Mentoring and Being Mentored: What Does That Look Like?
As a professional, have you ever benefited in your career from talking to someone that has had a skillset, specific knowledge or insight into the industry or job role you were working towards?
If the answer is yes, you might have been mentored by someone. Mentorship doesn’t have to be a long-term commitment. It could be a few conversations, a quick coffee at your local coffee house, a 10-minute Teams meeting that stemmed from a message on LinkedIn, or even through a contact of a contact that has some time and is interested in sharing their experiences. But mentorship could also be the dedication to work with someone for an extended period of time to help them towards their career goal.
On Inspiring Connections, we deliver mentorship and networking opportunities that enable those on The Social Switch Project to develop new skills, insight and knowledge from those that have an understanding of the careers and industries they are working towards. On this programme, we deliver 6 sessions over the course of 6 weeks. Each session is 2 hours long and during this time, we develop connections and conversations that help to motivate, inspire and support individuals with their career goals.
Inspiring Connections has been delivering since 2019 and over the years, we’ve worked with a variety of professionals and job seekers from those working and looking to work in government, sport, hospitality, energy and utilities, architecture and animation, to social media and literature. The types of job roles that people are interested in also wildly diverse, from data analyst and cyber security expert to policy writer and storyteller but even videographer and project manager. The list really is endless. This is all to say that no matter what you do, someone else is interested in learning all about it.
Now you might think either, a) why should I want to be a mentor, or b) why should I have a mentor… good question. Let’s briefly chat about it. Actually, let’s look at the feedback from those that have been a part of Inspiring Connections…
Why be a mentor?
“It was amazing having mentors from totally different backgrounds hopefully providing great insight to the mentees and mentors alike.”
“Everyone should be a mentor at least once, we learn as we help people.”
“I appreciated sharing my experience with others and also realised for myself that there is never a good time to start something and what counts is the determination and network you can leverage to move forward. I met a lot of young professionals on the programme and was pleased to see their ambitions and be part of supporting them in any capacity.”
“I always thoroughly enjoy the program, getting to know others and supporting them to progress their search for meaningful employment. It is also an invaluable source of advice from other mentors – it’s a great place for discussion on employment topics that might not get spoken about otherwise.”
Why have a mentor?
“I believe I have become more confident as I learnt and applied each week’s teachings.”
“The [programme] has helped a lot with encouraging me to network more often, work on my LinkedIn and CV.”
“I was able to find another approach to finding work, I also felt the the "tell me about yourself" part helped me to really understand why I want to go into project management but also how I can apply my skills.”
“Met some great people on the programme who I have stayed in touch with and are continuing to provide useful and relevant support.”
“The program definitely helped give perspective on what to expect during a job searching process. It made the steps to break into my chosen career path easier and clearer. It was also extremely insightful to hear about everyone's experiences and gave an overall more realistic image of career paths and how they aren't always one straight path.”
Now if this doesn’t make you think “maybe I should get involved”, then I don’t know what will. I know it can be intimidating asking for some guidance and putting yourself in a position to get support or support someone, but if you never expand your comfort zone and do something different, it can be really hard to excel and develop in the areas you want to progress in, so why not give it a go and put yourself out there?
If you are interested in being a Mentor, get in touch with Claudia. We’re always looking for people to continue supporting the programme. Whether you are an individual looking to provide mentorship and advice, or a team of people looking to support a collective group, we can work together to support more people with their aspirations and ambitions.
By: Claudia Granziol, Project Manager Inspiring Connections,
Contact Inspiring Connections:
Number: 07825 630 886
Email: inspiringconnections@catch-22.org.uk
Website: www.catch-22.org.uk/find-services/inspiring-connections