During her third year Lauren, History student, applied for a mentor in the Law and Legal Services sector, in which she was interested in pursuing a career. Her mentor, Group Leader, at Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co. LLP has many years of experience in the industry.

After graduating from Exeter, this mentor worked at Simmons & Simmons for five years and then moved to Slaughter and May, where he spent ten years, the second half of the period as a Partner. In 2000 he joined Wragge & Co as a partner and in 2009 he became a Group Leader. As such his responsibilities are to manage a group of 27 partners in three offices and working in the commercial, employment, pensions and projects area.

Lauren had an outstanding experience being mentored. She achieved all objectives which were set at the beginning of their partnership, including learning about the sector entry requirements and improving her confidence. What she found most useful were the interview tips Michael gave her.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

My mentor was very accommodating and made himself available whenever I had any questions. The immediacy of professional advice was invaluable and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing his perspective of the recruitment process as an employer.

What message would you give to a student thinking of applying for the Career Mentor Scheme?

Absolutely do it! The scheme is incredibly flexible and you are completely in charge of your contact with your mentor – you can work this out with them to suit both of you. You can get invaluable viewpoints from a working professional in a sector you are interested in at the drop of a phonecall or email and may have a contact for life.