How does mentoring work?

The USQ Career Mentoring program seeks registrations from students who wish to participate in the program as mentees.

The Career Mentoring program aims to provide students with:

• opportunities to develop relationships with employers and industry
• a chance to enhance their personal development
• assistance at the 'coal-face' to develop professional career goals
• networking opportunities to enhance career progression
• develop relationships with organisations that may lead to employment
• enhance the employability of the graduate.

The Career Mentoring program does not:

• guarantee students future employability
• provide students will assistance in completing studies
• identify student's goals.

The Initial Process

• The information session provides students with a general overview of the Career Mentoring program and expectations of the student's involvement in the program. 

• The student completes the registration form as an "expression of interest" in the program and selects potential mentors from the professional profiles listed on the Beyond Education web site. Mentors will be sought from business and industry. Wherever possible, students will be matched to a mentor who works in a similar field of study, with similar interests, however the project coordinator will determine the final allocation of mentee to mentor. 

• Once the registration form has been received, the student will be invited to attend the Career Mentoring orientation session. The objective of this session will be for students to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the mentor and mentee's roles and responsibilities under the program.

• The project coordinators will review registrations received and will commence the matching process.

• Upon acceptance into the program and completion of the matching process, mentees will be provided with the name and contact details of their mentor. It will be the mentee's responsibility to "drive" the relationship and to negotiate with the mentor the frequency and form of the meetings. Therefore the mentee will make the initial contact. Throughout the program, the coordinators of the Career Mentoring program will be at hand to assist with any questions or issues that may arise.

It is expected that the mentoring program will extend for a period of approximately six months. The program will begin in May and conclude in October. After this time, the student and the mentor may elect to finalise the mentoring relationship or extend it beyond this period.