The internship paradox: Can mentees mentor the mentors?

Is it possible that the mentee (unintentionally) mentors the mentor?  

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, mentoring is “the act or process of helping and giving advice to a younger or less experienced person.” 

In contrast to coaching, it is less specific, more informal, and tends to be a long-term relationship as it aims to help the mentee’s overall professional growth. 

I experienced mentorship during internship program last year. To be honest, I was nervous, or maybe scared of the idea. I felt like I was not experienced enough to give advice, or to train someone. There were terrifying thoughts in my head telling me I would not be able to come up with the right answers, advice, or solutions. I am exaggerating a little bit… but just a little bit.  

Nevertheless, I perceived it as a challenge and knew it could help me in several areas. I was aware I needed to improve my skills at giving feedback, especially regular constructive feedback, provided naturally.  

Spoiler alert, I did get more experienced at giving feedback during this mentorship experience. But it also helped me grow in other ways. Every single part of the internship process can be, and in my case was, educational, inspiring, and motivating, helping me grow.

As I’ve already mentioned, my goal was to learn how to provide feedback. Constructive feedback is an inevitable and important aspect of our personal and work lives. Especially when mentoring someone, it plays crucial role in professional growth

In the TV series Friends, Joey Tribbiani begins his wedding speech about love with the following words: “It is a love based on giving and receiving as well as having and sharing.” 

I would say the same about feedback: It is about giving and receiving, as well as sharing. Career development requires providing feedback on one hand, and the ability to accept it on the other. Colleagues, mentors, mentees, or peers – everyone should be able to share their observations.

I am convinced that giving only positive feedback is insincere or useless. Nevertheless, everyone likes positive feedback, everyone needs to receive it and, undoubtedly, it is important to give it. In the least, it is a satisfaction for a job well done. 

Negative, objective, constructively formulated feedback is the kind of feedback that eventually moves us forward. It motivates us to improve ourselves, but only if administered correctly, with a dose of the positive. 

You know, the feedback burger – positive, negative, positive – that makes any feedback palpable. 

Becoming a mentor to a team of interns is a great opportunity for everyone who fears their lack experience or courage in some domain, not just giving feedback. 

Sharing knowledge and experience by explaining problematic or difficult topics, navigating interns around obstacles, taking charge of a team, and serving as a guide on the way to improvement and success are just some of the experiences worth noting. 

If this seems as much intimidating as it does enticing, try this: 

Think of an internship as a sandbox. It is a safe environment, for both mentors and mentees, where nothing critical can happen. Yes, you will serve as a leader for the interns, but in a fail-safe environment. Still,  through the feedback you receive and your mentee’s success, you will be able to recognize what are you doing well and where you could improve. 

One of the things I realized during my short career is that every generation of employees brings its spirit to it. 

To Gen Z workers, for example, proactivity comes more naturally. Flexibility, independence, desire for upskilling, self-development, and freedom are just a few of the characteristics of ‘zoomers’ described in “Proactive Work Behavior in Generation Z Employees.”  

This is exactly what I observed – proactive work behavior.  Our interns have shown initiative to seek information and feedback and actively contribute to daily duties, surpassing what was required from them. 

Unlike me, they are also starting their career in the age of AI. Nowadays, ChatGPT is the new Google, just more understanding and clever. With its ability to provide code snippets, it is, with no doubt, a great friend to developers (and others), always ready to help.  

The upcoming generations’ ability to adapt to a rapidly changing and dynamic environment, including technological changes such as AI surely will be a huge advantage and probably also a necessity in the times that come. 

To sum up and answer the question from my introduction: Yes, mentorship can go both ways. Even the mentor transforms the mentee’s feedback, observations, and gained experience into expanding his skill set. If somewhere deep inside you have a gut feeling you can do it, go for it!

You’ll either find out that you are not up to it or it’ll push you forward. Consult with your colleagues, boss, and friends… I’m sure they believe in you more than you do.  

Do you remember the sandbox simile? It’s an environment where nothing terrible can happen and you are not alone – someone can help or advise you at any point.  You can only grow from the experience!