Open Source Summit Europe 2022

Mentorship is a two way street. Even with the ubiquity of mentor/mentee cohorts, both formal and informal, running them comes with its own set of challenges. That is not to say, being a mentee isn't intimidating at all. Asking and giving help and/or direction is extremely difficult, especially given the choose-your-own-adventure nature of open source. Having been on both sides of the coin - as a mentee & a mentor on the Google Season of Docs program with CERN and several informal initiatives within the Kubernetes community, the speaker has, first hand, experienced almost all of the problems that are associated with running & participating in such programs. Whether its one too many participants on a cohort, or a lack of general structure for a great idea or even narrow communication channels, the speaker has witnessed it all. This talk aims to draw from her personal references an cover how we could better ask for & provide help within the community through examples. It'll also have an exposition of best practices that individuals could leverage while participating in such programs for an overall better experience.