Start typing here.I’m quite aware this seems to be a very controversial topic, especially in the design industry where it is always emphasised to any newbie. But I’m going to make an attempt at clarifying what I mean.
The idea of mentorship that we have or most people have is one that will literally take you on the journey from beginner to expert. Of course, if anybody gets that opportunity, by all means the person should take it. This is because I feel one of the best ways to learn in tech is through mentorship or the apprenticeship model.
However, the question is, is this always available? Do we always have people that have the time and resources to take you by the hand to your “promised land”?
Obviously, not.
Truth is because of the number of growing and rising talents today, the designers we see to be “mentors” can’t cater to that number. An average experienced designer gets tons of messages from rising talents in the industry to mentor them and that can be very overwhelming.
So, here’s my proposition. Instead of finding mentors by all means, find a community. We often underrate the importance and value in being a part of a community. When we are part of a community, we have open access to people with different experience level and expertise. There are people who are way ahead, people that are on the same level as us, and those coming behind. These 3 groups of people are important in our career journey.
Many times, we reach out to those vertically ahead of us and forget those that we are almost on the same level. Truth is it might take those ahead of us a lot of effort to remember us, but the people that we have learned and grown together will always remember us and share opportunities when they have them available.
Don’t learn alone.
While joining a community and building genuine relationships, another thing we must not do is to learn alone.
This is a very slippery path because most people are not comfortable with change and learning new things. Therefore, it could be easy to fall into the trap of building in silence and wanting to present when we’re really good.
I learned this the hard way myself in 2019/2020.
I had spent almost 2 years trying to learn alone and figure it out by myself. But when I began to have friends that were on the same level as I was, I realised it was easier for me to learn and grow. They even led to my first paying product design gigs.
So instead of trying to find a mentor at all cost, build relationships. Be part of a community. It will accelerate your growth beyond your thinking.
Watch out for people you have genuine connections with
This is another important aspect in building relationships we neglect, and I learned this from Maya Morgan. Usually, we want to always be friends with the “top-dogs” or most popular ones and neglect people we have genuine connections with. Most times, it happens that these ones will have the most value to give/offer.
So, to tie it all up, if you are opportuned to have a committed mentor, by all means, go for it. If you’re not, pull up your boot straps and get to work. There are a lot of ways to get the same value instead of waiting for a mentor all the time.
Again, to your progress and growth,
Cheers.