In this article our Director, Tom Rae, talks about his experience as a mentor and masterclass presenter for Career Ready, helping young people kick-start rewarding futures:

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“I have a passion for sharing my knowledge and experiences with others, especially with young people, so volunteering with Career Ready seemed like the perfect opportunity for me. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had mentors and masterclasses during my own studies, business professionals who have helped and supported me in many different ways, so becoming a mentor and masterclass presenter seemed like the perfect way for me to give back.

I’ve now been a mentor for a few years, working with two sixth-form students to help develop their professional and commercial skills. At the start, Career Ready gave me the basic tools and resources which I could tailor around my experiences and my mentees’ expectations. From there, I have communicated and met with them on a regular basis to go through various topics: from CV writing, cover letters and networking, to online skills and job opportunities that are relevant to their areas of interest (to mention but a few!)

When I began volunteering for Career Ready, I was keen to bring ‘real world’ context to the classroom by helping young people realise how theoretical knowledge can be applied in their future careers.

One particular Masterclass I delivered to sixth-form students was on the topic of Communication & Networking – something which has significantly evolved in recent years due to mobile capabilities, social media, and other advances in technology – all of which are important to me as a Marketing Consultant!

The ways we interact have changed (for better and for worse), but I was keen to emphasise the value and importance of ‘face-to-face’ interaction, which should always play a part in our working lives. After all, our interpersonal skills are priceless. I really enjoyed having discussions with the students, where I learnt as much from them as they hopefully did from me.

I hope my support has in some small way helped them to better understand and manage the transition they will make from education to employment. This experience has significantly helped me as well, developing my interpersonal skills and, above all else, knowing when to guide my mentees and when to simply listen to them.”