Marin’s mentoring sessions were incredible. In our last session we went over what we learned, what Marin was going to put into practise and future goals and achievements Marin has planned. We discussed how we’ve actually both learned from each other, and how we’ve both been putting time aside to focus on our creative hobbies; Marin with writing and myself with video editing. Marin’s attitude is positive and inspiring, and I’m so proud to see how determined they are with their career going forward. Thank you Marin!

The mentoring has been super useful. A lot of the mentoring was about things such as CVs and interviews, but having someone who’s also part of the LGBT+ community made the process enjoyable and easy-going.

It was very beneficial to me as I got to speak to someone who understood me and my needs. My mentor was very supportive and kind as well as informative.

It was definitely a step in the right direction being connected to those who are LGBT+ and already in professional jobs. It allowed me to network with people I wouldn’t necessarily have met without being on the programme.

I find it so energising to listen, and have the opportunity to share nuggets of learning I have had over my career. Every person is different, so listening to what is important to them, what is challenging to them, what is it they are looking to achieve makes me dig deep to do all I can to support their journey.

I think for me this was incredibly valuable because I know there are often social or economic factors – as well as possible bias and discrimination – which come into play for LGBT+ people, which may hinder the opportunities available to them.

It’s great making an impact in someone’s career by helping them in areas that they are not familiar with yet. It was great to help Kade with improving his software engineering skills, giving him suggestions on how to deal with his manager to achieve his goals and setting a roadmap of things he could work on. I also learned a lot from him, so it was a very good experience.

I’ve been able to work with people I wouldn’t normally work with and connect on topics and experiences I wouldn’t normally discuss with colleagues.

It was a great opportunity to become a mentor to someone who wanted to work full-time in the industry. I also learnt a lot of what it takes to become one too.

It was good to be able to share some personal experiences with my mentee and impart advice that she took on board and led to her securing a job.

It is great to mentor a younger person who is in the process of figuring out what they want to do, and help them to develop their confidence and professional skills. It’s been fulfilling to have positive feedback that my mentoring sessions have been helpful for both of my mentees, and that’s very rewarding.

It’s really made me stop and think about how we support young people starting in our organisation and what we should be doing for them. It made me realise how much easier it is for young people to be out at work from the get go. But it also made me think about what support young people need when joining a company.