I’ve written some advice on how to mentor junior developers inspired by the talks @brightonruby I would really appreciate your thoughts on what works for you!
@sarahmei @nodunayo @vaidehijoshi #brightonrubyhttps://link.medium.com/1nK0pwu35X
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One of the things I found was good when I was a junior (and try to use now I am mentoring some) is to in code review ask questions, instead of informing that “x is wrong” to say “it looks like here you are doing {thing that looks incorrect} is this correct / intended?”
I think the sentiment is right, but the question can come across as passive aggressive. I don’t think you should ask questions unless you’re interested in the answer. Instead of ‘x is wrong’ I would try to go with ‘x causes y, which would be a problem because…’
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For me as an URM when learning, there was also a power dynamic: a LOT of questions, or questions to which the (majority group) asker obviously already knew the answer, felt like a test. "YOU FAILED. PLEASE LEAVE TECH NOW" is...not a background refrain conducive to concentration.
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What is a URM? (I notice the irony of replying to this with a question - but I don’t know the answer ;)
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Hah, questions like that are great! :) It's just barrages of them or clearly "I know a secret na na na na na" questions that are...
URM = under-represented minority. -
Thank you - I learned a thing
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Agree, tweet cut down what I could say meaning it came across a bit passive aggressive in initial post, sorry
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This is interesting. In this case the medium (Twitter) lead to a lack of nuance and to me misinterpreting what you were saying. That’s often the problem in asynchronous code reviews too.
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I did a talk once on how I try to get better at code review, and a lot of it is about issues on phrasing like this. But there are no perfect answers.https://skillsmatter.com/skillscasts/8085-the-art-of-code-review …
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interesting. I ask them questions because then I can hear their thought process and find where the assumptions/inaccuracies are. I feel I can help them better that way
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I think this is cool because you’re interested in the answer. It’s not questions that are the problem per se, it’s passive aggression. (I have a tendency to do the latter unintentionally, so I’m always on the look out for it)
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ah ok, I see what you mean now
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