Tech Mentorship From a Product Designer, 7 Networking Tips for Introverts

Read time: 3.5 minutes

Welcome back, Mentee 🐼

You’re reading Tech Path - your weekly dose of mentorship. We help students find their pathway to their dream career in tech through optimized mentorship from pros, peers and events.

We’ve featured many technical roles in our newsletter, but if you’re not technical (or want to transition out of technical roles), this one is for you. Meet Lily, she’s a Product Designer.

Today’s Menu

• Meet Your Tech Mentor: Lily Hu, Product Designer @Signet Signing

• Optimized Mentorship: Becoming a Product Designer

• Level Up: Lily’s Recommended Resources

• Instagram Reels: How to end your internship (The right way)

• LinkedIn: 7 Networking Tips for Introverts

TECH MENTOR
💫 Meet Your Mentor: Lily Hu

Name: Lily Hu

Career Level: Early Career

University: University of California, San Diego

Major: Cognitive Science

Job Title: Product Designer @ Signet Signing

OPTIMIZED MENTORSHIP
💎 Mentor Advice from Lily 💎 

• How to transition into a new field: Lily transitioned from Cognitive Science to Product Design through a combination of self-teaching, hands-on experience, mentorship, and online resources.

• Don’t be afraid to reach out for mentorship. Lily has met multiple mentors through ADPList, cold messaging, and NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology). 

• Redefine what it means to be successful to you. Navigating mass layoffs, hiring freezes, and the scarcity of junior positions is hard. So set smaller goals closer to reach like learning a new skill.

LEVEL UP
📚️ Lily’s Recommended Resources 

1. Figma - Design Tool

2. ChatGPT - If you haven’t heard of ChatGPT, you’re missing out 🙃 

3. Notion - A productivity to keep all your notes organized

4. Discord - Try joining communities in your field. If you’re a designer, check out Design Bunnies

5. ADPList - Get free mentorship

6. The Third Door By Alex Banayan

MENTOR CONNECT

Want to connect with this week’s mentor Lily?

INSTAGRAM REELS
How to End An Internship (The Right Way)

careercolin

View more on Instagram

LINKEDIN TIPS
Networking Tips for Introverts

(By Megan Lieu)

My last two employers never even looked at my resume before hiring me. That’s the power of networking for job opportunities.

I used to be deathly afraid of networking, especially since I’m an introvert.

But one day, it clicked that the larger your network, the easier it is to find a job—simple as that.

7 tips I wish I knew earlier when networking with strangers as an introvert👇

1️⃣ 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗴𝗼
↳ Just pretend to be the most outgoing version of yourself. What’s the worst that could happen? It’s temporary anyway, and no one has to know that’s not the real you.

2️⃣ 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸
↳ Odds are everyone else who wants to talk to them talks about work. Talk to them about whatever comes naturally to show you’re someone they could enjoy working with.

3️⃣ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺
↳ Everyone wants to talk about themselves. Gas the other person up and give them the space to just talk about themselves. They’ll feel great while talking to you, and they’ll remember you.

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