Megan, a Psychology student, was looking to get help and guidance into the Healthcare and Wellbeing sector. Through the Career Mentor Scheme she was matched with a Clinical Psychology at Research Department of Clinical, Health and Educational Psychology University College London.

The partnership helped Megan in various ways, including improving her confidence to seek graduate level employment and improved her professional contacts. Megan revealed more details about how the scheme was beneficial to her.

How do you feel the mentoring process has enhanced your employability?

I have a much more thorough understanding of how to approach gaining entry to the DClinPsy and necessary experience prior to this. I also have a much better understanding of what the job itself entails, which is one of the crucial things they look for in applicants. I feel more confident in talking about Clinical Psychology (the terms used etc.) and have been able to ask questions in a supportive environment. I’ve also had really valuable feedback on tailoring my CV to my field, and putting the year’s mentoring scheme on there is great in itself!

What did you find most useful from the mentoring experience?

Insight into the career, and what an “average day” looks like has probably been the most valuable experience. Because getting work experience or shadowing is very difficult in clinical psychology, the opportunity to gain inside knowledge and just to hear the way things are discussed (getting used to the terms and abbreviations used etc.) is really useful. Also the opportunity to ask questions which may seem silly and you wouldn’t want to ask in a more formal setting. As such a competitive course to get on, any advice on the interview process and which jobs are the best kind of experience prior to the doctorate, is like gold dust!

Why should students apply to have a mentor?

Any experience you can gain during your time at University will help you once you graduate. The chance to be paired with a professional in your field, who has signed up solely to help you and enhance your career chances and understanding, is amazing! It’s small things like being able to ask those questions that seem a bit too obvious, or silly to ask someone in a more formal setting that really make the scheme worthwhile. I can’t explain how much I’ve learned and gained from this, definitely recommend.