Do you know what Steve Jobs, Michelle Obama and Christian Dior have in common? As well as worldwide fame, each of them has been a mentor at some point in their careers. Steve Jobs revealed he had mentored Mark Zuckerberg, Michelle Obama was designated as Barack’s mentor at the law firm where they both worked while he was a summer associate, and Yves Saint Laurent cut his designer teeth whilst being mentored by Christian Dior.
Mentoring refers to the process of helping and guiding another person to support their personal or professional development. For a mentee, the benefits of having a mentor include access to support, feedback and resources and being given a fresh or different perspective. A good mentor can identify new skills, inspire, motivate, increase confidence or self-esteem and provide a platform of accountability. Mentoring can improve the mentee’s ability to resolve challenges and achieve their goals quicker.
A brand new module has now been launched on the CERN Alumni platform enabling alumni with profiles or experience relevant to other alumni community members’ professional interests to register as mentors. Potential mentees can now select a mentor from a pool of over 40 CERN Alumni Mentors.
Maybe you are considering a future career in a specific sector and would like to find out more about that area of work. Perhaps you are struggling to decide which path to take when you leave the Organization, or you would like to gain insights on transitioning from academia to industry. CERN Alumni have faced situations that younger colleagues are yet to face and they understand the value of a CERN experience and the requirements of working in a different sector. This makes them ideal candidates to support those seeking such advice. Do not simply take our word for it; find out what benefits several mentees gained from their recent mentoring experience.
A CERN Alumni mentoring relationship can be started at any time and can last as long or as briefly as required. Simply browse the full list of mentors here and prepare to develop new skills, gain a better and more comprehensive understanding of a potential career path ahead and achieve your goals.