Mentorship Guidelines

We are committed to develop and expand the skills and networks of developers regardless of skill, age, sex, ethnicity, geographical location, or other factors. We aim to provide both services for discovering those who wish to mentor and be mentored, pairing mentors and apprentices, and supporting them in their on-going relationships. We also aim to provide mediation and oversight when issues in mentorship relationships occur.

Mentors are teachers and counselors and coaches and friends, but they are not perfect and aren't expected to be. Here are a few rules:

• Trust and Respect your apprentice
• Listen don't just hear
• Help your apprentice define and achieve goals
• Offer advice, references, resources, constructive feedback
• Give support when your apprentice succeeds, and when they fail
• Communicate and make sure you clearly define the skills you wish to pass on

Apprentices are students and team members and friends, but they are not perfect and aren't expected to be. Here are a few rules:

• Take responsibility for your career goals
• Listen and share your desires, needs, and ask questions
• Incorporate feedback given, otherwise you will not grow
• Make time for interaction
• Have realistic expectations and approach the relationship with honesty

You've decided if you want to mentor or apprentice, you've decided what skills you wish to teach or learn, and you've created your profile - next is the hard part:

1. Find a Partner
   1. Look for an apprentice/mentor who matches in skills and availability
   2. Communicate, preferably in realtime
   3. Look for compatible personality and drive
2. Create Goals
   1. Both sides together, never a one way street
   2. Goals will evolve with circumstances and time and this will be on-going
   3. Goals should be specific enough to clearly define progress
   4. Save them, write them down, don't set time limits
3. Communicate
   1. Interaction is the key to good mentorship
   2. Online is never quite as good as face-to-face, but far better than nothing
   3. Use the tech tools available
   4. No one is ever "too busy"
4. Long Term Maintainence
   1. Change the goals as you achieve them
   2. Change the nature of the relationship as skills advance
   3. Some day you may want to say good-bye and move on
   4. Issues with a relationship should be dealt with via mediation when things grow contentious

Mentoring Information

• PHP Mentoring How-To
• http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_70.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentorship
• http://www.iop.org/careers/mentoring/benefits/page_38864.html
• http://www.mentorscout.com/about/mentor-benefits.cfm
• http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327809jls0603_2
• http://www.mindflash.com/blog/2011/07/mentoring-2-0-why-gen-y-demands-a-new-approach