Points to consider for career coaching?

Coaching can be really helpful if you feel ambiguity about what to do. The analogy is a professional athlete -- every single top-tier athlete has a coach who gives feedback on what they're doing well and what they should change.

What benefits can 1:1 mentorship bring to me vs general resources like Taro?

Sometimes, the value of a coach is simply that you have someone who is checking in on you. The resources on Taro are great, but there's no human component of someone spending an hour with you each week or month. It's easy to ignore the feedback from a video, but much harder to ignore the feedback from a real-life human who is talking directly to you 😅

What are some points for consideration if I want to get a mentor or not?

Ask them how they typically work with clients, and what they've found effective for someone like you. Talk to others who have worked with them.

How can I spot a good mentor vs a bad one? How can I quickly tell that they're a good fit for me?

Use a platform like Taro or LinkedIn to see what kind of content they create (e.g. read their Taro answers or LinkedIn posts). If the content resonates with you, that's a good sign.

Let's say I have an intro call with mentors. What are some questions I should ask to determine fit?

• What is their background?
• What does the engagement look like? (cost, time, frequency of meeting)
• What are the common patterns they've observed preventing growth?
• What type of engineer is not a good fit for them?
• What would success look like in the coaching relationship after 3 months? 6 months?