How does the scheme work for Mentors?

 

Being a mentor can be a rewarding and interesting experience which can also aid your own personal and professional development. Our mentors come from a variety of backgrounds, industries and roles. You’ll use your skills, experience and knowledge to support a student as they prepare to make the transition from education into employment. Whatever the activities you agree with your mentee, we can provide support and resources to help you. Activities might involve:

  • Listening to your mentee’s ideas about their career
  • Talking about your own role, industry or the organisation you work in
  • Providing advice about networking, recruitment or job hunting
  • Providing support on overcoming barriers
  • Supporting students interested in becoming more enterprising e.g. self-employment, setting up their own business or freelance working

Your organisation will benefit from your newly developed mentoring skills as well as stronger links with the university and a higher profile on campus. Participation can also demonstrate a commitment to promoting diversity and equality of opportunity.

Please be aware as there is no way to know how many students will apply each year, we are sometimes unable to match mentors but we do our best to ensure that the matches we make are appropriate. If you have any questions or you know anyone else that would be interested in mentoring, contact our team on careermentoring@shu.ac.uk

The scheme runs throughout the full academic year. During this time, you’ll need to commit to at least four meetings with your mentee. Each mentor will have a member of our mentoring team as a point of contact. You will be able to get in touch with them should you need any help and they will be in touch on a regular basis to see how things are going.

As a mentor you’ll need to:

 

  • Attend one of the Hallam Career Mentoring Induction Sessions
  • Meet your mentee for a minimum of four one hour meetings within the mentoring timeframe
  • Provide us with feedback on your experience to help us plan future developments
  • Celebrate your mentoring partnership and achievements with us

Steps for success:

 

  • Complete and submit your application form. After this, you might get a call from a member of our team so we can learn more about you and your role
  • If you are successful in becoming a mentor, you’ll be invited to a Hallam Career Mentoring Induction Session which includes a training session for new mentors. You will meet the Hallam Career Mentoring Team and have the opportunity to network with your fellow

If you are matched, we’ll contact you with the details of your mentee. You will have access to plenty of online resources to help along the way as well as a named person who will be your contact throughout the programme. We encourage students to take the lead throughout the mentoring relationship; this includes making the first contact. Many students find this daunting so please let us know if you’ve not heard anything for a few weeks. We accept students from all degree areas across all year groups, but we particularly prioritise students who may need additional support (e.g. have limited access to professional networks, those who come from a minority ethnic background, may have a disability or particularly lack confidence) as we know these students benefit most from a mentoring relationship. We can then give additional support and encouragement to those who need it. This is a Career-focused programme, so if you do encounter mentees with any additional barriers or needs, the University can support your mentee with these aspects of their planning.