My facade

I had my first meeting with my mentor this morning. I really like him. He is just over 40, 2 sons, wife is a SAHM. He is super energetic, very outgoing and high energy. And he has the mullet from hell...

He starts by telling me his expectations out of this mentoring relationship. Why he agreed to mentor me and what he hopes to bring to my table. Everything sounds peachy! He is quite successful and internationally reknowned. He is a scientist 5, and excelling at it.

He said a few things that surprised me. He told me that he usually mentors people much younger than myself. (Most people think of me as young, but okay.) He only has time to mentor people he feels will be a success, he doesn't have the time to dig someone out of a flunkee hole. Well good, so he views me as having the potential to succeed.

Then here are the surprises... he said that I am different than his other mentees not only in age but also my experience and exposure is quite broad. He said that he was surprised I "needed" a mentor as he viewed me as mentoring others. (?!?!?) He is constantly amazed at finding out things that I know how to do, and how my name comes up in a variety of arenas from radiation detection, to surface science, to building ion beams and doing molecular modeling. (Just call me Dr. Scientist of all trades...) He said that most people he has mentored have difficulty meeting and talking to people and I obviously have that part mastered and am not shy about meeting and talking to people. (?!?!?!)

Well I guess it is good I can put on a facade to my coworkers. I think really I am just not a complainer, so people don't know that it is difficult for me to meet and talk to people, that I really am very shy, that I have to work up the guts to get up and talk to people.

They don't know that I work on a variety of projects because I am seeking my own niche and that I spend hours cramming to learn what I need to know to work on projects outside my area of expertise, or that I would do just about anything not to have to work for the PPM. These are good things, but inside I feel about completely the opposite of Dave's impression of me.

I spent a little while going into a little of the nitty gritty. For example, "It is one of my goals to get off of X main project by the end of the fiscal year." I admitted that it isn't just a goal, but I have to, the project manager will not fund me after this year. So I explained to him that one thing I really would like his help on, since he doesn't need to help me in networking or broadening my base of experience, is to help me find a project where I fit in. Not a project I can just work on... I can find those left and right. I need something that I can apply my expertise to and pursue. He liked this.

So there is my facade... a scientist with a broad area of knowledge, outgoing, willing to walk up to any manager or level 6 and speak with them, and funniest of all... happily working away on things that interest me.