Week 1 : Women Who Code Mentorship Program 3.0
Recently, I got the incredible opportunity to be a mentee in the Women Who Code Mentorship Program 3.0. In this blog, I will be sharing my experience in the first week of this program and what I have learnt so far. All mentees of this program will be writing blogs on their weekly learnings so if you’re someone who wished to be a part of this program but couldn’t, do read such blogs by other mentees as well to stay updated.
About this program
This mentorship program is an initiative by the Women Who Code Delhi team where each mentee is paired with a mentor and provided guidance to reach their professional goals. Every week, we have a call with our mentor and are assigned certain tasks to be completed by that week. It’s a great opportunity for women who are pursuing an undergraduate course in the STEM field.
My mentor
I first met my mentor, Mansi Breja, in the 'You, Opportunities and Everything in between’ meet-up by WWCD. She is currently working as an Analyst at a global financial services firm in Bengaluru. She has actively participated in hackathons and conferences and has developed several projects for the love of technology. She also mentored an international student in the Learn IT, Girl-Mentorship Program 2019, and was a mentor in the Mentorship Program 2.0 as well. She continues to inspire me with her work and her zeal to help others whenever she can. Even in our call I felt that I can freely share my concerns and she patiently guided me through each one of them.
Takeaways from the first call
Our call started with a brief introduction by my mentor where she talked about her work and her different experiences so far. Following that, I discussed my journey with her and mentioned my expectations from this program. I also shared how I applied to many programs and jobs in the last 7–8 months but couldn’t get what I truly desired. To that, she said something which really made me think differently and see it from a more positive perspective. She explained that rejection in a job or a program does not define our capability and skills. Even when we see so many people around us reaching where we want to be, we must not let that play with our self esteem or confidence.
Here are some very helpful tips related to applications in programs or jobs which she shared and might help you as well:-
- Whenever you are submitting an essay or an application for an open source program or a fellowship, etc, always get your answers reviewed by someone. This will help you avoid mistakes as well as put forward a much better application.
- Do get your resume reviewed and also ask your seniors to share their resumes with you so that you can have a broader perspective of all that can be included in your resume.
- Try to keep your overall CGPA in college above 9. This might not be the only criteria on which you are judged but having a great CGPA has its significance and will make your application even stronger.
- Be very well versed with all the projects you have mentioned in your resume and make sure you are honest about your contribution in them. You should also be aware of the technologies used in those projects and know your way around it.
- For those trying to work on Data structures and Algorithms, it is essential to form a regular habit and dedicate a fixed amount of time daily for solving problems, otherwise you’ll be starting over from scratch every time you get an interview invite.
My tasks for the week
- Find a peer who is also learning DSA, to discuss problems and make it a compulsory habit to code every day.
- Make a list of topics commonly asked in SDE interviews. And also note my expertise so far in each of them.
- Make a Google doc to track the questions solved each day with details.
That’s all about our first call! I am very thankful to be mentored by her and I hope to give my best in this program and make her proud. Eagerly looking forward to the next week, stay tuned!