Careers blog written by Sue Russell, Information Assistant, Careers

York Profiles & Mentors is a careers profiles and mentoring tool for University of York students, created by Careers and York Alumni Association.

Further information can be found here:

www.york.ac.uk/careers/profiles

…but in brief

• Current University of York students can write a profile about work experience and internships for other students to read.

• York Graduates can submit a profile about where they are working, how they found and applied for the job, and what their job involves to help current students learn about different occupations.

• Alternatively, York Graduates can submit a profile about their experience of further study (whether it was a taught course or a programme of research).

• Students can ask questions of the people who have written profiles, ie if there is a green ticked box with ‘Accepts questions’ next to the blue profile box, they can click on that and ask the person a question about careers even if they don’t want them to be their mentor.

• Alumni and staff can act as mentors to current students and can help with preparing them for employment, discuss career options and sometimes offer practical assistance with the job hunting process or further study issues.

• The type of support the mentor can offer will vary as they are busy working people and have volunteered to be a mentor, so students should be realistic about the time they expect from them.

• Students can read through the graduate profiles to pick out a mentor they feel is suitable for their needs, remembering this is a professional relationship and must be conducted as one.

• The graduates who have agreed to become mentors have a tick in a green box next to the word mentor so they are easy to spot.

• Once a student has found a mentor who they think is suitable, they need to send them a mentoring request.

• When a student has been matched to a mentor, the contact is then between the two parties.