Mentor Joni Rämö

Joining the mentoring programme was an easy decision for Joni. "I received an email from the programme leader. I had possibly been found in the depths of LinkedIn," Joni chuckles. He has been interested in mentoring others for a long time, and in his previous jobs he has acted as a "buddy" to new colleagues, i.e., as an introduction and contact for less experienced colleagues. However, early in his career, Joni himself felt that he did not dare to ask more experienced colleagues the dumbest questions. Joni was therefore motivated by a desire to meet this need, to share his own knowledge and to open up tacit knowledge of his field to the mentee.

Joni wants to emphasize the ease and freedom of mentoring. He met with the student about once every two weeks, mostly remotely. The mentee communicated and asked questions on average once a week, and Joni felt that the collaboration was balanced. The interaction was facilitated by the student's pro-activity and receptiveness. During the meetings, Joni discussed the mentee’s current job search, shared his organization’s perspective on software development and the project life cycles in the industry. Joni had also prepared frequent technical exercises for job interviews, which he remembers benefiting the mentee a lot. Further contacts between Joni and the mentee were established, for example when discussing university courses.

Joni finds mentoring very useful in the field of technology. It helps students to identify their own interests and gives them concrete tips on how to get their first job in their field. Although the threshold to join the programme is not high in terms of time, Joni is keen to mention the benefits of mentoring. "There is a saying that the best way to learn is to teach. Mentoring also increases your own knowledge and gives you a new perspective on what the world of work has to offer," he says.