August 3, 2021, by indybamra1

My Career Mentoring Experience

By Mila Apostolova, BA Hons International Media and Communications Studies.

After I started my second year at university, I was determined to make the most out of it and take advantage of all the various careers programmes that the Careers and Employability Service offers. I attended different workshops and one was about the career mentoring scheme. Immediately after the meeting, I started looking for career mentors. I was searching for someone who had a career in marketing, as I wanted to learn more about this industry.

My Mentor

After searching for a while, I came across the profile of Jon Goldstone (via the Career Mentoring scheme webpage), who works at The Brandgym as a Global Managing Partner. Apart from Jon’s impressive career (having worked at some of the biggest consumer goods companies, like PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and Kraft), I really liked the way he viewed his career – as the sun with planets. He explained that the sun represents the consulting work that earns him money, while his mentoring and teaching are the planets that bring him inspiration and food for the soul. As someone who has always dreamed of such a career and view of life, I was immediately drawn towards his profile and the rest was history.

Mentorship

Jon was really friendly and accommodating and made sure that I wasn’t too nervous to ask any questions. We met through Zoom and had around four meetings. What I loved about this virtual mentorship experience is how much he was willing to help me and simply listen to what I wanted to ask or know more about. After I told him what my objectives from the mentorship were, all of the other meetings that we had revolved around those. It was great to hear more about Jon’s career path and what he liked the most after working in marketing for many years.

We covered all the things that were interesting to me – from structuring a good CV and interview to learning more about the marketing world. Jon definitely helped me to understand what I want in my future career in the most supporting and encouraging manner.

The Future

I’m forever grateful to Jon and the career mentoring scheme that introduced us to each other. It was a really insightful and eye-opening experience. I aspire to be like Jon one day and be a mentor to other students who may be seeking advice and help in their future careers. But even more, I want to see my career as the sun and planets that benefit from each other.

I keep in touch with Jon through regular emails. Jon has helped me to prepare for an interview outside of our scheduled sessions and I genuinely hope that we will continue to keep in touch in the future, where I will keep him updated on my current career objectives and he can continue to offer his support.

For anyone who is wondering whether the Career Mentoring scheme is worth applying for, I’m urging you to do it! It’s not only a great experience but also a great way to learn more about yourself and what you want for your future from experts in your preferred field of work. I assure you that it is a great experience that you would later value a lot. You can visit the career mentoring scheme webpage for further details.

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