If you are looking to practice or improve your mentoring skills, or to give back to the wider community then I can recommend the Smith Family Mentoring Program.

It’s undeniable that mentoring is one of the make or break factors in a career. The right mentors can help you to accurately gauge your skills, and skill gaps and take action to work on these. They can let you know what the benchmark is, and support you to reach beyond it. They can stop you in your tracks if you’re making the wrong decision, or making decisions for the wrong reasons. I know I’m personally indebted to my mentors for a great deal of advice, strategy and support.

The Smith Family offers scholarships to young people at risk to attend university, and the Smith Family Mentoring Program aims to match students to a professional in their industry. The mentee is often the first member of the family to go to uni, and often don’t have a friends or family who have been through similar situations to turn to for advice and reassurance. As a mentor, you would provide support and professional guidance for the student for a minimum of a year, ideally for their full career. Mentors generally meet with the student 4 times a year for about an hour, and maintain phone/email contact every 4-6 weeks.

If you think you can spare about 8 hours a year and want to use them to develop your own skills and support a young disadvantaged person’s professional development, click here to find out more.

Big thank you to Libby Wilson, who attended our fabulous Mastermind Breakfast in Melbourne, and let me know about the program.