorJen McGinn, Principal User Researcher, Oracle

The views expressed in

this presentation are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oracle

The SEED program

“SEED (Sun Engineering Enrichment and Development) is a prestigious engineering leadership grooming program of which mentoring is the major component.”http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1698217

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SEED application materials๏ Resume

๏ Manager’s recommendation

๏ Application form- Prior 3 years performance ratings- Why you want a mentor and goals

are for the 6-month mentoring term- Agreement that you will drive the

relationship

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SEED mentor selection๏ Mentee chooses 5 potential mentors, and

writes a paragraph on why they would be a good match

๏ SEED program staff contact the first person on the list, read the paragraph to them, and ask if they want to be matched

๏ If the mentor accepts, great! If not, move down the list

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Goal5

Results

MS HFID

C H I

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My turn to be the mentor

Me

Me

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My turn to be the mentor

Me

California

Boston

Boston Prague

India

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Recommended reading๏ Career warfare (D'Alessandro)

๏ Unlocking the clubhouse (Margolis & Fisher)

๏ The unwritten laws of engineering (Skakoon)

๏ 27 powers of persuasion (Hilaire & Padwa)

https://blogs.oracle.com/jen/entry/things_i_tell_my_mentees

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Getting promoted๏ Ask your manager for the promotion

๏ Come up with a game plan together

๏ Deliver on your goals

๏ Voila!

https://blogs.oracle.com/jen/entry/things_i_tell_my_mentees1

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Getting a new job/career

๏ Read about the new kind of work

๏ Take a class (or two or ten) in that new field

๏ Start doing that kind of work in your current role

https://blogs.oracle.com/jen/entry/things_i_tell_my_mentees2

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Working with humans๏ Effective communication

https://blogs.oracle.com/jen/entry/things_i_tell_my_mentees3

๏ Dealing with difficult people https://blogs.oracle.com/jen/entry/things_i_tell_my_mentees4

๏ Communicating your value https://blogs.oracle.com/jen/entry/things_i_tell_my_mentees5

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Successes๏ Promotions

๏ Friendships

๏ Ongoing connections via LinkedIn

But not every experiment is a success …

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Failures

You may not feel comfortable taking the same path as another person

MeMentee

6Mentor

2

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Failures

Unclear goalsNo regular meetings No deadlines for

commitments

MeMentee

6Mentor

2

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Mentoring is like work๏ Plan it

๏ Talk about it

๏ Reschedule when necessary

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What I’m not as a mentor๏ Hiring manager

๏ Personal trainer

๏ Marriage counselor

๏ Life coach

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What I can do as a mentor๏ Help you get that promotion

๏ Set goals and achieve them

๏ Introduce you to other people who can help

๏ Recommend books and classes

๏ Give you my best advice

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Not all mentoring is formal๏ Former professors

๏ Friends

๏ Colleagues

๏ The person on your left

๏ The person on your right

๏ The person sitting behind you

๏ Who else?

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Thank you!jen dot mcginn at oracle dot com

The views expressed in

this presentation are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oracle

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