Where to start? I should start with a disclaimer: this is my
first blog post. I like writing but I don’t do it as often as I probably
should. My name is Juan Pablo although most of my friends would call me JP. I
am soon-to-be 32 years old and I am at an exciting stage in my life. 2014 was a
very eventful year, it was filled with new opportunities, grief, challenges,
better relationships and growth. It ended in a high note because I received
news that my younger brother’s health improved and shortly thereafter I got
engaged to my wonderful girlfriend while on vacation.
The motivations for my first blog post are very simple. An
opportunity came up for me to further my personal growth with the help of a
mentor. In order to be considered for this mentoring opportunity you simply have
to post a blog entry on why you should be mentored. So without further delay,
here is why I should be mentored:
Learning from a mentor is very important to me. I think it’s
a time proven method for passing down knowledge and furthering someone’s
growth. I personally feel that modern societies have placed too much emphasis
on traditional academic models for learning and forgotten highly effective
methods of learning like mentoring and apprenticeships. I am thankful for having been the recipient of
both:
- informal mentors ( parents, uncles and sometimes bosses) who have by their interaction shaped my development
- and formal mentors (altruistic and experienced individuals) who agreed to volunteer their personal time to help my personal development.
I think the contributions of informal mentors are
incremental and are learned gradually. In contrast, a formal mentor provides
distilled knowledge in highly concentrated dozes that accelerates growth at an
exponential rate. I am grateful that my mentors
took the time to help me without expecting anything in return, because frankly,
I could not repay them back for how much positive impact they had in my life. I
hope that one day I can return the favor and mentor someone else.
Here are a few reasons why I am a good candidate for
mentoring today:
- I need the guidance. I value the experienced help of others. A formal mentor would accelerate the process and provide different perspectives.
- I am willing to experiment and try new things that will further my personal development.
- I can take criticism well and feedback given to me normally results in actionable items.
- I have good communication skills and I am responsible.
- I understand that a mentoring relationship is finite, so I will ensure to be as effective as possible and get as much as I can.
As a catalyst for discussion, here are some of the topics
that I would like to discuss with a future mentor:
- I have several career opportunities, one option is to continue in the current path or switch. What methods work for evaluating these types of choices?
- What can you do to stay relevant in this rapidly growing industry? What are ways of making the right investments in yourself?
- I am happy with the current trajectory in my career and life. What can I do to balance both of them?
- I would like to contribute to the SQL/tech community, I feel that several areas are saturated. What are other areas that I could contribute to?
Thank you for taking the time to read this and have a great
day!
