Anna Crawford was one of our mentees on WIAN’s 2018/19 graduate Mentorship Programme. She has a BA Hons Sociology [International] degree from the University of Leeds with a year at McGill University (Canada) and an MSc in Development Management from LSE. Anna had under 1 year of professional experience upon starting the scheme. She applied for the mentorship scheme in order to learn more about the industry, to refine her future career direction, build confidence in applying for jobs, and to become more aware of the opportunities available. She was paired with SK, a Country Director from Plan International Vietnam who works to deliver the international development strategy in Vietnam.

During the scheme Anna had monthly 1-1 sessions with her mentor via Skype and emailed regularly. In order to benefit her professional development, Anna sought support for different job applications. SK was able to suggest minor changes to Anna's CV and also reviewed Anna's written job applications before they were submitted. Anna also conducted mock interviews with her mentor SK. These were tailored for specific job vacancies Anna had applied for. SK asked questions that were likely to come up in the real interview, and then provided Anna with thorough feedback afterwards. These mock interviews were very helpful in improving Anna's confidence and prepared her for potential talking points in each interview.

The two most valuable insights Anna gained from the scheme are increased confidence and a clearer idea of a future career path.

During the final month of the mentorship scheme, Anna secured a job as Regional Assistant Consultant - Africa and Caribbean at IMC Worldwide. The confidence gained by her mentoring relationship, the increased awareness of opportunities, and improvement in general industry knowledge all contributed towards Anna applying for this role that she may not have previously been aware of or considered as suitable.

As advice for future mentees, Anna said: “Don’t be afraid to ask questions and take advantage of your mentor's expertise!”

Anna also advised: “Don’t have a narrow view of mentorship, you should go into the relationship with an open mind, as mentorship is much broader than you may initially think”.