Gotta catch ’em all! There are over 150 mentors to collect. Can you become a Mentémon Master?
Every willing designer at Envy mentors 1 local mentee looking to start a career in web or app design. A good mentorship program:
- Gives the mentee realistic expectations about a career in tech
- Challenges juvenile design thinking and pushes the mentee towards senior-level design
- Expands both the mentor’s and mentee’s pools of connections in the city
Each mentor decides what to ask from an applicant. Examples of requirements are:
- Personal website
- Education history
- Work experience
- Personal interest in design/tech/web
It’s also up to the mentor to decide what level of overal aptitude is necessary for acceptance.
Note: be wary of accepting applicants with absolutely zero education or experience; lack of trying typically indicates lack of interest.
- Schedule 1 hour of in-person time every other week
- Any additional in-person time is up to the mentor’s discretion. Above 1 hour every week isn’t recommended.
- Shoot for 75% or higher attendance (any worse is ineffective mentoring).
- Mentors should answer about 1 email per week
- Mentors: don’t be afraid to tell mentee to condense and scale back communication if the frequency is burdensome.
Who’s that Mentémon?
- Aug. 1–13: Applications open
- Aug. 14–20: Selection process / interviews
- Aug. 21: 1st meeting
Goals should be set to get the best use of time for the mentee. Examples of achievable goals are:
- Skill-based: Mentees develop skills such as prototyping or animation
- Project-based: Mentor and mentee develop a web project together (mentee should give credit to the mentor’s assistance)
- Portfolio-based: Mentors help expand the mentee’s portfolio with a portfolio review at the end
The mentorship may incorporate any or none of these concepts. Whatever is decided should be made clear to both the mentor and mentee by the end of the first meeting.
WORKING ON ANYTHING ENVY-RELATED IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. This is a mentorship; not an internship. Mentees are unpaid, so it’s illegal to get them to work for free.
- How many weeks is a good mentorship program, per mentee? What’s too short? Too long?
- Calculating from the previous answer, how many mentees should we aim to take on in a year?
- What are some ideas that help the mentees as much as possible while challenging them as much as possible (i.e., not doing everything for them)?