While mentoring I often ask myself, “What would [redacted name of former mentor] do?” and then do something completely different.

I still remember the first day of my first internship at an engineering firm. I was told to sit in the common room; no one talked to me till 4 pm, and for the rest of the first month, my only assignment was reviewing an instruction manual.

The only thing I still vividly remember from that experience was the common room’s carpet pattern (double triangle, intersecting), and I can still perform a factory reset to a Microchip Controlled Semiconductor Power Board.

Looking back now, I see that this was my first experience with an edge-case scenario — or rather a “worst-case” scenario. Now that I design for a living, I recognize and aim to solve edge cases, but when I mentor, I try to draw on that worst-case scenario.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with product design interns 3 summers in a row and here are some of the things I learnt along the way.

1. “Intern” to “associate”

One thing that got in the way of my getting more out of my internship was the obvious hierarchy. It didn’t feel great to be constantly reminded that I was at the bottom of the totem pole.

So I’ve had better luck treating interns more like how I would have liked to be treated myself, as associate or junior designers rather than interns. For instance, I entrusted them with smaller projects with oversight and encouraged them to speak up in Design Crits.

Pro tip: Set up a weekly 1-on-1 for your intern and and a fellow entry-level designer

2. “Intern project” to “portfolio piece”

If you asked them what they want to get out of this internship, you’d likely get a googled answer, but we all know this is mostly about their portfolio.

We’re also all aware that not everything they work on is going to be portfolio-worthy. But there’s still work they can be involved in enough to piece something together for their portfolio, or a solid case study at the very least.

It’s also a good call to remind them that they can continue to work on the projects they didn’t get to see through and include them in their portfolio as long as they clearly indicate the point at which their internship ended and they began using their own time to complete the work.

Pro tip: Highlight the artifacts explicitly so they can structure and label the components of the work accurately in their book.

3. “Micro-management” to “check-ins”

Working remotely can be tricky, especially when there’s mentoring in the mix. You might feel an urge to monitor their activity on Figma but imagine a time early in your career where a superior’s idea of oversight is hovering, making you push pixels — doesn’t sound fun, does it? Instead, give them the breathing room they may need to get their bearings and opt for more casual check-ins that are frequent but brief.

Pro tip: Touch base with your designer over Zoom at the end of each day to make sure they’re not blocked so they can continue their work without any delays the next day.

4. “Design team” to “cross-functional team”

One thing I was clueless about as an intern was the logistics, mechanics and everything else that would happen behind the scenes. It took me a while to understand the complexities of multiple teams and departments collaborating effectively.

Product Design is only possible through cross-functional collaboration and effective communication. So make sure your intern gets their chance to become familiar with giving status updates and reaching out to the teams that are involved in the design.

Pro tip: Encourage close collaboration with their Scrum/Product Management, get them to manage their tickets on their own and make sure they feel comfortable talking about their work in stand-ups.

5. “Present” to “present more”

Articulating design decisions clearly is half the battle. The more they get to do it, the better they’ll become.

It also takes practice to fine-tune your presentation style and make adjustments based on your audience.

Finally, remind them to make use of “Speaker Notes” and to always present in slideshow mode.

Pro tip: Present first while they’re shadowing you in a similar meeting, and then let them take the lead in the next one.

Working with interns has been an invaluable learning experience for me, too. I’d even go so far as to say mentoring has made me a better designer.

Consider some of your own “worst case scenario” internship moments, give yourself a pat on the back for surviving them, and think about what you can do to help your intern avoid the same challenges.

If I could, I’d give my 20-year-old self a hug and assure him that even the worst moments of his internship will be of use one day while he’s mentoring others.