Mentor Eduardo Hernández Villalobos: I learned from challenges faced by young designers

Tell us about yourself and how you decided to become a mentor for the Aalto Mentoring Programme?

I'm Eduardo Hernández Villalobos. I work as an Interaction Design Associate Manager at Accenture Song Helsinki, and I'm an Aalto alum from the the Collaborative and Industrial Design Program. 

I received an email from Aalto with a call for mentors, and thought it sounded like a great opportunity to contribute back to the local design community and Aalto.

What was the best part of the Aalto Mentoring Programme?

It was really refreshing to see the challenges that soon-to-be graduated students face when navigating their career and where to go. Especially during such a dynamic transition time in the design field when things seem to change every day.

How has acting as a mentor enriched your personal or professional development?

I think I learned a lot from the experience, probably as much as I was able to share my point of view. I tried to be more of a soundboard and support than anything else, and that was really refrehing compared to day to day work!

I wish I had this kind of mentorship experience earlier in my career and I'm happy to have it now as a mentor. I was able to learn from the challenges faced by young designers and not only support them and their growth, but also reflect on how I navigate my own career path.

What types of things did you discuss with the student?

Every day design challenges, aligning your career with your personal interests, navigating a tricky job market, finding a creative voice and career focus. Also how to deal with uncertainty and have more clarity to make decisions.

I tried to stay at the margin of nudging in any direction. I mostly asked questions to help the mentee figure things out and tried to do a lot of active listening and sharing of personal experiences and what I learned while facing similar situations.

What has been the biggest challenge in mentoring, and how have you resolved it?

Definitely the tension between personal interests and pragmatic career decisions. It's something that I still struggle with in my own professional life, but I tried to —again— just listen and facilitate the mentee's journey to sort out their own thoughts. Hard to give advice on something that is difficult for me too, but it was really interesting to know more designers struggle with this, and see how they navigate that tension.

How did you support your mentee in achieving their goals?

It was fairly easy, mainly because my mentee was such a talented designer on their own! But, as recommended, we set some goals at the beginning of the mentorship and constantly kept track of progress against those goals. Most of the time was focused on supporting and discussing how to move closer to those targets in incremental steps.

What insights has mentoring provided you?

All designers struggle with confidence in our own ability and we tend to attach ourselves to our work and creative output, so rejection can at times feel very personal. I got reminded of how important it is to detach our person and our value from work, and that it really matters to understand that we are not only that. When we take some of that pressure off, things flow more easily. But it is a hard thing to do! It takes practice and you need to keep reminding yourself of it.

I was also happily reminded of how talented and nice people are at Aalto. It makes me proud to be part of such an open, diverse and talented group of people. I hope Aalto Design and Arts don't lose focus of what makes it a top-notch educational institution: prioritizing critical thinking, openness to new ideas, and making space for different people to come together. If this is not forgotten and substituted for an education that simply prepares workers, there's a lot to be hopeful for about the future.

What was the typical flow of a mentoring meeting?

We tried to meet in a nice setting like a coffee shop or Oodi library. We usually chatted a little bit at the beginning and talked about how we have been since the last time we saw each other, and then we would focus on how the mentee was doing in moving towards the goals we set at the beginning. From there, we just focused on how to keep moving forward or sort out any uncertainties and decisions. 

I tried to always keep it light and have fun while talking as peers. I didn't want it to feel too academic or business minded, but make it more about the person and navigating their career.

Was there a difference between in-person and remote meetings?

In-person meetings were much better. There's something personal missing in video call interactions. It's really nice to connect with people in person, although it takes more effort from both sides.

Why would you recommend the mentoring program to others?

Because you will be able to help others navigate their creative growth and career. At the same time you are creating community and meaningful engagement with the concerns of other designers, and that's a great learning experience on its own. I think I benefited as much from the program as my mentee did, it is really refreshing to engage in conversation with younger —and super talented— designers. A must experience!

What advice would you give to future mentors?

Be patient and think about the kind of support that you would like to have received earlier in your career, and what kind of advice or questions you would have asked yourself in those situations. I feel like sometimes I didn't even had to contribute that much, it was mainly the act of listening and asking questions for the mentee to figure out. People really appreciate being heard and supported.

The call for mentors for the Aalto Mentoring Programme is open again in November. For more information, please go to aalto.fi/mentoring.