GCU Career Mentoring programme – An interview with graduate Amy Beaton

GCU offers a successful mentoring programme to final year students and recent graduates, partnering them with a GCU Alumni mentor to help progress in their careers.

The GCU Career Mentor scheme was launched in 2020 as a direct response to the global pandemic, giving students a chance to get advice and insight from a GCU Alumni Mentor. In its first year, over 700 students and new graduates signed up to the scheme and it is now running for another year.

We spoke to 2020 Media & Communications graduate Amy Beaton, who was partnered with GCU Student Communications & Engagement Assistant Rachael McAlonan, about how the programme benefited her as a graduate:

Why did you decide to sign up for the GCU Career Mentor programme?

“Graduating is already quite a stressful time in terms of finding jobs, but for those who graduated in 2020 it was particularly hectic to say the least. I felt that there was less opportunities so I didn’t know where to start; how do I look for jobs, how do I make connections, how do I get to know other people in the industry, etc.

I thought that it was a good chance to talk to someone who has already graduated and know what it’s like to be in that position; someone who could give me some advice and guidance on where to start looking for jobs and to generally help me find my feet.”

What was the process in terms of meeting with your mentor, etc?

“Everything was done online at the time due to the pandemic and we agreed to do regular check-ins. We went from meeting once a week to meeting monthly, just depending on how we could both fit it around our schedules. At first, my mentor talked me through how they first started looking for jobs and gave me a list of different websites that would be helpful in terms of finding jobs. She also helped me work out which area of media I wanted to work in, because we both studied Media and Communications which is such a vast industry. She helped me narrow down my strong points, what do I actually enjoy doing and what type of role would suit me.

Just having someone there who can act as a second pair of eyes in terms of looking at my CV was really helpful as well. I could go to my mentor for advice in relation to job applications, even when I questioned whether I should apply to certain jobs or not. I think that’s a really big thing for graduates especially, you often wonder “Should I apply for that job, do I have the right skillset, am I good enough because I’m a graduate?”. Having someone there to ask these sorts of questions was so beneficial.”

What sort of opportunities did you get through your mentor?

“What I feel that I gained most through the experience was connections. At the end, my mentor put me in touch with someone she knew and it helped me gain a freelance position to do social media for a local company. Through that, I was then able to get an internship and eventually a job. In my course, there wasn’t any modules focused on work experience so you really need to able to source your own ways of gaining experience. My mentor, through her connections, was able to help me get that experience which has really helped in the long run.”

Was it an easy process overall, and would you recommend it to other students?

I would 100% recommend it! I still speak to my mentor to this day.

If you’re in doubt and don’t really know where to go when you graduate, it’s a really beneficial programme to be a part of. We’re still in COVID times and opportunities seem to be appearing again, but there’s still definitely less now than there has been previously so having a mentor to help highlight those opportunities would be helpful to any graduate.

It was a really easy process too. I first heard about the scheme when all graduates got the email about it and I thought “Yes, I would love to sign up”.  Once you sign-up, you get invited to a session to find out who your mentor is – what their degree was in, what their job is in, etc. Luckily, my mentor did the same degree as me so that was even better. From there, you just reach out to your mentor and from there you arrange your first meeting. The first meeting we had allowed us to discuss how often to meet, discuss what you’re looking to get out of the scheme, etc. It’s your chance to ask any questions you have about job applications, interviews, helpful tips and advice. It’s also a good way to find out what their experiences were like when doing the same thing. I’d totally recommend it!

Find out more about the GCU Career Mentor scheme on the GCU website

By Rachael McAlonan

Got a SCEBE or GSBS story? Email me at Rachael.McAlonan@gcu.ac.uk or connect with me on social media  here