Between May and October 2022, we ran our second Tandem Mentoring Programme, which brought 6 Jambas closer to achieving their individual career goals with the support of a skilled volunteer mentor.
Selection and preparation of participants
The recruitment of prospective mentors and mentees was carried out in parallel, in both cases we asked the applicants to fill in an online questionnaire, and then we invited those whose motivation and interest we wanted to know more about based on their application. Both mentors and mentees were prepared for the process ahead in a group session. During the group meeting, the mentors were also visited by participants from the previous programme, who shared many personal experiences with the new team and tried to answer any questions they had.
The mentoring process
After the coaching sessions, we summarised all the experiences we had gained from the participants and formed the mentor-mentee pairs. We mainly took into account factors such as similar professional motivation, interests or hobbies. We arranged a meeting with each couple, where mentor and mentee could get to know each other, talk about the mentee’s goals and decide whether they would like to work together. These meetings took place in the summer months, so due to holidays and vacations, the six couples started working together at very different times. Each participant was asked to commit for six sessions, for five couples this was enough to achieve their goals, and one decided to extend the mentoring process for two sessions because the mentored had a job and needed the support of their mentor to help them adjust to a new situation and take initial steps.
Results, impacts
The most outstanding result of the programme is that, thanks to the supportive attitude and network of mentors, two Jambas have been able to find open labour market jobs that match their aspirations and skills. However, they are not the only ones who have achieved success, all mentors have progressed towards their goals: some have achieved specific professional development in a particular field, others have developed a good CV and cover letter, others have become integrated into the university community, and there are also mentors whose wide-ranging interests have been systematically integrated by their mentor. All mentor-mentee couples confirmed that they had developed an accepting, trusting relationship throughout the process and had learned a lot about and from each other.
The final event of the programme took place in October, with four couples attending this one-to-one session. Many of the group had just met each other in person, so we also focused on getting to know each other. The pairs then presented their greatest successes, lessons learnt or challenges of their work together to the others, using a poster they had each created. It was an uplifting feeling to see the Jambas looking back on their own development and being supported by their mentors.
Thank you for the
Prezi
for supporting the programme to help participating Jambas get closer to their career goals and become more competitive in the open labour market!
