Mentor Information

The UNSW Business School Career Mentoring Program (CMP) pairs the School's most ambitious business students with accomplished Business School and AGSM alumni, and industry professionals for a fifteen-week mentorship. Mentors must have at least five years of professional business experience and are required to spend a minimum of five hours with one mentee over the course of the program.

The program will be delivered in a blended mode (online and face-to-face) and in accordance with COVID-safe measures. Mentoring meetings can be held in person or via video (such as Microsoft Teams, Skype or Zoom) and mentoring pairs can communicate by phone, email and instant messaging (such as WhatsApp). Meetings are arranged by the mentor and mentee with no formal check-ins from UNSW Business School, to allow the mentorship to develop organically.

The mentoring program is a formal university extracurricular activity that is included on students’ Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement. Therefore, it is important you commit to the minimum number of five hours to ensure your student meets the requirements for their Graduation Statement.

New offer for mentors this year

Receive a certified digital badge as recognition for your mentoring participation

This year, we are excited to share that all mentor participants who complete the Career Mentoring Program will receive a certified digital badge.

We are committed to providing you with the tools necessary to achieve your professional goals and we understand that communicating your credentials in an ever-expanding online marketplace can be challenging.

That is why we have partnered with Credly this year to provide you with a digital version of your credentials. Digital badges can be used in email signatures or digital resumes, and on social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. This digital image contains verified metadata that describes your qualifications and the process required to earn them.

FAQs

What are the benefits of a certified digital badge?

Representing skills as a badge gives earners a way to share their abilities online in a way that is simple, trusted and can be verified in real time. Badges provide employers and peers concrete evidence of what was done to earn the credential and the skills acquired. It's an easy, visual way for employers to see where candidates have learned and what they can do.

How do I know if I’ve earned a certified digital badge?

Alumni and industry mentors who complete the Career Mentoring Program will receive a badge, which can be added to a LinkedIn profile or used elsewhere online.

How do I receive the digital badge? 

•    You will receive an email notifying you to claim your badge at our partner Credly's website after the program completion date (14 October 2022).
•    Click the link in that email.
•    Create an account on the Credly site.
•    Claim your badge.
•    Start sharing.

 

Mentees are domestic or international students either in their penultimate or final year of an undergraduate Business School degree or enrolled in a postgraduate Business School degree (excluding those with professional work experience, for e.g. MBA students).

Students attend training sessions prior to the start of the mentoring program in the areas of professional behaviour, business etiquette and networking. They are coached on how to conduct a mentoring relationship, but they will often need their mentor’s help to drive the discussion and set the agenda for their mentoring sessions. For some students, this program is their very first experience in the business world.

Mentors provide advice and guidance about career opportunities and navigating the work world post-university. The mentorship will help improve the mentee’s networking skills and boost confidence, as well as clarify career goals and aspirations.

UNSW Business School partners with Chartered Accountants ANZ to deliver the Career Mentoring Program.

Career Mentoring Program Policies and Procedures

The Role and Responsibilities of a Mentor:
As a UNSW Business School Mentor, your role is to challenge, inspire, encourage and support your mentee to achieve their goals around their career development.
Mentors are expected to:

• Be committed, trustworthy and a good communicator
• Provide honest and constructive feedback
• Maintain appropriate and professional boundaries
• Act ethically and with respect to all participants
• Maintain student confidentiality unless appropriate
• Adhere to relevant university policies and procedures outlined in the Mentor Toolkit 

Mentors are not expected to:

• Provide guidance on all topics discussed especially if you are not comfortable in that area. Your role is a mentor not that of a friend, personal counsellor or academic advisor.
• Provide your personal history, problems, animosities, failures etc unless they are constructive to the mentoring conversation.

Diversity and Inclusion:
The Career Mentoring Program an inclusive and diverse program with the aim of enhancing employability skills and building connections in an environment that is free from discrimination, harassment, bullying and sexual harassment.
Intercultural Communication & Awareness:
The Career Mentoring Program is a culturally diverse and inclusive program for alumni, industry partners, students and affiliates. You may find cultural differences in eye-contact, personal space, greetings, postures and gestures during your mentoring relationship. For example, eye contact is considered a sign of openness and honesty in Australia whilst people from other cultures may avert their gaze as a sign of respect or deference.
Code of Conduct:
When expressing an interest in the Career Mentoring Program, Alumni participants and Industry partners must agree to abide by the code of conduct, as outlined in UNSW’s Staff Code of Conduct Policy as well as Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Policy. UNSW Alumni and volunteers are considered to be affiliates and must abide by the same policy as staff as well as the policies and procedures listed.
All volunteers engaged with the University are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with UNSW’s Workplace Bullying Policy. Any breaches of conduct will be dealt with as per the policy guidelines.
Reporting a breach of conduct:
If a serious breach of the Code of Conduct occurs (i.e. bullying or harassment by a participant) participants must report the incident to Mentoring Program Coordinator in writing with details of the time and date of the incident. Program coordinators will keep a record of the incident and review potential actions in line with University policies.
Health and Safety:
Mentors should be aware of all relevant health and safety issues if their mentee visits their workplace. Mentees should be inducted into safe working procedures during office or site visits. This does not apply if you are meeting on campus or in a public place.
Privacy:
Participants must handle all Personal Information (including contact details) received from UNSW in accordance with the privacy principles that govern the handling of such information by UNSW, including the UNSW Privacy Management Plan and the Privacy Act 1988.
Evaluation:
The UNSW Business School strives to continually improve the Career Mentoring Program for both students and Alumni and Industry mentors. A formal evaluation survey is usually undertaken at the end of the mentoring program. However, feedback is always welcome and appreciated throughout the program.
Mentoring Program Coordinator:
The Mentoring Program Coordinator is the main contact and support for mentors.
Mentors should contact the Program Coordinator as soon as possible if you experience any of the following:

• If you experience any uncertainty or discomfort within the mentoring relationship
• If a mentee discloses information which makes you concerned for their welfare
• If your mentee is unresponsive or is displaying lack of commitment to the mentoring relationship
• If you are having difficulty keeping the mentoring relationship going and need new ideas or topics to discuss
• If a mentee is becoming overly dependent on you

Grievance Procedure:
In the first instance, participants should discuss the issue with the Mentoring Program Coordinator. Complaints and grievances will be dealt with according to UNSW Complaint Management Procedure.

Contact Details:
Mentoring Program Coordinator for Student Mentees:
careeraccelerator@unsw.edu.au
Mentoring Program Coordinator for Alumni Mentors:
alumni@business.unsw.edu.au
Mentoring Program Coordinator for Industry Mentors: 
engagebusiness@unsw.edu.au