Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with mentoring

What's Cooler Than Dancing in a Train Station?

Lipstick Thespian — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:55:52 -0800

What Are Some Creative Ways To Get People Interested In A Giving Campaign? I'd like to hear from the Metaverse from any marketers, non-profit superstars, or performers about how you have created interest in a campaign, performance or idea you want to get out to the public.

I'd like to hear responses that go beyond the flyers and flashmobs level, and hopefully get inspired by your answers as well.

I'm coordinating a campaign this year and am having difficulty rousing folks to the cause.

I Want To Know Who Has Inspired You (And Who Can Then Inspire Me)

Lipstick Thespian — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:51:35 -0800

Most-Inspiring Writers, Thinkers, Poems, Websites, People? I'm feeling like crap about my prolonged job search and my hardships in turning from a corporate white-collar cube hound into a non-profit crisis interventionist.

I'm hoping the hive mind can pour it on with your absolute favorite mentors, inspiring people, books, websites, what-have-you to keep me fighting the good fight.

Be as enthusiastic as possible and tell me why your choice changed your life or continues to inspire you to "be the change."

Hoping for at least 50 comments in this thread.

How to learn to be a better mentor/supervisor to teenagers?

JoannaC — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:34:38 -0800

How to learn to be a better mentor/supervisor to teenagers? I have become involved, somewhat unwillingly, in a 'leaders in training' program at one of my workplaces. There are 14-16 year olds who I must supervise on the job, write evaluations for, and integrate into programs I am running. I really struggle with this part of my job. I find it annoying when they ignore/don't listen to simple instructions, and although I try and remind myself that most of them have never had jobs before, I get impatient with them when they struggle sometimes with basic workplace skills such as following a direction without talking back, or being where they are supposed to be at specific times. For example, today we had to have a talk with one of them about lunchtime, he is expected to be there with his group and he did not want to go. He told me to stop asking him because it was his choice, and I had to explain that others were expecting him and that I was accountable to them if he did not go. So it is his choice to eat or not once he gets there, but it is not really his choice to go or not...

I will probably be getting two more students next week. This is an aspect of my work with this organization that I have identified as an area in my own self-evaluation that I would like to improve upon. I would like to be more patient, to help them be productive and have a good experience, to be a better mentor who can help them get something out of the program. But all my previous 'leadership experience' has been as a teacher to pre-school children, where there is no doubt at all that I am the adult in charge and they will do what I tell them :) Supervising other people in their jobs is new for me and I am not enjoying it as much. Any tips or suggestions you can offer me?

What questions to ask some mentors?

gwenzel — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:44:15 -0800

I'm going to a "speed mentoring" event in the near future, and I need some ideas for good questions to ask the mentors... My employer is putting on a "speed mentoring" event in a few weeks, where employees will be broken up into small groups and given an opportunity to ask questions and absorb some wisdom from a group of high-level executives.

Essentially, I'll be in a small group that will have about ten minutes to ask questions and get advice from people we'd normally have little access to. If a "connection" is made between a particular mentor and employee, a longer-term mentoring opportunity might be possible, which I think would be really useful.

What questions should I ask? What's the best way to elicit nuggests of wisdom from wise old sages?

Or, put another way - if you were given ten minutes to chat with a CEO, what would you ask and why?

How can we help abused kids?

middleclasstool — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:58:16 -0800

How can I help stop child abuse, other than writing a check? This got long, sorry:

My wife and I fall into that category of 30-somethings who were terrified of the prospect of parenting but took the plunge anyway, only to find that the experience has totally transformed and enriched our lives. To our horror, we’ve discovered that one such transformation is that reading and hearing stories of child abuse, particularly those against the very young, is almost unbearable.

Things came to a head last night when my wife read about this local boy. I found her sobbing and nearly inconsolable in a heap on our living room chair. I started crying, too, when she was finally able to tell me why.

It was only the loudest and most recent indication of a growing feeling we've both been having for some time, that we need to get involved somehow with abused children. And here I thought I was just going to roast some coffee beans, listen to Joe Biden, and go to bed.

Writing a check, though something we'll do, is certainly not going to be enough.

I guess I'm looking for two things here: suggestions of ways we can volunteer time, and experiences of those who have been or currently are foster parents, which is another option we’re considering.

