How To Find A Coding Mentor

Learning to code can be a difficult and stressful journey.

Sometimes, it may be difficult to handle the learning process and there may be times where you feel like you need some help. One of the best ways to receive help is through a mentor. There’s 2 ways that I know of to get a mentor and that is by either paying them or by having them find you organically. I’m going to show you how to find a mentor.

The first thing you need to do is redefine the term “mentor”.

When we think of a mentor, the first thing that comes to mind is that person who’s guiding you along the way, telling you and showing you exactly what you need to do to succeed. Usually you have to pay for this because it takes a lot of time for someone to curate this type of path for you. And most of the time, people are not going to give you all of this time for free. So how do you get something similar then??

You need to think of a mentor as someone who’s already done what you are trying to do. They are someone who can give you inside information and help you fill in small gaps in knowledge. They can also give you recommendations and share you with their network. People are usually willing to offer these things in small chunks and give you small pieces of their time fairly regularly. They are usually not as invested in you as someone you pay, but if you find someone good, they usually do care about your success and genuinely want to help you.

So based on that, a mentor can be anyone.

They don’t have to be an expert, they can just be someone who knows more about the thing that you’re trying to learn than you do. Or they can be someone who is in a position that you want to be in. Or someone who has the job that you want.

Now that we’ve redefined our terminology How exactly do you find this person?

There’s 2 approaches to this. You could either search for someone or you could have them find you. Both can work but I like the second approach. So how exactly does a mentor find you? Well… you have to be findable. If nobody knows who you are then why would they care about you and why would they try to help you. You need to be as visible as possible. When I first decided that I was going to code I knew that when I was ready to apply to jobs I would be a small fish in a big sea. I knew that I would have to do more than just have coding skills.

I decided to start posting daily on LinkedIn. Originally I thought that this would be a great way to network and eventually be able to show recruiters and future employees my journey and how I learned to code. What ended up happening was that people really liked my content and started engaging with it. Eventually people saw that I was consistent and began to take me seriously.?

Now that I started to gain a brand and a reputation, people became invested in my story and started to reach out to try to help me. The main point here is that I made myself as visible as possible. You can do this too. I recommend you do this by posting daily on linkedIn but you could also use Twitter or your preferred platform. Another thing that you might want to do is have at least one more platform to start creating content on. This could be Youtube, a blog, or something else. Doing this not only shows that you’re serious but that you’re interesting too.

Instead of Finding a mentor, have them find you.

In my experience it’s the reverse, mentors actually find you. But that doesn’t sound right does it? Well think about it like this. Which one of these two people are you more likely to help?

Person 1: They show up on LinkedIn, Twitter, or whatever platform, everyday. They constantly talk about their progress. They discuss the value that they bring. They help others. They show their improvement. They show that they can be taken seriously.

Person 2: You have no idea who they are. They don’t talk about anything. You don’t know what value they provide. They appear to have no skills. They reach out and send you a message asking for mentorship.

My bet is that you’d help person 1. Is person 1 worth helping more than person 2? Absolutely not, however, they are actively and consistently showing up and displaying their character. They’re showing you that they’re at least somewhat trustworthy.

If you’re person 1 then you’re hard to ignore and you stand out amongst your peers who are not doing what you’re doing. Naturally, this person attracts people who are alike and who will want to help them.

Put yourself out there daily, building in public is a great way to do this.

If you’re working on a project, coding problem, or something else, be very vocal about it. Talk about the problems that you’re facing. Show the improvements that you’re making. A great way to do this is simply posting short videos explaining your project. Talk about new features you’ve added and what you plan on adding in the future.

Actually show how it works, click on things, actually use your app.

Building in public makes sure that you’re advocating for the work that you’re doing. Now, although this point is about having mentors find you, this method also works if you want to reach out to people.If you’re putting yourself out there daily, people will begin to notice you. This will help if you decide to reach out to them and they’ll be more likely to answer messages that you send them.

How can a mentor find you?

Be someone who can be mentored. Remember that a mentor is someone who takes time out of their day to help you. Ask yourself, would I want to help me if I was someone who needed help??

It’s best to have a generally positive attitude. It’s best not to talk about you not being worthy, or you not being able to do things, or how much you suck. If this is your attitude, it’s likely that people won’t reach out to help you.

Always be appreciative. I didn’t seek a mentor but I'm super appreciative of anyone who has helped me. I feel honored that anyone would take any amount of time out of their day to help me.

Lastly

Having a mentor is a great way to boost your growth. Just remember that they’re people just like you.