LinkedIn success stories
Susan Fant - mentee
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I've had amazing help using the Mentorship Programme on the St Andrews Alumni LinkedIn network. No matter if you're a student or alumni you can sign-up to work with mentors. Recently, mentors have provided me with thoughts on how to get involved with policy think tanks, suggestions on MBA school applications, and continued guidance and support during my own job search. This program has been unmistakably helpful and supportive. I've had enthusiastic responses from everyone I've contacted through this group. In fact, I was able to meet with a mentor on a recent trip to London. Don't waiver on contacting a mentor. I encourage everyone to try this out and put their best foot forward. A common love for St Andrews connects us and we can help each other in unbelievably great ways. |
Heather Johnston - mentor
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I specialise in careers transitions coaching and the couple of people that I have been working with in some ways have similar challenges to people later in their careers which is about which way should I go? What is the best fit for me? We live in an age of information overload and choice! My help focused on trying to establish which bit they were stuck with and to give some help and advice and reading around finding the best fit for them recognising the challenges of the current economic climate. I also used a couple of psychometrics. We have emailed, skyped and met up once. I graduated in 1991 and the Country was in recession then and it was also very difficult to find work,so i think it helps people to know that others have been in the same boat and learnt some lessons on the way that they can pass on. From my point of view, mentoring works best if people aren't matched as the mentees generally will know who they want to talk to. I wonder if people are actually sure what a mentor is as there is some confusion out there. For me this is giving the benefit of our experiences to them as well as helping them to solve their own challenges. We can't, however, necessarily find them a job - that is recruitment... |
Lauren Wilson - mentee
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I joined the St Andrews Alumni group on LinkedIn during my fourth year and contacted several alumni through the mentorship program. For me it was a great experience and, in addition to receiving excellent career advice from several alumni in my fields of interest, it gave me the opportunity to interview for my current position at the World Bank. One piece of advice I would give current students is to approach the mentorship program as a way to learn about different career paths, not to find a job. While I was fortunate enough to have that experience, the purpose of the group is not to match students with jobs. I'd also suggest students look at the other sub-groups offered by the St Andrews Alumni group - these cover a variety of topics and geographic areas and are a great way to keep in touch after you've graduated. |
Andrew Jones - World Bank mentor |
I posted a brief profile about my current job on the St Andrews mentorship group and since then, I've received emails from lots of different students, most with similar backgrounds to me, all grappling with the same sorts of issues I faced as a student eg how to apply their degree to a career path. I have also given advice to people on moving/emigrating for jobs as I first moved to Washington DC for 3 years, and then recently moved to Dubai as part of my job. All the communications I have had with students have been thoroughly enjoyable, and I hope helpful. In particular, one fourth year student was very interested in working for my current employer (the World Bank). She had a similar background to me and had also done very similar summer internships, so we had quite a lot in common. By good luck, my department had an opening for a summer job that was going to become available just after she graduated. I let her know about the position and gave her some background on the type of work and what she would be doing. As a result, she applied and won the position. Initially the contract was for a few months over the summer, but she impressed everyone so much that her contract was recently extended, and she is now a permanent employee and colleague. This was all made possible through the LinkedIn group. |
