Orientation session kick starts our 2025 mentoring programme!

Mentors and Mentees join CamAWiSE's online orientation session

Over thirty mentors and mentees joined our Zoom orientation call on Thursday 22nd May to learn more about CamAWiSE and to kick start their mentoring journey.

Following an introduction to CamAWiSE covering its mission, history and events over the last year, the participants were invited to join breakout rooms to talk about what mentoring relationships are about, how to break barriers and increase strengths.

Sofia del Pozo, our new deputy chair, took mentees and mentors through her experiences with mentoring and how studies show that focusing on strengths and talents can lead to an exponential improvement in those skills. She asked participants to reflect on themselves - when they had felt energised performing a task, and what tasks they did more easily than others? Mentors were required to think about at what times in their career they had experienced the greatest levels of learning to draw conclusions to share with mentees.

Personality tests and SWOT analysis were mentioned as useful tools for analysing areas that mentees might focus on and which could inform their goals for their mentoring outcomes. The importance of having SMART goals and communicating these to their mentor was highlighted as key to a successful relationship, along with setting regular and consistent meeting times to get the most out of the relationship, building rapport and trust.

The session ended on tips for both mentors and mentees on how to approach the meetings, phrasing of questions and the importance of encouraging learning and trying new things, whether successful or not, to support the use of new skills.

The programme runs from now through to the end of October when we look forward to hearing about everyone's mentoring experience, journey and growth!