> Honestly, I’m not sure all of them are experienced enough to give a useful critique
I wouldn't let this be a stumbling block to asking for more review. I think it's like writing an article or paper - once you've invested a lot of time into the thing it gets harder to see the warts. Having another set of eyes can really help catch that stuff, even if they aren't at the same level of expertise as you. Back in my research days the department I was in had a person who's job was basically reading research papers and providing feedback - in this case she usually focused on the paper structure, clarity of phrasing, and of course grammar - she was an expert in writing not in CS. Yet looking back a drafts of papers before and after she had given input shows a massive improvement, even if the technical content was unchanged. Similarly a smart intern can be a great source of input for making my code clearer and better, even if the algorithm doesn't fundamentally change.
Also, if like me you are prone to falling into ego traps, inexperienced folks can bypass the ego's defenses. A simple "hey why did you do it $complicated_way instead of $simple_way?" can hit a lot harder than "hey make this $simple_way" from a mentor. I think it's because I've invested time into teaching the intern and when they ask a good question like that my ego gets a boost from "I taught that kid well" to balance out the "OMG YOU THINK I'M TERRIBLE AT THIS LETS FIGHT" response. (It may also be tempered because I tend to view the intern's questions as genuine requests for input, so I start thinking of the explanation and realize $simple_way will in fact work just fine.)
Code reviews can also have the opposite effect, I sometimes ask mentees of mine to review PRs of mine. Not necessarily to get their feedback, but to get their questions and to help transfer knowledge.
I used to do that when I started working on open-source as well, doing code-reviews to learn the code base (often I would not submit the review to not create noise)
I don't think it's something you should have to ask for. I mean if you went to a nightclub and the doorman let you in, would you say "Hey, aren't my shoes a little out of fashion?". To beat the analogy to death, I suppose if I was walking into a nightclub naked, on fire and carrying a bomb, I'd be a bit worried about the establishment of the doorman didn't refuse me.
So: is your code naked, on fire and carrying a bomb?
