Mentor and Mentee Stories
The right connection can change a life
Explore stories from mentors and mentees made possible by Program Coordinators creating a more well-connected world for their employees, members, and communities.
Mentorloop empowers the Program Coordinators who make mentoring magic happen
Here we celebrate the amazing stories from mentors and mentees participating in Mentorloop mentoring programs from:
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Meet Women Offshore Mentor: Carrie Norton
The Women Offshore Foundation is a nonprofit supporting the careers of female seafarers worldwide. Mentorloop proudly supports its founder, Ally Cedeno, to bring their community mentoring program to life.
In this episode, we chat with mentor Carrie Norton. She shares her experience of many years on the water, the challenges that her unique working environment presents and how she supports other women who want to excel in an incredibly male-dominated industry.
2 Mins With A Mentor: Meet Lachlan Drummond
Head of Format - Value Engineering and Metro @ Woolworths
Starting fresh out of school with Woolies, Lachlan has worked through stores for 10 years before making the switch to the support office. He has been building the metro business and team ever since and was able to join the W360 team a few years ago.
With Mentorloop he hopes continue to grow his network base within Woolworths and help the next generation of team members both needing a mentor to help navigate the Woolworths way and to have a sounding board to help himself as well.
Starting fresh out of school with Woolies, Lachlan has worked through stores for 10 years before making the switch to the support office. He has been building the metro business and team ever since and was able to join the W360 team a few years ago.
With Mentorloop he hopes continue to grow his network base within Woolworths and help the next generation of team members both needing a mentor to help navigate the Woolworths way and to have a sounding board to help himself as well.
What do you think the ‘secret’ is to a good mentoring relationship?
Sharing open and honestly, providing objective feedback and useful anecdotes. Listening to understand and connecting others with the mentee when applicable. Being their advocate in situations they may not have had access to previously.
What is one way that mentoring has changed your professional or personal life?
One of my mentees has been successful in a promotion which gave me a lot of satisfaction watching them succeed, another mentee was able to better frame their approach to a critical meeting with great outcomes really setting up her year
Do you have any tips or advice for those new to mentoring?
The mentor defintiely gets as much from the relationship as the mentee. Listen to hear and don't jump to "this is what worked for me, or you remind me a lot like me". Understanding their point of view and then providing advice, and pushing in the right way is what I have found to work best with the mentees I have.
Sharing open and honestly, providing objective feedback and useful anecdotes. Listening to understand and connecting others with the mentee when applicable. Being their advocate in situations they may not have had access to previously.
What is one way that mentoring has changed your professional or personal life?
One of my mentees has been successful in a promotion which gave me a lot of satisfaction watching them succeed, another mentee was able to better frame their approach to a critical meeting with great outcomes really setting up her year
Do you have any tips or advice for those new to mentoring?
The mentor defintiely gets as much from the relationship as the mentee. Listen to hear and don't jump to "this is what worked for me, or you remind me a lot like me". Understanding their point of view and then providing advice, and pushing in the right way is what I have found to work best with the mentees I have.
2 Minutes With A Mentor: Meet Tania Juric
Meet Tania Juric – Associate General Counsel for ANZ & South East Asia at HP and a participating mentor for HP’s Power Up Mentoring Program. Tania shared with us what she hoped to achieve by being a mentor, as well as tips for those who are new to mentoring and want to get the most out of it.
As a mentor I hoped to develop a close, trusted relationship with my mentee where she could freely share her challenges and ideas and we could brainstorm these together helping her progress in her career. I am pleased to say that we are very much on track with these goals.
As a mentor, I was surprised at the rich content that my mentee brought to our meetings. She is currently undertaking an MBA and we really enjoy discussing her learning together. The relationship has definitely been mutually beneficial and we have both learnt a lot from each other.
For those new those new to mentoring?
Relax and have fun – don’t feel you have to dominate the discussion or come up with all of the talking points. If you have an engaged mentee, they will do the heavy lifting for you!
The HP Power Up Mentoring Program aims to enhance learning & skills development opportunities, while encouraging connections across locations and departments. The goal is to create a culture of knowledge sharing and connectedness.
As a mentor, I was surprised at the rich content that my mentee brought to our meetings. She is currently undertaking an MBA and we really enjoy discussing her learning together. The relationship has definitely been mutually beneficial and we have both learnt a lot from each other.
