How to Support a Junior in DevRel

Mentorship, hiring, and support of juniors in DevRel

On February 22, New Relic brought together a collection of minds for a Twitter Space on Mentorship, hiring, and supporting juniors in DevRel. I had the pleasure of hosting it from the comfort of an Airbnb in Mexico with an absolutely roasted back. That didn't stop me from soaking in all the knowledge that I could from Mo McElaney, Jason Legstorf, and Aisha Blake.

Fishing for compliments and knowledge

First and foremost I really appreciated everyone taking the time out of their day to share their experience as managers with not only me, but the community of folks that listened in. I said during the Twitter Space I felt like I had brought together the collection of minds on DevRel, but what I really meant was the Megatron of DevRel, or the giant Thundercat (was there one?), or any type of super-robo-monster thing that defeats evil - that's exactly what it felt like!

Being the host I got the opportunity to ask all the questions that have been top of mind for me being a junior in DevRel myself. Prior to joining the DevRel team at New Relic I was told that DevRel really is for the experienced developer, the one who has been an engineer for years, and can answer all the questions. However, that seems to be an idea of the past. Now, more companies are highlighting juniors learning in public. So, I wanted to ask the panel their thoughts on the current state of DevRel and what they are doing to help it evolve as more and more juniors join teams. It was especially nice having Aisha on because shes my manager, so she gave great insight into all the great things Im doing.

The recording of the Twitter Space is below if chilling with some headphones in is more your thing. Please tell me if I sound nervous, because I was!

Here

What Does Mentorship Even Look Like?

Right off the bat, it was really interesting to get Mo, Jason, and Aishas take on mentorship. Mo stated mentorship on her team is really creating spaces for them to connect with each other and learn from one each other. Jason prefers the idea of co-growth or a community exchange. He looks more for a relationship between people that exchange information that can assist in career growth, perspective change, or whatever, so we all learn from one another. Aisha agreed with how Mo and Jason spoke about mentoring but I specifically want to highlight how she ends every call. We say our goodbyes and she looks at me and says, and again, if there is anything you need, Im here for you. Making me feel all supported and seen and stuff!

Learning By Doing

Since DevRel is relatively new, many companies are being thoughtful when creating teams, so juniors arent the only ones learning in public. Aisha stated that as a team, New Relic has been innovative but also got things wrong, which is not a bad thing. They (we because Im on the team hehe) have made a commitment to being thoughtful in the structure and treatment within the team to create a space where we can learn and grow from one another. Shout out to big dawg Jonan Scheffler.

Free Pizza

Much like many things in this current climate, DevRel has changed and evolved to best cater to the tech community. Meetups, to get free pizza, and conferences were the creme de la creme of DevRel. Now, many communities have been built online, so a lot of DevRel is communication via Twitch, Discord, Community Slack channels, and other social platforms in an effort to support the community. DevRel is continuously changing and so is the community. More and more people are getting into tech and the best way we can grow is by learning from one another.

Goodie Bag of Resources

Follow me on Twitter because I write less on there @muydanny
Follow New Relic for all the Twitter Space goodness
Follow Launchies
A @newrelic #techpodcast hosted by @muydanny & @lolocoding for early-career devs, or soon-to-be devs, offering advice on navigating career progression. Each season we dive into a specific topic and this season is all about the interview

Join the New Relic Community Slack
Come and hangout at [{Future}Stack]!!(https://bit.ly/futurestack2022)