
At These Companies, Any Engineer Can Be a Mentor
Below is an article originally written by Kelly O'Halloran and published on February 24th, 2021. This article is about PowerToFly Partner Teachers Pay Teachers. Go to Teachers Pay Teachers' company page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
Mentorship programs may have once been intended to develop the skills of less experienced employees. But the engineering programs at the following companies aim to keep everyone in mind.
Squarespace, for instance, has set up an individualized specialization approach that helps ensure all engineers get the chance to sit in the teacher's chair.
"Teammates can then teach others, which provides everyone the opportunity to learn and practice mentorship," Josh Hixson, an engineering lead, said.
The result? Faster innovation, novel idea exchanges and a shared drive to gain expertise, Hixson said.
Meanwhile, Teachers Pay Teachers' VP of Engineering Kwame Thomison created learning and mentorship opportunities through one-on-one book clubs, project guilds and a weekly "Eng Learning Fridays" for engineers to pursue their own projects relevant to the business. All of which have helped engineers from all levels of seniority benefit, Thomison said.
For their programs' impacts, Built In NYC connected with Hixson, Thomison and CB Insights Senior Platform Engineer John Maguire.


At Squarespace, engineers of the website building platform each take on specializations, according to Hixson. Hixson, a lead on Squarespace's enterprise security team, said this model promotes cross-collaboration and mentorship between the engineers, regardless of seniority.
What's a practice your team follows that encourages a culture of mentorship and knowledge-sharing among your team members?
I like to make sure that every member on my team gets the opportunity to directly contribute to our projects. Everyone on my team has different skill sets, which is great because the work we do tends to be multi-disciplinary. The projects we take on can't be done in a silo. By making collaboration a necessity to success, our team naturally facilitates the knowledge-sharing process.
I like to make sure that every member on my team gets the opportunity to directly contribute to our projects."
How do you serve as a mentor to members of your team?
Practicing humility and sharing past failures allows me to support the team and help overcome imposter syndrome, which many security professionals experience, particularly those early in their careers. By sharing my own struggles with imposter syndrome, my team members are able to learn from my mistakes and gain the confidence in their knowledge and abilities, especially as our roles require us to work quickly and confidently under pressure.
How has a mentorship culture helped your team grow?
The mentorship culture we foster on our team has levelled up the skills and competencies of everyone on the team, myself included. Constant collaboration and sharing of information between team members elicits novel ideas, allows us to innovate faster and encourages everyone to gain expertise in certain areas. By growing their specializations, teammates can then teach others which provides everyone the opportunity to learn and practice mentorship.


A mentor to his direct reports as well as other engineers at Teachers Pay Teachers, Kwame Thomison has implemented key initiatives to drive learning and engagement within his organization. The VP of Engineering called out a program rolled out in 2019 named "Eng Learning Fridays."
What's a practice your team follows that encourages a culture of mentorship and knowledge-sharing among your team members?
We strive to provide a best-in-class learning and development program for our engineering team. Two years ago, we began experimenting with a novel approach to learning and development called "Eng Learning Fridays," which has since spread to other companies. We also rely heavily on learning guilds and project guilds to facilitate social learning.
With learning guilds, engineers choose a learning objective they're excited about, like web architecture or leadership, and work with other engineers to break down their learning goals into sprints. After each sprint, the guild meets to discuss what they've learned. Learning guilds have been highly effective for helping engineers level up on a specific set of skills or behaviors.
Project guilds then encourage engineers to explore a technology or problem they're interested in, like service mesh or blog redesign, that's relevant to our business. Every Friday, engineers meet to review progress on their projects and continue hacking. The primary goal is learning but if people choose to finish these projects, we actually ship them, which is a nice bonus. Project guilds are an effective way for engineers to follow their curiosities and increase their impact.
Internal experts have a natural forum to spread their expertise, which is really important."
How do you serve as a mentor to members of your team?
I use several different approaches to mentorship. With my reports, my favorite approach is organizing one-on-one book clubs. It's a great way to explore a subject together in addition to understanding each other more deeply. I choose a book we're both excited about and that is oftentimes one I've already read and internalized. We read a little bit of the book each week, and most importantly reserve ample time for discussion. By the end of the book, at worst you have a common language for a given domain and at best you walk away with a shared set of values.
I also mentor several members of the engineering team who don't report to me. We focus on career growth and challenges with day-to-day work. Mentees find this valuable because they get to hear an additional perspective and learn more about what's happening outside of their team. I've also found this to be a great use of time since it gives me a chance to form deeper connections with more people, identify emerging leaders and learn more about challenges engineers on the team face.