For those new those new to mentoring?
Relax and have fun – don’t feel you have to dominate the discussion or come up with all of the talking points. If you have an engaged mentee, they will do the heavy lifting for you!
The HP Power Up Mentoring Program aims to enhance learning & skills development opportunities, while encouraging connections across locations and departments. The goal is to create a culture of knowledge sharing and connectedness.
2 Mins With A Mentor: Meet Craig Osten
Meet Craig Osten – VP & CFO at Sandoz North America
How has mentoring changed your professional or personal life?
As a mentee, I have appreciated the counsel I have been given over the entire length of my career. Now I am trying to pay it forward. When I have been mentored, the big change was my mentor’s ability to make me believe that I could do something that I was not necessarily confident I could achieve.
As a mentor myself, I get no greater sense of accomplishment than watching a mentee achieve their aspirations and grow professionally and personally. If I even play a small part in that, it is very gratifying.
How has mentoring changed your professional or personal life?
As a mentee, I have appreciated the counsel I have been given over the entire length of my career. Now I am trying to pay it forward. When I have been mentored, the big change was my mentor’s ability to make me believe that I could do something that I was not necessarily confident I could achieve.
As a mentor myself, I get no greater sense of accomplishment than watching a mentee achieve their aspirations and grow professionally and personally. If I even play a small part in that, it is very gratifying.
What do you think the ‘secret’ is to a good mentoring relationship?
I think it's a willingness to listen and really hear and understand the other party’s thinking and point of view. It’s also really great when both people are clear on what they want from the pairing. Preparation for the discussions is also very helpful to maximise the benefit of the time together. An understanding of the need to be flexible (is also important) if the course of the relationship, discussion, or topics changes over time.
It’s important that the mentee has clear goals coming into the mentoring relationship. But equally, the mentor must be approachable. It is important that transparent conversations are happening.
Any advice for new mentors or mentees?
For those mentoring, listen as much, if not more, than you speak. Make suggestions more than requests, provide options on how to approach a particular issue. Be a sounding board. Be honest, authentic and approachable. Remember what it was like for you when you were starting your career journey. For mentees be clear with your mentor about what you want from the pairing. Make sure you are driving what you want out of the relationship. Be prepared for the discussions. It is ok if they go off in directions that you did not expect but good to have some rough talking points you would like to discuss to maximise the value of the time together.
I think it's a willingness to listen and really hear and understand the other party’s thinking and point of view. It’s also really great when both people are clear on what they want from the pairing. Preparation for the discussions is also very helpful to maximise the benefit of the time together. An understanding of the need to be flexible (is also important) if the course of the relationship, discussion, or topics changes over time.
It’s important that the mentee has clear goals coming into the mentoring relationship. But equally, the mentor must be approachable. It is important that transparent conversations are happening.
Any advice for new mentors or mentees?
For those mentoring, listen as much, if not more, than you speak. Make suggestions more than requests, provide options on how to approach a particular issue. Be a sounding board. Be honest, authentic and approachable. Remember what it was like for you when you were starting your career journey. For mentees be clear with your mentor about what you want from the pairing. Make sure you are driving what you want out of the relationship. Be prepared for the discussions. It is ok if they go off in directions that you did not expect but good to have some rough talking points you would like to discuss to maximise the value of the time together.
2 Mins With A Mentee: Meet Nerida Bourne
Nerida Bourne is the Operations Manager at Comply Flow and a mentee in the Out For Australia Mentoring Program. Out for Australia is an organisation that seeks to support and mentor aspiring LGBTIQ professionals as they navigate their way through the early stages of their career. Their aim is to bring the community together, to offer a supportive and nurturing environment for which people can network, build relationships and assist each other in their professional journeys.
How did you feel about mentoring before this program?
Going in I was a bit unsure what my goals were. I hoped to meet inspiring people and develop ongoing genuine relationships. So far so good!
What do you think the ‘secret’ is to a good mentoring relationship?
Active listening, appreciation and mutual respect. Just like any relationship the energy put in will impact the outcome.
Can you tell us about your mentor?
My mentor shared real-life advice that was learnt through years of trial, error and reflection. I was able to apply those to my current professional challenges and feel confident doing so.
