I've had the benefit of being mentored by two VPs at Sun. In return, I've been the mentor for four people at Sun, and I'm seeing some patterns in the things I tell them.
During the first few sessions, I recommend that they read these two books:
- The Unwritten Laws of Engineering
- Career Warfare: 10 Rules for Building a Successful Personal Brand and Fighting to Keep It
Now, the first book was written by a Caucasian male over 50 years ago, so you can take it in that context, but it still holds quite a lot of value. I found out about this book from my first SEED mentor.
The second book, I found on my own, but I was led there by a woman who used to be a career counselor at Sun. I'd just attended a class of hers on personal networking, and we were chatting after it had concluded. She introduced me to the term "personal brand" -- I went straight to my desk, searched on Amazon, and bought the book above. I only wish I'd had it 10 years earlier.
In subsequent installments, I'll give you my recipes for how to get a raise/promotion, how to change careers, and how to succeed when you are working with difficult people.