How has a mentorship culture helped your team grow?
We have a much better understanding of how to use learning as a tool to solve problems and increase our collective impact. People are forming more connections with people outside of their team, which is important in a hyper-distributed setup. Internal experts have a natural forum to spread their expertise, which is really important, especially for emerging leaders. Ultimately, engineers at all levels of seniority have benefited from "Eng Learning Fridays."


At the tech market intelligence platform CB Insights, the engineering organization hosts learning events that anyone from the company can attend despite being engineering-related in nature. John Maguire, a senior platform engineer who runs these initiatives, explained how their book club, video club and code dojo help foster a culture of mentorship companywide.
What's a practice your team follows that encourages a culture of mentorship and knowledge-sharing among your team members?
Our team runs a few programs that are focused on sharing knowledge across the entire organization. Our video club invites colleagues to join us every week in watching a conference talk that is followed by a discussion on what we learned. We also have a book club that involves reading a book on software development or a related topic together. We read at a sustainable pace and meet once a week to discuss what we've read.
Another program that we're in the process of building is a weekly code dojo to solve practice problems and engage in deliberate practice. These all have the effect of getting not just engineers, but anyone in the company.
Through the mentorship relationships we've built, the entire team has been able to level up their development skills."
How do you serve as a mentor to members of your team?
I'm able to serve as a mentor to the rest of the team through our continuous learning program, which includes the video club, book club, code dojo, and more to come. From the different elements of the program, I'm able to interact with many members of our teams which has led to more direct mentorship relationships. The programs have also opened up the door for other senior engineers in our organization to form mentorship relationships.
How has a mentorship culture helped your team grow?
I think the culture of mentorship that we've grown at CB Insights has helped our team mature into a symmathesy, an entity composed of contextual mutual learning through interaction. Through the mentorship relationships we've built, the entire team has been able to level up their development skills while also being able to bridge some of the gaps that can arise from operating remotely. For example, in a recent book club meeting we covered the Circuit Breaker pattern. Afterward, members of the club were able to identify areas of our code that could benefit from that additional stability provided by that pattern and refactor them.
Engineering Teams Are Growing At CallRail! Join Them!
💎 Are CallRail's engineering teams the right fit for you? Watch the video to the end to find out!
📼 Engineering teams at CallRail encourage collaboration, communication, and empathy. Ayana Reddick, Senior Software Engineer at CallRail, shares what they are looking for in candidates and tells you why you’ll thrive there.
📼Engineering teams want candidates who have a growth mindset, love to learn, and are really good at communication. They also value team members who are excited about solving problems and working collaboratively. If you think you have what it takes, don't hesitate to apply.
📼At CallRail, engineering teams use Ruby on Rails for their backend, Angular on their frontend, and PostgreSQL for persistent data. They also use Jira for creating and tracking tickets, GitHub for their version control, and AWS for many cloud tools. Get familiar with these resources if you want to join them!
Engineering Teams And Diversity - Company’s Culture
CallRail seeks to hire from underrepresented groups. They pride themselves in selecting from a pool of very diverse candidates. They value the work that people do over their resumes. They encourage people to take their authentic selves to work. And they strive to create a supportive and welcoming environment. For this, they have Employee Resource Groups, that give voice to, provide safe spaces for, and educate the company at large. Some of their ERGs include the Rainbow Coalition, Black and Brown, Women Circle, and more.
🧑💼 Are you interested in joining CallRail? They have open positions! To learn more, click here.
Get to Know Ayana Reddick
If you are interested in a career at CallRail, you can connect with Ayana on LinkedIn. Don’t forget to mention this video!
More About CallRail
CallRail is here to bring complete visibility to the marketers who rely on quality inbound leads to measure success. Their customers live in a results-driven world, and giving them a clear view of their digital marketing efforts is the priority for CallRail. They see the opportunities in surfacing and connecting data from calls, forms, and beyond—helping their customers get to better outcomes.
Careers in Web Development: Which One's For You?
We all have our favorite websites– the ones we frequent, bookmark, and recommend to others. You might even enjoy some website features so much that you’ve found yourself wondering why they aren’t more popular. Or maybe you’ve experienced times where you were frustrated with a website and wished you could add features or even design your own!
If you’ve ever found yourself intrigued at the prospect of designing and developing your own websites, then a career as a web developer might be just for you!
As a web developer you would be responsible for coding, designing, optimizing, and maintaining websites. Today, there are over 1.7 billion websites in the world and, in turn, the demand for web developers is on the rise. In order to figure out what kind of web development work best suits you let’s start with an introduction to the three main roles in web development that you can choose from.
