I still remember when I was first assigned with a mentee, I had a ton of worries. I didn't know how I could possibly guide someone else knowing I am lacking a lot myself. It was both exciting and a scary experience at first. I just wasn't used to be depended on like this.
Now, 6 months later, I finally felt the reward of my hard work. My mentee - who is also an apprentice in my team, was offered to be converted into a full-time position at my company!
The seniors and I came to this conclusion after seeing his conversion presentation. He managed to get so many praises from the team. My HOD even praised his answering technique and said he "surpassed expectation" at his level as an apprentice by pulling that off.
Although, I barely contributed to his presentation directly, I definitely felt proud of him.
I think I learnt a lot from this mentee. Not only was he very humble, he is also everything I wished I did as an intern.
He was proactive and bright with ideas. He always tried to make things clear for himself and speaks in confidence. He isn't shy to approach his seniors and most importantly, I wished I had a senior who is like myself back then. Someone I could get close to and communicate more than just a colleague.
In a way I like to think that I served my time well being a good senior to him. Not necessarily technical-wise, but at least I tried my best to not make him feel like he's all alone.
At least I am a better senior than MY OWN senior. That is all I wish to be.
I am also happy that he is willing to listen to my feedbacks. It's not often that people are genuinely curious on what I have to say, especially when I know I don't always have the best solution.
I still remember my previous performance manager telling me, "As a mentor, it's not just you teaching them, it's also about you learning from them". True enough, he kinda inspired me to do better in the aspects I'm lacking in.
I'm grateful I am able to get a good and reliable mentee who managed to make me feel proud. Thanks for having me as your mentor, kiddo.
Dropping by,
Melynn.
