Mentorship
Connect
Connecting mentors and mentees to change lives
Program Leaders
Meet the Conduit leaders with a passion for personal growth, professional growth, and leadership.
Program Overview
The purpose of the San Diego Tech Hub (SDTH) Mentorship Connect program is to connect Conduits in support of education, career progression, and a stronger tech community. Mentoring can change people’s lives and it’s a really easy way to give back to the community. As of Fall 2019, there have been over 100 participants, with a significant amount of pairings.
Mentoring can help develop leadership skills, gain valuable perspective, and achieve personal growth. Mentees get the benefit of career progression advice, growing their network, learning new perspectives, and receiving practical problem-solving advice. There’s a value exchange and both participants can emerge from this experience better than they started.
Mentoring consists of a long-term or short-term focused relationship promoting the growth and development of the mentee. The mentor can become a source of education, wisdom, and support, but not necessarily advising on specific actions. It’s about listening to another point of view — to help make good decisions.
Signing up to be a mentor or mentee is easy, first, you follow the link, sign-up, and answer a few questions to get started. You will need to agree to the SDTH Code of Conduct to proceed. Additionally, mentees and mentors are not screened by SDTH, so proceed as you would if you were to meet a stranger as you begin the relationship.
Don’t miss out
Here’s more of what to expect
For Mentors
You will need to provide some information about who you and your time expectations. Once approved, you will be provided a link to our private mentee area where you can see the headlines and additional details of all the mentees that enrolled in the program. Review the candidate, and claim a mentee that you would like to meet with. Once you claim a mentee, you will both be assigned a chat room to meet and plan your first meeting.
Please aim to keep regular meetings — and set the first connection via phone or in a public place like a coffee shop. If for some reason the pairing turns out not to be ideal, you can be open about that and return to the chat room to end the relationship.
For Mentees
You will need to provide some information about who you are, what your goals are, and your time expectations. You will then craft a headline, which will essentially give mentors an idea about you and why you are a great candidate for mentorship. Usually, pairings take a week or so, sometimes longer depending on demand and open mentee candidates. A mentor will then claim you, and you will both be assigned a chat room to meet and plan your first meeting.
The mentor program is not a job board, and most likely a mentor does not have an immediate opportunity for you. In fact, that can be an unappealing attribute for potential mentors, as discovered in feedback that we’ve received. Mentors are interested in helping mentees with particular problems or growth areas, and this can be extremely valuable.
Tips to get the most out of this program.
Your choice of words in your headline or description can make you more attractive to potential mentors, be sure to mention areas for growth. Make it eye-catching and authentic.
Most likely a mentor doesn’t have a job to give, think about what skills/advice you can use help with as you seek a job on your own. That could be: Resume review, interview prep, or how to search for a job.
Mentors are unpaid and volunteering their time. Please be appreciative if selected.
Aim to keep regular meetings – and set the first connection via phone or in a public place like a coffee shop. If for some reason the pairing turns out not to be ideal, you can be open about that and return to the chat room to end the relationship.