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°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û has an innovative Careers and Mentoring Programme,  read on to find out more about the mentoring experiences of some of our alumni and students using our mentoring platform, .

Deborah (2020) Mentee

When I signed up to Jesus Connect I was unsure of what I wanted to do in the future and wanted some help deciding where to place my priorities during my undergraduate degree. I knew that a law degree opened up many career pathways, but I struggled with deciding which path was right for me.

Jesus Connect enabled me to meet with some alumni who had gone down different career paths like consulting and working internationally for organisations like the UN. I was paired with a mentor who helped me discuss career options and pointed me towards different programmes I could look at to give me a taste of what working in a specific industry was like. With my mentor's guidance I secured an internship with the Civil Service and was also encouraged to become a °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹û Ambassador to develop my interest in outreach. From connecting me with field-specialists to providing quality mentorship, Jesus Connect has encouraged me to make the most of my University experience and become more ambitious when it comes to career choices. I know I am not limited in any way; my future is mine for the moulding!

Jacqueline (2020) Mentor

Still in the early stages of my career, I may not have as many years to draw upon to offer to undergraduates as my more distinguished peer mentors…! However, I do think it’s really important that young graduates and young professionals share our insights and learnings with those just a few years behind; we have a unique perspective to offer, and our earlycareer experiences and the opportunities we’ve benefited from will often be more similar or more relevant for current students than those who entered the workforce a longer time ago.

Through meeting with current Jesuans to discuss their aspirations and goals, I’ve also been able to reflect on my own journey and progress and think critically about what my own next steps might be. It’s been rewarding to see the little that I have learned benefitting someone else and turning into concrete steps along their path.

What are your top tips for those searching for a mentor?

Think about what sort of mentorship support you’d like. Do you want a one-off call to chat through someone’s relevant experience?  Do you want to be introduced to new people, ideas or networks? Do you want – and have time for – a longer term career coaching arrangement? I really appreciated one of my mentees, Harman, being very clear about what he hoped to gain and what he wanted me to provide – we settled on a virtual call focusing on some specific questions that he felt would be helpful.

Think not only about the experiences or titles or a prospective mentor, but also about who they are as a person. What I loved about Deborah’s mentorship request was that she specified certain character traits that she felt were important to her in a mentorship relationship – she was very intentional about the sort of person she wanted to work with and that helped me understand what she was looking for and what was important to her.

Never be afraid to ask questions – and in fact, always think of some questions in advance that you’d like to talk about. Could you ask your mentor what they found most challenging about a role or situation? Where they learned the most? Whether there were pivotal decision points in their career that they look back to? How they dealt with challenging colleagues or managers? As a mentor, it’s really helpful for the mentee to direct the conversation as much as possible with questions they want to know the answers to.

The views in this article belong to Deborah (2020) and Jacqueline (2016).