When you hear the word “mentoring,” you might picture someone fresh out of university or just starting their first role in tech, eager for guidance. And while early-career mentoring is powerful, there’s a growing trend we see at Femme Palette: more and more mid-level women in tech are actively seeking out mentors — and reaping major benefits. Whether you're a software engineer eyeing your first leadership role, a product manager navigating a complex team dynamic, or a data analyst feeling stuck in the same projects — mentoring at this stage isn’t about learning the ropes. It’s about gaining clarity, confidence, and strategy for your next move.
Today’s world is oversaturated with the workforce, and it’s hard to be an employee or a job candidate who would differ from people with the same skills. But it’s still possible. One of the development options is to focus on becoming a specialist and move away from being a generalist. Follow these five steps that will help you succeed.
Rudina Tafhasaj is a Senior Salesforce Developer at Barclays. To learn more about her journey as a successful woman in tech, we sat down with her to discuss her everyday work life, why being too hard on yourself can be counterproductive, as well as what the biggest myth about the tech industry is.
Can you imagine if, instead of counting the hours it takes you to do a certain thing, you thought about when you will be most in tune and productive? And you could boost your productivity at the same time? It might sound like science fiction, and it might not apply to everything you do, but if you start applying it to some tasks, you'll see that there's probably something to it.
Mentoring can take shape in many different ways — from informal career chats and advice to internal programs at your company or global mentoring programs such as Femme Palette. No matter the format, being a mentor has many benefits including further developing your active listening, leadership, and feedback skills, just to name a few. However, sharing experience across companies, countries, and cultures provides even more value to both the mentor and mentee.
As much as we could wish for it – the career ladder doesn’t always lead upstairs. The same as life has its ups and downs – the career path is no different. Someone might experience being fired due to budget cuts, someone might make a crucial mistake in the process, and other might decide to leave the perfect position during their trial period because of a bad boss. The question remains: is it possible to regain confidence after such a career blow? And how to do it?
Lisbhit England signed up for our Coaching and Mentoring program. After working with a coach first, she got matched with her mentor Lucia Belkova and they clicked instantly. And despite this being Lucia’s first time mentoring fully online, they managed to overcome this challenge through transparency and building trust. In their interview, Lis and Lucia open up about their mentoring journey, what surprised them, what they learned and what were their favorite parts of it all.
Sharing your experience is an important part of mentoring and is an easy way to give back. Even with just a few years of experience, you’ve likely gained a lot of knowledge during that time that you can use to help inspire and guide someone through their personal and professional development journey. However, simply giving a monologue about your life and hoping it encourages your mentee to take action isn’t the best approach. Here are a few tips for sharing your experience so that it has an impact.
.png)
.png)
