Embrace the Grind
When I joined a mentoring program targeted at recent college grads, I expected to be teaching things like interview prep, resume writing, negotiation skills, communication skills, and how to deliver results in a workplace.<p>For about half of the mentees, that&#x27;s roughly true. However, for the other half much of my mentoring ends up being about time management, following through on commitments, and putting in the effort required to get a job done. A surprising number of young people are graduating college without ever having had to <i>work</i> any job. It&#x27;s particularly difficult for talented coders who breezed through easy CS programs until they land in a work environment where tasks are challenging, expectations are high, and the only way to get things done is to sit down and put in the effort.<p>One of the best skills anyone can learn is how to sit down, focus, and get work done. In my experience, it&#x27;s increasing challenging to convince young people that this is an acquired skill that they can practice and develop. There&#x27;s a growing perception that traits like work ethic, focus, and motivation are fixed attributes that one is born with (or without) rather than abilities that are developed over time. It&#x27;s frustrating to watch some mentees map out meticulous diet and exercise programs to improve their physical strength, but then turn around and tell me that they&#x27;re only capable of coding for 2 hours per day as a sort of fixed upper limit. Like everything, the ability to work and focus can be developed over time with practice and dedication. It&#x27;s worth it.