How can technical mentoring and coaching support your career goals?

1 What is technical mentoring?

Technical mentoring is a relationship between a mentor and a mentee, where the mentor is an experienced and skilled person who shares their knowledge, insights, and advice with the mentee, who is a less experienced or skilled person who wants to learn from the mentor. Technical mentoring can help you acquire new technical skills, gain exposure to different projects and domains, and expand your network and visibility. Technical mentoring can be formal or informal, long-term or short-term, and one-on-one or group-based.

2 What is technical coaching?

Technical coaching is a process where a coach helps a coachee to improve their performance, overcome challenges, and achieve specific goals. Technical coaching can help you develop your technical competencies, solve problems, and optimize your workflows. Technical coaching is usually more structured, goal-oriented, and feedback-driven than technical mentoring. Technical coaching can be internal or external, ongoing or episodic, and individual or team-based.

3 How do they differ?

Technical mentoring and coaching have some similarities, such as providing support, guidance, and learning opportunities for technical professionals. However, there are also distinct differences between the two. Technical mentoring has a greater focus on the mentee's overall growth and career path, while technical coaching is more concerned with the coachee's specific performance and goals. Additionally, technical mentoring is more driven by the mentor's experience and expertise, whereas technical coaching is more driven by the coachee's needs and preferences. The outcome of technical mentoring is typically knowledge transfer and network expansion, while technical coaching is likely to result in skill development and behavior change.

4 How can they support your career goals?

Technical mentoring and coaching can support your career goals in various ways. For instance, if you want to learn a new technology, tool, or framework, a mentor can teach you the basics and share best practices. If you want to improve your code quality, efficiency, or collaboration, a coach can review your code and suggest improvements. If you are looking to advance to a higher position, role, or responsibility, a mentor can guide you through the career ladder and introduce you to key stakeholders. If you are facing a specific challenge, obstacle, or issue, a coach can help you identify the root cause and explore solutions.

5 How to find technical mentors and coaches?

Finding technical mentors and coaches can be done in a variety of ways depending on your availability, budget, and preferences. You could ask your manager, peers, or colleagues for recommendations or referrals. Joining online or offline communities, platforms, or programs that offer technical mentoring or coaching services is another option. Additionally, searching for technical mentors or coaches on social media, websites, or directories that showcase their profiles, reviews, or portfolios is a good idea. Finally, you can reach out to technical mentors or coaches directly via email, phone, or message and express your interest and expectations.

6 How to make the most of technical mentoring and coaching?

To make the most of technical mentoring and coaching, you need to be proactive, committed, and respectful. Setting clear and realistic goals and expectations with your technical mentor or coach is essential, as is preparing for your sessions by doing your homework, bringing your questions, and sharing your feedback. Additionally, following up on your sessions by applying what you learned, tracking your results, and communicating your challenges is important. Lastly, show appreciation for your technical mentor or coach by acknowledging their efforts, giving them credit, and rewarding them if possible.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?