I applied to be a Student Mentor because I wanted to use my student experience to help others. The role enables me to help those who may be struggling to settle in at the beginning of university, but also at any other points during the year as and when they need support. Being able to support those who need support at university is extremely rewarding, but has also been a great way to develop my wider skillset outside of my degree.
I have been a Student Mentor for the last two years, and have thoroughly enjoyed my experience within the role. I have had the pleasure of working within a team of 15 friendly and encouraging colleagues, undertaking a variety of different tasks on shift, from flat meetings and student visits, to phone calls and emails.
When beginning the role, I received extensive and extremely helpful training to support me in all aspects of the role – we were encouraged to ask questions about elements we were not confident with, but also received constant support whist on shift if there is anything we were unfamiliar with. We were also able to bond as a team during a variety of fun and exciting team building activities – relying on your colleagues during shift is extremely important when sharing the workload and helping each other with difficult and complex cases.
There are many benefits to working as a Student Mentor – not only are you able to work with a great group of people, but the role is extremely flexible. The management team are extremely understanding regarding the commitment necessary to degree studies, therefore, are as flexible as possible when assigning shifts. However, there are always opportunities for extra hours when completing extra admin and working at different events, for example, Wellbeing Cafés and Housemate Finders.
I’ve developed a variety of skills whilst working as a Student Mentor – for example, improving my leadership skills during Arrivals Weekend when supervising a group of Welcome Team, developing my confidence when talking to students in difficult situations, and enhancing my organisation and time management skills when balancing commitments to my degree, societies and a part-time job.
The different scenarios I have been placed in as a Student Mentor have been, at times, challenging. However, they have all played a significant role in my personal development, as well as my professional development. The skills I have gained and the situations I have encountered have given me a number of examples to discuss in interviews for graduate roles and internships, applicable for a multitude of careers. Our team is comprised of a variety of different degrees, for example, Law, Politics, Psychology and Biomedicine, all of which benefit greatly from the experiences they have as Student Mentors.
My advice to any potential applicants would be to just be yourself – the team are looking for genuine, kind and caring people, and this will shine through naturally during your responses at the interview stages. Also, the group interviews may be daunting, but they are an opportunity for the team to see how well you work with others – make sure to contribute your ideas but also encourage others to speak up! Also, during your application, it would definitely be useful to use your past experiences, whether this is within a society or a previous job, to demonstrate that you have the right skills to be a Student Mentor.
Working as a Student Mentor has been one of the highlights of my university experience – I have made amazing friends, helped with a range of different cases, and seen first hand the difference the role can make to the lives of students. If you want to find out more about the Student Mentor Scheme and the role, please contact us and we would be happy to answer any questions!
Contact us!
Email: mentorwelfare@guild.bham.ac.uk
Call: 0121 415 8568
Facebook: Studentmentorscheme
Instagram: @Studentmentors