My first approach with MentorME and what I learned.
I approached MentorME during my current job at Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, thanks to the good relationship that my manager has with the app team and with Raúl Elizondo who is the co-founder.
I started as a mentor, which I still do today. The first time I experienced this, was during a pilot program between HPE and TecMilenio University, and it helped me realize that, although many universities seek to provide vocational guidance to students, sometimes they do not have support in the personal aspect. This is where MentorME comes in as a tool to consolidate this follow-up given by universities but involving both areas.
The first mentee I had, came with many doubts about whether he would have a job once graduated, how much he would earn, etc. The role of the mentor at this time is key, by sharing one’s own experience and giving additional teaching to what was learned during the career. Something that I consider extremely satisfactory because I am providing an accompaniment that I would have liked to have when I was a student.
This was precisely one of the first things that I took away from this first approach. Remembering things that I didn’t have, and that I know can have a huge impact on others, and at the same time somehow return the support that I received from my mentors during my professional life.
From this experience, the greatest learning I took away is the desire to grow those mentees have. I think you keep the illusion that all things can come on their own but seeing them hungry to look for new tools and be able to get the best out of each of the mentors, makes me wonder “why don’t I do the same?”, not only at the graduate level entering professional life, if not looking for a person to guide me constantly. Many times, I fell into the idea that being in a certain position, there was not much that someone else could teach me, but it was the students who showed me how wrong I was, and that it is extremely important to have a mentor who continues to encourage and motivate you to continue growing.
In what aspects have I applied these learnings?
Mainly, I have been able to put into practice what I have learned in the professional aspect. It has helped me a lot as I have had the opportunity to play leadership roles and at the same time train new members of a team. And I have been able to realize that also when we have someone of “entry” level in the company, they arrive with the same doubts, fears, and concerns as many of the mentees with which I have worked. So, everything I practiced in the mentoring process, I can apply it with the same methodologies, but towards the people, I have led.
On the other hand, also as a mentee, I understand that if a student has the desire to grow, learn and look for a mentor, I can also seek a development beyond what I have already experienced.
Personally, in my hobbies and in many other things, knowing how to guide people towards the same goal, has led me to stay with the same idea of always teaching and looking for someone who knows more than you in any aspect. There is something to learn from everyone.
The impact MentorME continues to have on my life
I know that new challenges always come, and what continues to impact me about MentorME is that it is a program that forces you to be consistent in what you can teach a student in relation to what you do.
If I tell a mentee “You have to encourage yourself to new challenges and get out of your comfort zone”, it is something that I have to continue to apply. It helps me to be able to align my life because I think it doesn’t make sense to teach something that you don’t do yourself.
It has made me a consistent leader to continue sharing knowledge and be a model for minds but always from the example, beyond words.
Here I would like to invite all those who have the concern to be mentors, to do so. Finally, I believe that the best way to learn and remember is to teach, and this is a great investment of time to continue to grow and support preparing students to have a large and strong workforce in the future.
