Whilst in her second year of doing Economics with Industrial Experience Katie applied to the Career Mentor Scheme and was matched with a Centre Manager at Land Rover Experience, as her mentor.

This mentor has a wide experience of working in Customer Service, having worked in positions such as a Support Team Leader at Barclays Bank, Senior Partner at Clydesdale Bank and Relationship Manager at Santander.

Katie told us more about the experience of being mentored for six months. Through the scheme she managed to achieve many career objectives, such as gaining a better understanding and insight into the industry.  What she found most useful from the mentoring experience was the networking opportunities, getting recruitment information along with developing her interview techniques and gaining work experience.

What were the highlights of the scheme for you?

Attending a networking Chamber of Commerce lunch with my mentor and setting up work experience in a bank for summer.

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

It’s a really worthwhile scheme and it’s really great to be able to have an outside perspective on careers from someone who is in your chosen industry and who has done it all before you. Make the most out of it and be enthusiastic, if you are willing to put more into the scheme with your Mentor then it’s likely you’ll get more out of the process – don’t just take the scheme as something to put on your CV and say you’ve done.

 Her mentor’s personal highlight of the scheme was:

“It was an honour to be part of this University scheme and what worked well for me was the ability to meet my mentee in person, on campus, to work through their objectives.”