Being a senior-level professional means you are already successful in a certain field. However, in our dynamic world, you always need to learn new things. If you are looking for an effective way to increase your value as a professional, develop new skills and upgrade existing ones, mentorship can do wonders for you.
Yurii and Volodymyr have been working at N-iX for over 4 years and have got solid technical expertise. Yurii Mysak, a Tech Lead, decided to apply to the mentorship program at N-iX to sharpen his tech skills. Volodymyr Tatsakovych, his mentor, a Tech Lead and a Software Architect, was glad to take on the role of a mentor and share his knowledge.
Is mentorship effective for senior-level professionals and how to get the most out of it? Yurii and Volodymyr share their stories.
How did you decide to apply for mentorship?
Yurii: I started working at N-iX 4 years ago, and I changed my roles and projects several times. At first, I had plenty of responsibilities that required solid PHP knowledge, but then I focused more on JavaScript and DevOps tasks. Despite a strong interest in the new stuff, especially DevOps, I wanted to advance my PHP skills, even though I did not have any urgent PHP tasks on my project.
How did you make the learning process effective?
Volodymyr: First of all, we identified the areas for improvement. Based on this, we came up with the idea of a fictional project so Yura could learn by doing. We added complex and often inappropriate features and Yura could practice his refactoring and redesign skills. It allowed us to discuss different problems and their solutions. Such a model is measurable so we could track the progress and see the results. We tried to make our meetings as effective as possible, so we always had an agenda and met on demand whenever there were any questions.
Which benefits did mentorship bring you?
Yurii: The mentorship program allowed me to reveal gaps in my PHP knowledge and fill them under Volodymyr’s guidance. I’ve got the understanding of the modern PHP context, how it is used in 2019, and its most popular tools and frameworks. I also improved my knowledge of microservices.
How can mentorship be useful for senior professionals?
Yurii: Senior developers often feel too confident in themselves focused on their own project tasks. So there is a risk to lose your edge, especially if you do not have enough practice. In the tech world, you need to keep up with technological advancements. And a personalized mentorship like this is a perfect opportunity to maintain and develop your skills.
What is the biggest value for you as a mentor?
Volodymyr: I really enjoy sharing knowledge and seeing others grow. I remember the questions my mentee had at the beginning and I can see a huge difference now. Yura has made rapid progress and it feels great to be part of it.
I believe mentorship is a great way to develop oneself. I enjoy watching how people grow with the company and how the company grows with the people.
Ukraine, Europe