Scotch College

The Perspective of a Mentor

Fourteen months after the OSCAnet-based mentoring program started, and after around 40 successful mentoring exercises by a panel of Old Boy mentors, Ross Johnston ('63) was asked as one of the mentors how he felt about the program and helping Old Boys struggling with career and mid career choices.

Ross believes that the program has been very successful to date, starting from a low base, and has been delighted with some of the success stories. “It is enormously satisfying to get a phone call from somebody you have helped straight after a successful job interview and to hear the enthusiasm in the voice of a person who less than three months ago was unclear, worried about their future, and hating their existing role.'

Asked about the process of the program, Ross explained that, “It's important to actually find out what the key issue is early in the mentoring process, as it varies with each person. We have had highly talented individuals who have not had the confidence to take the next step, or were uncertain how to market themselves. Others probably should have left their current role for something more challenging several years ago, and some youngsters in the professions have felt let down five years after leaving university.'

Almost everybody we have worked with has found the mentoring process helpful, and the ability to talk with “experts in the field' who are seen as both safe and interested appears a great strength of the program.

“As a mentor it is also interesting to come across problems in your own field of interest, and this has been very much a learning exercise for us as well. All in all, it's been an excellent way to put something back into the Scotch community,' said Ross.

Ross sits on the Mentoring Committee and his contribution to the development and running of the program has been immeasurable. Ross also runs his own HR consultancy.

A Mentoree's Perspective

I came across the Mentor program while browsing the Old Scotch website (OSCAnet). At the time, I was halfway through my 1st Semester of the final year of my degree (Bachelor of Environmental Engineering) and I thought it could open a few doors to start my career.

I subscribed and uploaded my details onto the web, but must have been so involved with my final year that I forgot about it all together. It wasn't until later that I got a call from the Old Scotch office telling me that they had found a professional engineer who was willing to help me start my career. Although he wasn't an Environmental Engineer, he was still involved in the engineering industry. I was given his details and got in contact with him straight away. We organised a time to meet and discussed my job search, what progress I was making, and then assessed what steps I should take to ensure that I gave myself every opportunity to get the right job.

Working with my mentor, I landed the job that I am working in today. I now work in an international engineering consultancy as a Water Resource/Wastewater engineer, a job I would not have got if my mentor hadn't given the advice he did. It is a program that I would recommend to anyone who is looking for vacation work, graduate positions, articles etc, and general guidance regarding their particular career situation.

Daniel Brooke ('98)