September 2, 2020, by Leah Sharpe

Connect to a world of expertise with Career Mentoring

Career Mentoring offers you the opportunity to be supported with your career goals by a member of our alumni community. Hear from past mentees about their Career Mentoring experience.

“I’m so pleased I took part.”

Anisha Johal, MA English Literature 

My mentor, Keith, had completed a PhD at Nottingham in film and had a film consultation business. Career Mentoring gave me a chance to learn about this area as a potential career path. I didn’t have much prior knowledge about the opportunities available in the film industry, so it was fantastic to have the chance to learn about how to write a film script, treatment and storyboard. He also identified online courses that could help me learn more about screenwriting, directing and film.

I spent a lot of time evaluating the different career paths available to me and was considering doing a PhD. So, it was very useful to discuss his experience of the PhD process to obtain a deeper insight into what it consists of. Keith was very helpful, encouraging and open to any questions that I had. 

The main method of communication was via email and we met at the University in person a few times too. I was able to share my ideas with Keith, and he provided me with feedback to help develop my applications. It was good to have someone to ask questions and encourage me to be confident in what I had created. Keith was keen on me directing the mentoring process, so was happy to discuss any areas that I wanted to learn more about or develop my skills in. 

Overall, my mentoring experience was very beneficial, useful and helpful. I would strongly recommend other students to take part in the Career Mentoring scheme as it is a great way to develop your career ideas and think about what options are available after graduating.

“I feel more confident in my job search.”

Hong Nhung Nguyen, MSc Human Resource Management and Organisation

I was happy to be matched with Peter who had spent 30 years as a headhunter working with businesses across a wide range of sectors and organisations. He also had extensive experience in line management and human resources (HR). Peter’s profile said that he had experience of advisory and development consultancy assignments in areas such as leadership and outdoor based team building which were of interest to me. 

Peter and I made contact via email, LinkedIn and Skype. He took the time to prepare carefully for our mentoring sessions and to help me with my career progression. He spent time listening to my difficulties and gave me sound advice.   

I edited my CV into a format which is understandable to Western recruiters with Peter’s guidance. Following that, I received three competency-based questions focusing on teamworking, resilience and negotiation and gave my answers.  This task gave me a great opportunity to recall my real work-related scenarios and prepare for the future.

I applied for and became Student Ambassador of Highered EFMD Shared Career Services, which is the official online career service for the top accredited EFMD business and management schools globally. I am still looking for further job opportunities and hope to stay in touch with Peter.  

Mentoring is more than giving advice and conveying knowledge. It helps people realise their strengths, and the overall value of mentoring is long lasting.

If you are interested in taking part in the autumn Career Mentoring scheme, complete our expression of interest form to be gain access to the list of mentors. 

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