In 2019, my employer laid off 80 percent of employees.

I was at a conference in Montreal when I received a message from my manager saying that he wanted to have a chat. The company had already let go of 40 percent of employees. I was told that the recent drops in organic traffic and revenue were not about to rebound and the company had to do another round of layoffs.

With this news, I returned from the conference without a job.

But then something amazing happened

I used to be a teaching assistant for multiple courses in grad school and I liked the experience. But I had never tried mentoring others because it seemed like a huge responsibility. I was always very "busy", and never had the time to try mentorship.

When I lost my job I suddenly had lots of free time so I gave mentorship a try while looking for a full-time job.

Since then, I have been mentoring aspiring data scientists who want to break into the industry and I have enjoyed every moment of it!

It's a satisfying experience to help others land their dream job

Job search, especially when it involves a career change is stressful.

This is especially true in tech. You're frustrated when you work on a problem for hours with no results. Or when you fully prepare for an interview and you get rejected.

Helping someone overcome these obstacles by offering advice and encouragement is a satisfying experience.

It's a learning opportunity for the mentor and the mentee

When you're mentoring someone, you are teaching them what you know.

While you're helping them take the right approach and follow the right path, you're also learning valuable lessons. You learn how to support others professionally and emotionally. You learn to set realistic expectations. You learn to give constructive feedback. And more!

Mentorship can be life-changing.