The Three Types of Web Development Jobs
Front-End Web Development: The Creative Side
Think of front-end development as the décor of a house. The color scheme, furniture, manicured lawns, and overall aesthetic. In terms of a website, front-end development is laser-focused on the appearance of a website and its presentation on different devices. If you’re considering a role in front-end development, it’s important to learn programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These three languages go hand-in-hand. HTML allows you to create user interface elements, CSS helps you with stylistic elements, and JavaScript allows you to incorporate online tools and connect your website to back-end functions.
In addition to programming skills, front-end developers need to be detail oriented, creative, willing to keep up with the latest trends in web development, cyber security conscious, and geared toward user-friendly designs. The median salary for a front-end developer can reach well into the $90,000 to $100,000 range.
Back-End Web Development: The Logical Counterpart
While a house can be beautifully decorated, it’s incomplete without a solid foundation and efficient infrastructure. Similarly, a well-designed website depends on logical and functional code to power the features of that website. Back-end web development is code-heavy and focused on the specifics of how a website works. If you enjoy the analytical challenge of creating the behind-the-scenes code that powers a website, then back-end development is for you.
Since this role is more code-heavy, it’s important that you learn numerous programming languages and understand algorithms and data structures. Some languages that are essential to back-end development are Ruby, Python, SQL, and JavaScript. Back-end developers also ensure that users can successfully retrieve and access data. This requires creating and using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) which act as messengers that relay data related requests. Additionally, developing the code for the inner workings of a website also requires back-end developers to be conscious of the user interface features designed by front-end developers and to internally mitigate potential security risks. Due to the increased technical aspect of this position, back-end developers normally earn higher salaries than front-end developers. The average median salary for this role is around $118,000 per year.
Full-Stack Web Development: A Little Bit of Everything
A full-stack developer is essentially the Jack (or Jill)-of-all-trades in web development. Full-stack developers need to be knowledgeable about both front-end and back-end roles. This does not necessarily imply that you would need to be an expert in both roles, but you should fully understand the different applications and synergies they each imply. In order to work in this position, you will need to know the programming languages used by front-end and back-end developers. In addition to these languages, full-stack developers also specialize in databases, storage, HTTP, REST, and web architecture.
Full-stack developers are often required to act as liaisons between front-end and back-end developers. Full-stack developers need to be both problem solvers and great communicators. The end goal for a full-stack developer is to ensure that the user’s experience is seamless, both on the front-end and on the back-end. In return, you can expect to earn a median salary of $100,000 – $115,000 a year for this role.
Taking the Next Step
Web development is both in-demand and lucrative! All three roles described above contribute to specific aspects of web development and the scope of each one can be customized to the industries and positions you feel best suit you. Regardless of which role you choose, all of them need a foundation in programming.
To gain the programming skills needed in each role, you can enroll in courses or learn independently. Coding bootcamps are a great way to boost your skillset quickly and efficiently.
Click here for some of our highly rated programming bootcamp options! Make sure to check out the discounts available to PowerToFly members.
Ashlee Bobb on Taking Advantage of Nike’s Financial Literacy Program
Below is an article originally published in April 2022 on Nike’s LinkedIn. Visit Nike's company page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
“In my early twenties, I wasn’t the best at saving money. So, when I got the job at Nike and found out a financial coach was offered to me — for free! — I thought, ‘It’s time to be an adult. I should use this service to help me learn how to buy stock, tell me what I’m doing right with my money and where I can improve.’”
That’s Ashlee Bobb, Nike Media and Influencer Relations Manager, on the free, unlimited access to financial coaching offered to every U.S. Nike employee through EY Navigate™. EY coaches are trained on Nike’s benefits and programs, so Ashlee was able to work with her coach on a budget and savings plan utilizing Nike’s 401k match and Employee Stock Purchase Plan – all in one 45-minute session. She left the meeting feeling confident about what her next paycheck would look like and how her money would work for her.
“The EY coaches are really willing to come on the journey with you,” Bobb says, adding that hers was willing to work with the fact that, hey, she’s not going to give up take out, but still wants to save for the future. “The cool thing is I can see how this financial guidance could help me down the road when I decide to get married, buy a house, have a kid. Every Nike employee should take advantage.”
Sound like the kind of company you want to be a part of? Check out our open roles on jobs.nike.com3 Ways to Lead with Purpose: Insight from Light & Wonder’s Erika Morrison
Erika Morrison is a naturally passionate and encouraging leader. From leading her family in giving back to their community, to coaching adolescents in track and cheer, to managing her team at Light & Wonder during the pandemic, her experience is rich with lessons to share with up-and-coming leaders.
