Our Story
Sue – The Mentee
“Dee
volunteered to be my mentor as part of a Graduate employment program and for me
it was probably the most valuable part of the program.
Dee and I
made a commitment to meet monthly and at first, I was nervous at our meetings
and felt unsure what to discuss. I would write up discussion points beforehand,
to help guide our conversation. These helped, but I always found that once we
started talking, the conversation would flow more easily than I expected, and
Dee would often offer advice and guidance that I hadn’t known to ask for.
Having
someone with some independence from my work to talk to really helped me to
tackle problems I came across. Dee
provided a new perspective, helping me to shift my thinking, and she encouraged
me to take action to solve my own problems.
Having
regular meetings also gave me a certain amount of accountability, since she
would ask how things had progressed when I saw her next month. This motivated
me and helped me to build confidence.
Having someone in my corner who was
consistently helpful and supportive was hugely valuable to me.
The
mentoring Dee provided benefited me emotionally but also helped me to become a
more confident and capable employee. I hope that one day I will be able to
provide the same sort of support to a mentee.”
Dee – The Mentor
“I
expressed my interest in the mentoring program, as I wanted an opportunity to
help graduates, who would often be new to the workforce, establish themselves
in their roles. I have worked in this sector
for 31 years and I felt it was time to pass on something of what I have learned
to someone else, in the event it could be helpful.
Roles and
functions are changing along with what we do, how we do it and which roles we
work in. I felt I had something to offer a graduate in understanding why these
changes were occurring along with how to work with and navigate them.
I was
paired with Sue and discovered we had some similar interests – which was a
great start! I always find that it is easier to establish connection with
people where there is food involved, so we met for breakfast most of the time
and, through this, quickly established trust and rapport.
I heard
Sue talk about her aspirations and her challenges. We talked about how she
could achieve her goals and the strategies to address things that she may not
have come across before. I used my contacts where I could, and I watched Sue
transform ‘before my eyes’. It was wonderful to see this happen and
understand some of the work Sue had done behind that transformation.
I
felt very privileged to share in Sue’s successes. When she secured a permanent
role, I’m not sure who was more excited! Mentoring
has been such a rewarding experience – I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
If you have a mentoring story that you would like to share it with us, please email it to info@mentorsinsync.com
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