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What's in it for me?

Mentoring is two-way learning process which is popular as a development tool, within education and employment, across the UK.  There are immense benefits to be gained from acting as a mentor, which explains why individuals continually volunteer their time to the process.  The rewards of mentoring on the Career Mentoring Scheme are numerous and below are some of the more obvious reasons why individuals chose to take part:

Training

Mentors receive full training and a comprehensive resources pack which encourages the development of mentoring and coaching skills.  This training can be easily be applied to other areas of business and mentors regularly use the learning to develop in-house mentoring schemes

Development of transferable skills

Mentors continually comment that by working with their mentee they develop stronger skills in communication, listening, coaching, time management, leadership and negotiation (amongst others!)

Making a difference 

Did anybody help you when you were considering your career options?  Developing the potential of a mentee enables the mentor to really make an impact on an individual’s life and career. 

Insight into the undergraduate community

A mentee from a different generation, gender, social or ethnic background can help improve your knowledge and understanding of some of the different perspectives of future candidates.  Mentees offer an honest and real insight into what is happening at undergraduate level. 

New perspective

The opportunity to see your role through fresh eyes can encourage you to view challenges in a new way, which can also stimulate a renewed focus on your career development.

Personal Development & Reflection

 Mentors often benefit from increased self-awareness as they are often required to ‘dig deep’ into their own backgrounds which consequently encourages them to reflect on personal development and the potential to move their own career forward. 

Professional Development

Participating in the scheme demonstrates your commitment to your personal and professional development and can be a useful tool when seeking promotion and career advancement

Opportunity to Network

 Mentors come from a diverse range of backgrounds and career areas.  The opportunity to network with likeminded individuals encourages mentors to share good practice on a professional level and creates new support networks and business links

Raising the profile of your organisation

An opportunity for employers to raise their profile on campus and target the right students / employees of the future.  This positive publicity also encourages access to a diverse range of motivated students of graduate calibre and can be a useful way to identify future graduate talent

Community Engagement

By offering your support as a mentor you are investing in the success of the local community and its future graduates

Job satisfaction

Mentors continually feed back on the satisfaction gained from helping another person to grow and develop their ideas, which often leads to a sense of renewed enthusiasm for their own role!

Testimonials

It has been identified that mentoring assists mentors to “gain a better insight into the student world”, “develop a greater focus on diversity” and to “raise awareness of issues facing unrepresented groups”.  Other mentors have commented on the chance to “raise the company profile”, and their increased ability to “develop strategies for success”. 

Read some of the most recent comments from mentors, which give a flavour of the impact of mentoring on these individuals.

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