INDUSTRIAL DESIGN: how to be a mentor, because your experience is useful to someone

Mentorship sounds noble, which is usually where good ideas go to get covered in beige conference-room carpet. In practice it is simple: sit with someone, look at their work, and help them see what only experience can reveal.

I spent the past 8 months mentoring Lilly Olejnicki through SetFire Foundation, a program that connects students with working professionals. Lilly had talent, effort, and plenty of material. What she needed was direction, editing, confidence, and someone outside school to give her the non-sugar-coated version of what the profession expects.

She just graduated from Virginia Tech, and I could not be more proud of the progress she made. She is looking for her first industrial design role, and she will not be available long.

SetFire needs 2 to 3 more ID mentors right now for students waiting for someone like you. Want to mentor? Reach out to me or Ted Bozarth. Hiring entry-level ID talent? Reach out to me or Lilly.