This article was originally posted on Hackmamba.
Do you want to take the next step of your technical writing career and step into a managerial role but don’t have the experience? How do you prove to your employer that you have the skills to assume such a role? Those were the same questions John Paz had when working as a senior technical writer for Atlassian. The answer he gave was mentoring others.
I wanted to gain some experience in helping people. But how do I do that? Is that catch-22: How do you demonstrate proficiency in something when it is not your role and you want to grow into it? Mentoring was one of these easy solutions.
— John Paz
As shared in this episode of The Not-Boring Tech Writer, John Paz discovered that mentoring others is a weighty responsibility. However, it's also an opportunity to embark on a transformative journey that can propel your professional development to new heights and build meaningful relationships.
In this article, we recommend online mentoring platforms where you can build mentoring relationships, explore how mentoring can help you reach your career goals, and list the skills you develop as a mentor.
Top 5 online technical mentorship platforms
Here are five technical writing online mentoring platforms we recommend where you can find a mentoring match, connect with colleagues in the field, and forge long-term mentorship relations.
The Good Docs Project
This online technical writing community is dedicated to creating templates for good documentation. It encourages writers to work in teams, thus fostering a mentoring culture. You don't need to be an experienced mentor. You can enhance your expertise through peer learning and structure your one-on-one mentoring around a specific project.
The Good Docs Project offers a unique opportunity to nurture the next generation of technical writers while making an impact on the field.
Hackmamba Creators Community
This vibrant technical writing community brings together passionate creators from diverse backgrounds and countries. As a mentor, you will find a pool of eager technical writer mentees ready to learn and receive career guidance. This rich environment allows you to share your expertise with others, provide valuable career advice to junior writers, and learn from fresh perspectives. It’s the perfect community for those who thrive on cultural exchange and collaborative growth.
Write The Docs
This is probably the largest community of technical writers. Write The Docs holds several conferences and meetups worldwide, providing opportunities for speaking and giving presentations. Whether you prefer virtual guidance or in-person interactions, Write The Docs provides flexibility to match your mentoring style.
WriteTechHub
This thriving community offers a platform for experienced professionals in technical writing to connect with the next generation of technical writers looking for potential mentors. As a mentor, you will have the opportunity to showcase your expertise and build a reputation. Through their challenges and boot camps, you can structure your mentee's learning around a structured curriculum. Joining the WriteTechHub community will refresh your perspective and help you stay at the cutting edge of technical writing.
Tech Writers
This Discord community prides itself on building an environment of continuous learning and collaboration. Its members come from diverse backgrounds and industries, allowing you to expand your professional network. Whether you're looking to share your expertise, reach your career goals, or get hands-on experience mentoring others, Tech Writers offers the perfect platform to achieve your goals while helping others reach theirs.
The perks of wearing the mentor hat
Helping others already has inherent fulfillment and can propel your professional career. Technical writing is no exception. Mentoring a junior writer can strengthen your skill set and leave a lasting impression on your mentee. Here is a list of the benefits of mentoring:
Reinforced knowledge
As you guide your mentee, you revisit concepts with a newfound understanding. They say the best way to identify gaps in your knowledge is to try to teach it to someone else. Mentoring is an opportunity for you to solidify your knowledge and fill in any cracks you identify along the way.
Building a professional network
Your mentee today could be your next collaborator or even your boss tomorrow. They could refer you to your next employer. Mentoring others means forging real connections that can lead to collaborative projects, job opportunities, or a community of peers to whom you can turn for advice and support.
Career development and recognition
When you mentor others, you become known for your professional achievement and for being a leader who uplifts those around you. This reputation can lead to new opportunities as employers and peers value leaders who uplift others. In fact, a Sun Microsystems career progress study found that “mentors are 20% more likely to receive a raise and six times more likely to be promoted to a bigger job”.
Skills you develop as a mentor
As you mentor others, you also sharpen soft skills you can leverage as a technical writer.
Communication and interpersonal skills
As a mentor, you must listen actively to your mentees and understand their struggles. You must also learn to break down complex information into digestible pieces and communicate information clearly.
Leadership and coaching abilities
Mentoring puts you in a leadership position where you are a guide, a cheerleader, and a source of inspiration. You will learn to give constructive feedback that encourages rather than discourages. You will develop the ability to assess your mentee’s skills and set goals that challenge but don’t break them. An amazing mentor is one who inspires!
Subject matter expertise
You will need a continuous learning approach to teach your mentee and dominate the topics you delve into together. This requires understanding the ‘what’, the ‘why’, and the ‘how’-a level of mastery that solidifies your position as an industry expert.
Problem-solving
Your mentee will come to you with problems they can not solve independently. Your job will be to analyze, break down into simpler tasks, and strategize creative solutions. This process of addressing problems from diverse perspectives will sharpen your critical thinking and critical skills.
Time management and organizational skills
Balancing your professional commitments with your mentoring program will require mastering the art of time management, prioritization, and setting realistic goals for yourself and your mentee. As a result, you'll become a more efficient and organized technical writer.
Conclusion
Mentoring is more than just a role - it catalyzes career growth and personal growth. Like in the case of John Paz, it can open the door to new career paths and drive your professional growth. By sharing your knowledge, you reinforce your understanding, cultivate leadership skills, and expand your professional network. But more than that, you become part of a legacy – every writer you mentor will carry a piece of you with them, creating a ripple effect that elevates the entire technical writing field.
If you are ready to share your knowledge, face new challenges, and elevate your career in the process, join Hackmamba’s Creators Community, where you will discover the fulfillment that comes with lighting the path for others on their technical writing journey.
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