Mentor students

Our students know there’s no better way to explore their employment options than by talking to someone actually doing the job. Register as a mentor and you can share your valuable experience while developing your own skills at the same time. Plus, you’ll be strengthening your links to the University and our pool of motivated students.

• Complete the form to register your interest in becoming a mentor.
• Take a look at our Mentor Information Sheet to find out more about the programme before you apply.

How does the scheme work?

• Communication with your mentee online via email, phone and video call - we know our mentors are busy people.
• Typically one exchange per week, for eight to ten weeks - this can be arranged with your mentee to suit both of your schedules.
• Two schemes per year, operating October-December and February-April - you can make yourself available to mentees depending on your schedule.

Career Mentoring timeline - what happens when

The Autumn Career Mentoring programme is running from October until December 2024. The Spring programme will run in Semester 2 from February until the end of April 2025. Take a look at the timelines below for the key dates for each scheme.

Mentoring timeline - Autumn 2024

Mentoring timeline - Spring 2025

What can you bring?

• The answers to these questions: What does a particular job involve? What are the skills required and the challenges? What’s the recruitment process?
• Advice on how to gain and present relevant experience to employers.
• Support with CV’s, interview tips, networking and getting ‘work ready’.

What can the scheme offer you?

• Personal and professional development.
• A new perspective – look at your job with fresh eyes.
• Profile raising for your company and a pipeline to our graduate talent.

What students say

"My mentor has been really helpful in giving me an insight into the field and showing me that it is not as daunting as it may first seem. They have helped me to feel more confident in my own abilities and shown me how to utilise the skills I already have to make myself a better candidate."
Final year Hispanic Studies student

"I would highly recommend the eMentoring scheme to other students. It enabled me to clarify what sector I want to go into and figure out what roles would be best suited to me. My mentor also helped prepare me for post-graduation life, helping me with applications, my CV and doing practice interviews."
Final year Journalism student

"I highly recommend this scheme to everyone, not only from the perspective of searching career option but also to network with these bright individuals. I feel very motivated and have built more positive outlooks into my future".
Second year Biomedical Science student

"It is one of the most beneficial programmes I have undertaken in my academic journey."
First year Law student

What mentors say

"The programme is an excellent opportunity to share experiences and work with highly motivated students who are preparing the first steps in their professional careers."

"I would wholeheartedly recommend the scheme to students and alumni as a rewarding and enriching experience for both."

"A very rewarding and enjoyable experience. Very well managed and coordinated by the professional, responsive and helpful Careers Service staff. I wholeheartedly recommend this programme to students and alumni."

"It doesn't take a lot of time or effort to be a mentor and yet you can make a big difference to the students you are supporting. It's good to feel you are really helping a student at the University of Sheffield."

Mentoring Awards 2024

This year we ran our Career Mentoring Scheme on our new student alumni platform, Sheffield Connect. We facilitated over 250 Mentoring partnerships between a diverse range of students and mentors from a wide range of professions. We have loved hearing your stories. Career Mentoring provides students with a fantastic insight into different industries and provides an excellent volunteering experience for our dedicated mentors.

Thank you! - We are especially thankful to our alumni volunteers; we truly appreciate the difference your time makes to our students’ lives and their student experience.

After reading through your nominations, we are thrilled to share with you the winners of the 2024 Mentoring awards.

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2024 Mentor Winner

I have enjoyed being a part of the eMentoring programme for a number of years now. I find it a fantastic way to give back to the University by guiding students on what to expect when they apply for graduate jobs. The direct impact you can have on students is very rewarding and the programme is a fantastic way to stay connected with new ideas and the University in general. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is considering becoming a mentor.

Jason Cabot, Senior Systems Engineer (Cloudflare)

MComp Computer Science, 2007

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2024 Highly Commended Mentor

I have been acting as a mentor to UoS students for the last 5 years and found them without fail to be bright, driven and passionate. With or without mentorship they will go far, however I am pleased to have been able to give them some practical career tips for a highly competitive industry and help them to understand the world of finance, which can be opaque to outsiders.

David Scott, Associate (Evercore)

MEng Mechanical Engineering, 2018

For any further information or enquiries contact us:

Email: careermentoring@sheffield.ac.uk.