Mentoring, your experience?
 

I've been asked to mentor a couple of new junior members of my team into the joys of network engineering. I've had a couple of mentors over the years. One was assigned by my boss and another just took me under his wing. Both helped my career, immensely.

I've mentored several people in the last few years, I think I'm damn good at it. It seems like a nice way to pay back the people that helped me along.

What are your experiences with mentoring?

I was exceedingly fortunate to have a manager many years ago that saw some potential and chose to mentor me. The short story is that my mentor changed my life.
I use what I have since learned to mentor my employees in interpersonal skills.

Thanks for starting this thread, Stan. It renewed some very good memories of a hard driving, but very supportive boss. :)

A little different from the previous examples (since I'm still in college), but...

Mentoring is one of the most beneficial things I have ever experienced (from both ends), and has done a large part in shaping who I am today. When I was in junior high and high school, my band director acted as a mentor to me. For six years, he watched me grow as a musician and as a person and I have no doubt that it was his input and support at every step along the way that allowed me to become all that I did. In my last couple of years there, the college counselor and my junior English teacher also took a special interest in me. The most important things that all three of them did were to listen to me, share their ideas with me, trust my abilities, and show me understanding through the difficult times.

I mentored some high school students last year, and the experience was even more rewarding. One of my students reminded me very much of myself in her desire to leave the area for college conflicting with the guilt of a mother who wanted her to stay nearby. I encouraged her to make the best decision for herself and not for her mother and, after a long personal struggle with it, she ended up going to a college in another city where she is now happily finishing her first year. The other students also email me every now and then to ask for advice or just give me an update. It's good to know that I had such a positive effect on their lives and that they still trust me to be their mentor when they are in need of support.

Thanks for reminding me of this blessing, StanT.