A Good Mentor Can Change Everything

Don’t Neglect Those Working Under You

Everyone starts somewhere. This can be very easy to forget as you climb up the corporate hierarchy and get busy. It makes full sense as well, with a higher position comes more responsibility and less time for tasks that don’t directly impact your work.

As you go up the ladder as well, you’ll often end up having interns or more entry-level workers that you become responsible for. This bond is essential in the long term for not just the individual person, but also the company culture as a whole.

As a recent intern and entry-level engineer, I got blessed with two very different yet brilliant mentors in both experiences. They both had their own manners of communication, but one thing was common to both. They would always respond to my questions, even if it was a few days later.

It may seem like a pretty easy thing to assume, but it went a long way in building my trust and comfort within the company. Making yourself available to field questions and provide this guidance helps lay the foundation for a successful tenure for the mentee and the company as a whole.

So many other recent graduates I know have been deterred from their current jobs because they lacked the proper guidance or direction from those above them. It’s essential as a mentor or a manager to build a certain level of trust.

The one bad internship experience I ever had was almost directly tied into the fact that I was always lost and no one was there to help me. It makes sense, obviously, a senior engineer is going to be a lot busier than just an intern.

No matter how talented an intern or entry-level worker may be they will always inevitably run into questions. It’s not about how smart they are, rather it is about getting acclimated to a completely new environment. It’s crucial to have a guide not necessarily to spoon-feed the person but have periodic checkups and a general availability to help if they are blocked.

Make time for those working under you. It’s truly a mutually beneficial relationship that will improve your team as a whole. A lack of trust and strong bond between an entry-level worker and their mentor/manager can easily dictate their entire opinion or experience with the company.

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