Alumni as Mentors Programme | Program Overview

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Overview

This free programme is open to all final year students enrolled in a degree or postgraduate qualification at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
Working with a mentor can help you prepare for life after university studies by improving your job searching skills, building your knowledge of career options and how they align with your career goals, and helping you understand how your experiences relate to skills that employers look for. Through your mentoring partnership and the programme, you can also expand your professional network and build valuable networking skills.
The expected approximate length of a formal mentoring partnership is 4 months.

ELIGIBILITY

Applications are welcome from final-year students in all disciplines who want to take a proactive approach to their career development and transition from university into employment.

Students must:

be in their final-year of undergraduate or post-graduate studies at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
not have previously participated in Alumni as Mentors
complete mentee training before being accepted onto the programme (see training dates here)
proactively engage with the mentoring community and take active steps to connect with a mentor within 8 weeks of being accepted onto the programme.

Active engagement with the community
Students are expected to request a mentoring partnership within 8 weeks of having access to the mentoring platform. Inactive accounts will be deactivated to allow new students to access the mentoring community.

the mentors

Mentors are alumni of the university and range from recent graduates, who can share their experiences of the graduate job market, to more experience alumni who can share a wealth of information from years in the workplace. Mentors work and live across New Zealand and internationally and represent a wide range of industries.

APPLICATION AND Connection PROCESS

Apply to the programme

We ask you to provide information about your academic background, career history, as well as your preferences, career aspirations and your motivations for joining Alumni as Mentors. This allows the platform to recommend suitable mentors to you and it helps mentors understand how they can assist you.

Complete mentee training

After submitting your application, you must complete mentee training before being accepted on the programme. Mentee training sessions are scheduled to coincide with application periods. For an up-to-date list of training sessions and other events, see the events schedule.

Find a suitable mentor

Once accepted, you can access the platform and browse available mentors. You can only connect with one mentor, so think carefully about what help you are looking for and how this aligns with what you see in the mentor profiles. The platform will recommend mentors to you that suit the information in your profile. You can also browse and search all available mentors.
If you cannot identify a suitable mentor, the Alumni as Mentors team can discuss your needs and suggest a few mentors based on their knowledge of the mentoring community. Contact the team on alumniasmentors@vuw.ac.nz.

Send your mentoring request

When you have identified a suitable mentor, you send them a request to connect in a mentoring partnership. The mentor can choose to accept or decline the request, depending on their availability.

For more information on what to expect as a mentee, see the Mentee Guide.

Application and training dates

Student applications are currently open.

Apply now!

Students must participate in one of the scheduled training sessions before their application is accepted.

"It is so helpful to have a supportive mentor that guides you and is available for a chat when you need to talk things through. As a busy student, I appreciated the reassurance that I received from my mentor." - previous AAM mentee

Your profile information

Each application is checked against our student and alumni records, to ensure the platform provides a dedicated space for our student and alumni community.
Parts of your mentee profile will be shared with the mentors you request to connect with, as this information helps them determine whether they are the right mentor for your needs. Some of the profile information you provide (e.g. your date of birth) will only be visible to administrators.

Students outside of Wellington

If you are studying remotely, either in New Zealand or internationally, you can still apply for a mentor. You and your mentor may connect online, and you can join online networking events to connect with the wider community.

Previous mentors and mentees

JEMMA ROSE HOVELMEIER
Previous mentee Jemma reflects on her time on the programme and the value of connecting with a mentor, whether online or in person.
Read about Jemma's experience of career mentoring before applying to be a mentee in this year's programme.

JASON NICHOLS
Alumnus Jason Nichols shares what his Law degree taught him, highlights from his career and what he enjoys about supporting the next generation of the legal profession through the Alumni as Mentors programme.
Read about Jason's career journey and his experience of mentoring.

further information

If you meet the criteria to participate in the programme you can contact alumniasmentors@vuw.ac.nz for more information.