No mentoring program existed at the University of B.C. (UBC) when Carmen Lee was studying political science in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“I wish I had a formal mentor at the time,” she said.
“Because they’re the ones who’ve been there before you and are able to provide you with some insight you may not have picked up on your own.”
It was up to Lee, now the executive director at the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association, to build informal relationships to guide her as she developed her career.
One professor who had served on a federal minister’s communications staff helped her figure out how to translate her political science background into a career in corporate communications and public relations.
Lee now volunteers as a mentor for UBC undergrads — her way of giving back to the school.
She gets calls from mentees asking her how to deal with situations young people are still inexperienced in — for instance, dealing with different working styles in a corporate team setting.
Lee said cultivating those mentor-mentee relationships is really just another extension of networking.
“The difference is just the level of communications you have with one another,” she said, adding mentoring requires a more intimate level of commitment from both parties than general networking.
Jeff Todd, executive director of the Alumni Association of UBC, said young grads are always looking for direction as they kickstart their careers in world that’s increasingly globalized. Even help with learning how to dress professionally can make a difference for many new grads.
But for those looking to stick with general networking, he said UBC’s 300,000 grads across 120 countries is a treasure trove for students and alumni looking for connections to advance their careers.
UBC hosts its alumni weekend May 24.
Todd said it’s a rare chance for the 200,000 UBC grads living in the Lower Mainland to help each other.
“When you have such a large network, too, there are multiple opportunities to sort of tap into that at any point in your life where maybe you’re making a career change,” he said.
“Within the UBC network, it’s unlikely we wouldn’t have someone engaged in one of the careers you might be interested in exploring.”