Do you have any tips or advice for those new to mentoring? Figure out what you want then put yourself out there. You aren’t going to get anywhere waiting for the connections to come to you.
Charlene Bennetts
Mentee and Mentor
Having a different and ‘outsider’ perspective helps so much. Sometimes you’re so stuck in a situation, that it’s hard to see another point of view. Mentoring also helps me be responsible for my own career development as I have to set clear goals at the start and check in to see how I am tracking with those goals.
Very easy to use
Easy to use, clear and concise. The layout was good overall. It allows users to connect to mentors easily and organise goals with them.
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Easy to find a mentor and connect
One stop to find a mentor and keep in touch which is easy to do. Helps me find a mentor and stay in touch as a mentee.
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Lana Zegura
Mentee
This program, and in particular the luck I’ve been given to be assigned my mentor, has come at the perfect time in my career. I am wanting to take the next step – which in my opinion is a much bigger step than I’ve previously taken. So, to have a guiding hand, who is in my corner, who has an outsider’s perspective without any preconceived notions of my role or the people I work with, has been really helpful. I’ve really turned around my thinking and am ready to create a strategic game plan with my mentor on how I can achieve these goals and what I need to do to get there.
Kuan Chia
Mentee and Mentor
I now have a better appreciation of what the younger generation is experiencing so am able to be more effective in my professional world.
Mentoring the next generation of leaders is a rewarding experience and I would encourage others to give back.
Framework for developing a friendship and mentorship
I believe the best part about it was having such a structured framework that began the conversation with my mentor. At times I didn’t know what I should be talkig to them about so I came back to Mentoorloop for suggestions.
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Andrew Finlayson
Mentor
Mentoring has brought me great satisfaction – to even marginally affect the life and career of a talented individual, it is so rewarding.
I think the secret to good mentoring comes from the mentee primarily. They have to genuinely want to enter into the relationship honestly and be open to ideas and work with the mentor to develop their full potential. On the mentor’s part, it is essential not to be directive but to encourage the mentee to discover their own unique talents and capabilities.
Mentorloop is a great way to connect, share experiences and evolve your mentoring skills
Easy to use, keeps the conversation private, and provides good options for sharing goals. It’s providing a platform for many others like me who want to develop their mentoring skills, and for mentees to share experiences and ask for advice using a single platform.
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Tafadzwa Padare
Mentee
This opportunity has brought with it, the ability to speak out and bring a new perspective into discussions, meetings, and being heard.
Open communication is key to a good mentorship relationship, prioritizing both formal and informal meetings and catch up also helps form a connection between the mentor and mentee.
Powerful tool for establishing and managing mentoring relationships
The software is convenient and provides essential information for making the most of your time with your mentor. I am able to connect with like-minded people from around the country and am not limited to those who are physically in the same location as me. It is convenient to use.
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Ben Monnie
Mentor
I leave each conversation with something to think about and some actions to carry out before the next meeting. My advice for others – don’t be quick to make any recommendations. Listen to your mentees and get to know them first. There is no secret, it’s about being open and honest and giving each other things to consider and think about.
Mentoring helped me pivot my career for the better
It can be difficult to access senior leaders or other people in your industry. Mentorloop connects people.
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Gino Laios
Mentee and Mentor
Personally, my time being a mentee has changed the way I approach challenges in general, and now look at them as opportunities and not things that should get me down. When I don’t know which road I should take or have the answer, I now know it’s okay not to have an answer or solution for everything life puts in front of you. For my mentoring matches, I could see them also make that step following our discussions and sharing personal experiences and how things can be approached from a place of balanced confidence instead of imbalanced fear (of failure).
Mentoring with an Ocean in Between
The ‘Future of Work’ is here. Since colleagues aren’t always in the same location, it can be difficult for them to engage with one another in meaningful ways. Even mentoring styles have adapted (mentoring remotely versus face-to-face) as employers constantly look for ways to ensure their people feel connected.
With an ocean in between Alejandro and Damon, they describe their own approach to mentoring and how it’s changed.
Building Bridges and Empowering Women Through Mentorship
We sat down with Diana Hall, Head of Operations at Castrol ANZ to talk about her experience of mentoring as part of the National Association of Women in Operations (NAWO) Mentoring Circles Program. With over twenty years of incredible experience, she mentors seven women in operations across four different countries – proximity clearly is no hindrance for these amazing women.
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