The foster idea is one that we’re both attracted to and afraid of — attracted, because we know we can be good parents to kids who need them; afraid, because we don’t know how much harder it will be than regular parenting. In addition, we’re both employed full-time and rely heavily on a combo my wife’s parents and a church “mother’s day out” program to help with day care. Making the commitment is fine for us, but we’re not prepared to commit my wife’s parents as well, as it just doesn’t seem fair to them.

So. I don’t know where to start, really. I’m interested in learning about foster parenting but may realistically have to wait until we’re a single-income family to actually commit. I’m so overwhelmed with questions about it that I don’t really know where to start. Still, I’d like your advice and experiences, especially from those of you who have taken the plunge.

And, of course, non-fostering volunteer opportunities as well, in case fostering isn’t a viable option for us now. What can you do to get involved?

Bonus points for stuff in/around Little Rock, Arkansas.

Need mentoring suggestion for career guidance

tom123 — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 10:31:52 -0800

I am mentoring a person, who passed out of high school. He has learning disabilities. The learning disabilities are ADD (attention deficit disorder) and he cannot spell long words (dyslexia). As a result his interests in continuing education is less. However i think without some additional education you can't succeed in life. Can you please suggest some websites, which can help me to select a career for him, based on his interests. If you also know of any other good careers, based on the disabilities please let me know. He is in bay area , california. Any good colleges near by ? Any other general suggestions which might helpful, please share with me. This is my first mentoring voluntary assignment. The organization i work with told his grades are good enough to continue education, so that he can get a better paying job

Online mentorship.

BrodieShadeTree — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:57:28 -0800

Let's say you have this great big idea to create an online mentoring program for pre-med/med students. Is there an online site doing a similar thing (not necessarily medical), allowing students to find mentors, utilizing online FOAF networking that uses web technologies? What could this all look like? I'd sure like ideas on how it might work or how it might be working for someone else. Thanks!

Animation kit/supplies for budding cartoonist?

Lillitatiana — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:03:10 -0800

Animation kit/supplies for budding cartoonist? I am mentoring an extremely talented 14-year-old for WriteGirl and would like to get her a somewhat professional "animation kit" for her junior high graduation. I'd like us both to create a film out of her drawings as a project this summer, so I want her to have things like blank cells, good pens, etc. (The goal would be to scan them into my computer and edit them together in Final Cut Pro.)

Her computer skills are limited and she draws everything by hand. Could anyone out there recommend a good animation kit for me to give her? An (almost preferable) alternative would be an à la carte deal where I just give her a bunch of art supplies that would get the job done. I'm looking for a total price of $150 or under. All suggestions welcome. Thanks!

Where do old webgeeks find a mentor?

dw — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 12:52:02 -0800

I'm in my mid-30s and am feeling like I need to find a career/professional mentor. But I'm a mid-career (7+ years) web designer/producer. How do I find a mentor in a field that's not much older than my job? I just got promoted into a more senior role doing web stuff for a graduate school (specifically, one at the University of Washington). I'm now running web communications, though it means I wear a whole bunch of hats. I've been doing web stuff for 12 years, 7 of them professionally.

But, now, I'm unsure what to do next. I feel like I need some professional mentoring, someone else who has been through the mid-career stuff who I can talk to about what I should be doing next. The problem is, I have 7+ years in a field that's basically 12 years old. I should be the one doing the mentoring (and, in a sense, I am -- I meet irregularly with a brilliant early 20s designer here at UDub to help her work through CSS nightmares).

So. I don't know what to do. Anyone else in the web industry been able to find a mentor? Anyone else thought through these issues? Or should I be looking elsewhere for the sort of things a mentor can offer?

How can I communicate upcoming events to volunteers?

cubby — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 14:05:12 -0800

What would allow multiple people to both upload information about events and view events that others have posted? I coordinate a mentoring program in Boston. I am trying to find a way to allow other program coordinators, mentors, and the young people they work with submit events to a calendar that everyone could view. This in order to make it easier for mentors to find things that they can do with their mentees. Is there an existing web site that would accomodate this kind of information exchange? Ideally, it would be free and would make it easy to both add information about upcoming events and to read the events that have already been posted.

Is there a programmer mentoring community online?

grefo — Thu, 29 Apr 2004 10:38:34 -0800

Is there an online community or web site that mentors new programmers? One in which the student is guided through the different phases of development of a small, but not insignificant program. If one doesn't exist, would it be a worthwhile endeavor to create a mentor community?