Latest / The Tech Career Podcast with Fexingo: Engineering Jobs, Interviews, and FAANG Career Strategy / How FAANG Engineers Use Mentorship to Accelerate Growth
Transcript
- Lucas: You probably know the stat — people with mentors get promoted faster. But here's the one nobody talks about: at Google, engineers who serve as mentors are promoted at a rate six times higher than those who don't. Luna: Six times? That's not a marginal edge — that's an order of magnitude difference. Lucas: It's from an internal study they did years ago, and it's held up since. The act of mentoring forces you to articulate your own reasoning, clarify your mental models, and spot gaps in your own knowledge. Luna: So the person who's supposed to be giving advice ends up learning more than the person receiving it. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the angle I want to dig into today — not just how to find a mentor, but how to use mentorship as a two-way lever for your own growth, whether you're a junior or a staff engineer. Luna: Before we go deep — and this connects, because mentorship is how this show keeps going — a quick honest thing. A handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and that's literally what funds making episodes like this one. Lucas: No ads, no sponsors, just listeners who find value and want to keep it that way. If today's conversation gives you something usable, that's the link. Luna: All right, back to mentorship. Lucas, you mentioned the Google stat — but doesn't mentorship usually get framed as something you do for the junior person? Lucas: It does, and that's the trap. Most engineers think mentorship is a charity play — you're giving time, not getting value. But the data says the opposite. When you mentor, you're forced to break down complex systems for someone else, which is the fastest way to identify your own blind spots. Luna: I've seen that firsthand. I had a junior engineer ask me why I used a particular design pattern. I said 'because it's standard' and then realized I didn't actually have a good answer. Lucas: That moment of 'I don't really know why' is exactly the growth trigger. It pushes you to go read the actual rationale, which makes you a better engineer. So mentorship isn't just for the mentee — it's one of the highest-leverage activities for the mentor. Luna: But let's talk about the practical side. If you're a mid-level engineer at a FAANG company, how do you even find a good mentor? Approaching a senior engineer cold can feel awkward. Lucas: The classic advice is to 'just ask,' but that rarely works. Senior engineers get pinged all the time. A better approach is to find a specific, small thing you want to learn and ask a targeted question — like 'I'm working on this caching issue, can you spare fifteen minutes to look at my approach?' Luna: So you're not asking for a mentorship relationship — you're asking for a one-time code review. And if that goes well, you can follow up later. Lucas: Right. And the senior engineer gets to feel useful without committing to a recurring calendar slot. Over time, those interactions build into an informal mentorship. It's lower pressure for both sides. Luna: What about formal mentorship programs? A lot of big tech companies have them. Lucas: They exist, but they're hit or miss. The best mentorship relationships are organic — you find someone whose work you admire, or who solves a problem in a way you want to learn. Formal matching can sometimes feel forced. Luna: What's your advice for someone who's matched with a mentor and it's not clicking? Do you stick with it or move on? Lucas: Move on, gracefully. You can say 'I really appreciate your time, but I think I need someone with a different perspective right now.' No hard feelings. A bad mentorship can actually slow you down if you're spending energy trying to make it work. Luna: And if you're the senior engineer, what's the best way to mentor without it becoming a time sink? Lucas: Set boundaries early. I tell mentees: 'I can do thirty minutes every two weeks, and I need you to come with a specific question or a problem you've already tried to solve.' That forces them to do the prep work, and our time is actually productive. Luna: So it's not about being available all the time — it's about being focused. Lucas: Exactly. And the best mentors ask questions rather than give answers. Instead of 'you should use this library,' they ask 'what tradeoffs are you considering?' That trains the mentee to think independently. Luna: Let's talk about reverse mentorship. That's where a junior engineer mentors a senior one, usually on newer technologies or cultural trends. Lucas: That's become more common, especially around AI and machine learning. A lot of senior engineers who've been in the industry fifteen years didn't grow up with transformer models. A junior engineer who just took a deep learning course can be incredibly valuable. Luna: And it flattens the hierarchy. The senior engineer gets to be vulnerable and learn, and the junior engineer gets visibility and a sponsor. Lucas: That's the hidden win — sponsorship. A mentor can advocate for you in promotion committees, recommend you for interesting projects. That's hard to get any other way. Luna: So if you're a junior engineer, you want a mentor who's not just a teacher but a sponsor. Someone who'll say your name in a room you're not in. Lucas: Yes. And that's why it's worth investing in a real relationship, not just transactional Q&A. The best mentorship I've seen happens when both people genuinely like working together. Luna: Any final takeaway for someone listening who's thinking about mentorship? Lucas: Whether you're a junior or a senior, start small. Offer to review a pull request. Ask one thoughtful question. The compound interest on those small interactions is enormous — and it might be the highest-leverage thing you do for your career this year. Luna: And if you're already mentoring, remember you're probably getting more out of it than you think. Lucas: That's the episode. Catch you next time.