Since its launch, the Career Mentoring Programme at Westminster has supported, inspired and enabled thousands of students and recent graduates to develop skills that set them apart in the workplace and improve their career prospects.
Through completing our programme, mentees have the opportunity to grow their confidence, build their professional networks and refine their employability skills.
We offer the following two mentoring intakes each year:
- Cycle one runs from November to April (minimum of five mentoring sessions across six months)
- Cycle two runs from May to July (minimum of three mentoring sessions across 12 weeks)
All of our mentors are experienced professionals who work in a variety of roles and industries. They can help you to reach your personal and professional goals and objectives by providing you with realistic advice, support and opportunities to develop and grow.
The Career Mentoring Programme is open to all students in their second year and above (including postgraduates) as well as recent graduates from the last three years. Students who are in foundation or the first year of their undergraduate degree are encouraged to make use of our Ask a Mentor Service instead.
Mentoring relationships will continue virtually for the foreseeable future to ensure all our mentors and mentees are kept safe.
Examples of industries that our mentors come from:
- Accountancy, Banking and Finance
- Architecture, Property and Construction
- Business and Finance
- Charity, Voluntary and Non-Profits
- Civil Service and Government
- Computing and Information Technology
- Education and Teaching
- Health and Social Care
- Law and Legal Services
- Marketing, Advertising and PR
- Media and Publishing
- Sciences and Research
Application process and key dates
- The application process involves an application form through Engage
- Once the application closes, if successful, the next stage involves completing an online training module so that we can assess your application further and give you a chance to learn more about the scheme. Once you have passed the quiz you will be invited to accept your place on the programme
- Once you have accepted your place the mentoring team will spend four weeks finding a mentor that matches your application. All matches are sent out in batches, and you will hear from the team once those batches are ready (semester one: by the end of October, semester two: by the beginning of April)
- Based on your career interest and the availability of suitable mentors, you may be transferred onto an alternative cycle
How your application will be assessed:
- Quality of your application
- Motivation and commitment to the scheme
- Availability of suitable mentors
Applications for Cycle one open in September and applications for Cycle two open in January.
Commitments during the scheme
If your application is successful, and you have accepted your place on the mentoring scheme, you agree to:
- Have at least five mentoring sessions in Cycle one (November to April) or at least three mentoring sessions in Cycle two (May to July), with each session lasting at least one hour
- Take the lead in scheduling these meetings, developing your learning objectives and providing us with monthly session logs through Engage
- Submit a mid-term review and an end-of-scheme evaluation form, so that we can see how you’re getting on and how we may be able to improve
- If you experience any kind of issues relating to mentoring, you should get in touch with our team directly at [email protected]
Things to consider before applying
It’s important to bear in mind that this scheme is popular, and we only have a certain number of mentors available within a chosen industry. We work hard to match mentees with someone from their desired industry, but this is not guaranteed.
A mentor from another career area will also be able to draw on a range of skills to develop, advise and support you, and may be able to use their professional network to connect you with colleagues in areas of interest to you. This can still lead to a highly successful relationship.
If we are unable to find a suitable match for you, we may transfer you to the next mentoring cycle or find an appropriate mentor for a one-off conversation through the Ask a Mentor service.
If you are a current student, please click the link below to apply for the programme. If you are a recent graduate, please email us for the graduate application form at [email protected].
What students say
Tina Sindi
Second-year student, BSc Psychology
"I have found the career mentoring experience extremely valuable and something that every Westminster student should do at least once!"
Christine Pappa
Student, LLM Entertainment Law
"Mentoring allowed me to establish a valuable relationship with an inspiring and generous professional that I would have never met otherwise. Monyca Motta is a role model for me and I feel grateful and lucky to have had her as my mentor."