Mentorship programs are everywhere. In a highly technical field like civil engineering, these relationships can be extremely beneficial for career growth.
But the success of a mentorship doesn’t rely on the mentor alone. To truly get the most out of these relationships, mentees must take a look inward to determine where they are now and where they want to go.
In a recent Thursdays@3 discussion, four civil engineers came together to discuss how mentees can make the most out of a mentorship, emphasizing that these programs are a two-way street. Below is their advice on how mentees can guide their mentorships forward.
Megan Finney, P.E., A.M.ASCE
Bridge engineer at Neel-Schaffer, Inc; Starkville, Mississippi
“It’s up to you as a mentee to pick your mentors and what you want to get from them, and the sooner you learn that, the better.
“When you're setting out to decide what type of mentor you want, the first thing you need to do is to look at the goals you want to accomplish and then branch out until you're at more long-term goals.
“One of the best things that I've discovered – especially if you work for a larger company – is looking through the contact list, and if you have certain goals that you want to accomplish, picking out some mentors who have already accomplished them. It sounds like such a cliche, but it'll really help you.”
Kris Salvatera, P.E., M.ASCE
Aviation civil engineer at Primera Engineers; Chicago
“Part of it is finding your strengths and weaknesses, then understanding what you want to improve on. From there, start an internal timeline, set your goal, know how advanced you want to get from that, and see an end picture.
“I do a lot of self-reflection, and I need to improve on a lot of things, and sometimes it can be too much. So, start with small goals first and go from there. Then I can expand to larger goals and write it all down.
“It doesn't have to be a special format where you write things down with your mentor, but if you write things down, if you take notes and you come back and meet with them a month or two later, you can see that growth progression, and that’s a big motivator to keep it moving along and see that you're actually growing.”
Summer Prentice, A.M.ASCE
Structural engineering intern at Stewart; Charlotte, North Carolina
“Writing goals down is amazing, but you also need to differentiate between your short-term and long-term goals. In my mentorship program, we were meeting weekly or biweekly, but for some of those bigger goals I have, I can’t get too discouraged. How much is really going to change in a week or two? Just remember that these types of things take time.
“Maybe it's not something that you can write down, maybe you're nervous about presenting. It's more about how confident you feel now, not necessarily a checkbox of if you've completed something.
“Have a few detailed ones that are short-term and have some that are more long-term where maybe over a year, you’ll see that growth rather than coming into your meetings and thinking that you haven't grown at all.”
Brittni Stewart, P.E., M.ASCE
Bridge engineer at Lochner; Orlando, Florida
“At the beginning of my program, we all set goals with our mentors. When you met, you were supposed to go over those goals and see how you were progressing. Your mentor would give you feedback. You would implement that feedback. You'd come back and say, this is what I learned.
“So, even during happy hour, I would have a list of questions. Something I struggle with is presentations. I would ask my mentor for help and advice on how to do presentations and how to take that step in my career and come prepared with questions specifically about everything that goes into getting a presentation done for a client.
“Have an idea of what it is that you are trying to get from your mentor. You're not just hanging out – that's not the goal. The goal is to grow. So come with questions. They wouldn't be offering to be a mentor if they didn't want to answer your questions. They are there to help you.”
Learn more about and consider joining ASCE Mentor Match.