“I believe in motivation, positivity, inspiring, finding the good in everything, everybody,” she says. In addition to 30+ years in the tech field, Erika is a wife, a mother of two, an avid exercise lover, and has even been a small-business owner.
We sat down with Erika to hear about the experiences that have led her to her current role as a Software Engineering Manager at Light & Wonder, as well as three practical ways to lead with purpose.
Seeing Potential in Others
Erika has always been fascinated by the world of technology. Growing up, she loved cassette tapes, DVD players, phones, and whatever other gadgets she could get her hands on. When her dad brought home a PC Junior, it didn’t take long before she started programming on it. She designed her own trivia game, using what she learned in her middle school programming classes. “I was typing the questions in and programming the answers. I had a blast writing it and showing it to my family. I remember I wanted to show everyone what I made. That was my first real desire to get into programming.”
Erika followed that instinct into college where she majored in Business Administration and minored in Computer Science. The kickstart to her tech career came when she landed a computer operating job while still in school. She comments, “I was originally applying for a secretarial position at this company. But someone looked at my studies and experience and saw potential in me. I didn't think I was ready for that because I was still so young, I was still in school.”
Erika went on to work as a programmer analyst and software engineer for multiple major Casino based companies. During this time, she even started and ran a local event-planning business, which fine-tuned her skills in successful customer service.
Then, someone saw potential in Erika again. A former coworker reached out and offered her a leadership position with the company that would become Light & Wonder. Erika took on the role of Software Engineering Manager and says “it’s been opportunity after opportunity ever since.”
Managing Through the Pandemic
Erika believes that the best way to lead a team is to really get to know its members. “A lot of leading is knowing the people on your team,” she explains. “Know what each person needs — What may work for one person may not work for someone else. We have to take a little bit of who they are into consideration when attempting to motivate, to coach, to inspire because we're not all motivated by the same things.”
Prior to the pandemic, Erika and her team worked together in the office, which gave her the opportunity to do so. Once the pandemic hit, however, she had to pivot to incorporating virtual meetings to be able to generate that intimacy. She organizes bi-monthly check-ins with her team members where she intentionally asks for their individual preferences on communication and feedback.
“I have one-on-ones with each of my staff every two weeks. We go over the issues that they've had and then any questions or concerns or anything that they want to chat about. Sometimes it's business and sometimes it's personal. But, I feel like taking that extra time out just to have those conversations is extremely important.”
She also cohosts weekly remote Friday cocktail hours to cultivate her team’s relationships and check in on their mental health. “During the Friday cocktail hours, we would relax, ask some questions, or play some games. And it was nice to have that interaction again and connect with the team. It also allowed me to check in on everyone's mental health and make sure that if there was anything that we could do, we were here.”
Inspired to Encourage the Team
Erika is inspired by the example of her past and current mentors and their vision for her professional trajectory. She acknowledges that it was thanks to key people who saw her potential that she has been able to have these experiences. Erika’s own personal drive and passion for encouraging and uplifting others have led her to love her leadership position.
As a manager, Erika seeks the highest level of respect and excellence for her customers, while creating an encouraging work environment for her team. “I want to make sure that my team has everything that they need in order to succeed and get their jobs done the way they want to. I want them to have the level of success that they want.”
Erika ensures that her team members feel their significant contribution to the company and how they are serving with purpose. “We need to feel like we are part of something significant,” she says. “That’s my goal as a leader and for my team.”
3 Ways to Lead with Purpose:
Drawing from her experiences as a tech leader, business owner, coach, and community volunteer, she gives us three practical ways to lead with purpose in whatever context.
- Understand the “why”. “It’s extremely important to know the why of your company. Once you understand it from the company’s perspective, you can communicate it clearly to the team. And once you get that down, you’re able to help build a strong path for them to follow so that both “why’s” are in alignment. Knowing the why of your individual team members allows you to better manage, assist, and build a relationship with them.”
- Build consistency. “I think it’s very important that we are consistent and don't deviate from the why and the task at hand. Building consistency with others motivates and inspires people to give their best, even when we don’t feel like it. When dealing with a change or a huge transition, it’s extremely important to stick to the why’s, the steps we’re taking, and the right attitude."
- Remain positive. “You have to find positivity in everything because no matter what, it could always be worse. We can always find the negative things, but there are also always positive things. As a leader, I need to be empathetic, kind, and encouraging no matter what. It’s extremely important that I’m positive and involve my team members in the process.”
Follow this link for more information about Light & Wonder and their current openings!