Career Accelerator X Just Eat Takeaway

Hey everyone!

For my 2nd LinkedIn article, I thought I would write about my recent work with Career Accelerator (once again!) and answer some questions that were emailed to me a few weeks ago about my experiences. For context, during the coronavirus pandemic, I graduated from University with not much support in terms of finding a job, and I was reached out to by somebody on LinkedIn who suggested I apply to be on the mentoring programme at Career Accelerator. In 2021 I was a mentor and in 2022 I was a mentee and here's a short summary of some of the reasons why I am still working with them today.

1- 'How have you been involved with Career Accelerator?'

As mentioned above, I actually joined the CA community back in the Summer of 2021 and went through an interview process about why I wanted to sign up to the programme and what I hoped to get out of the programme. For someone at the time who was unemployed and fresh out of University, I thought it would be a good idea to get some advice and assistance from those who were already working professionals. After my mentoring sessions which included topics such as the industry I wanted to get into, the skills I wanted to develop and how to know if a company was LGBTQ+ inclusive and had a place for all, I asked my mentor for advice on how to transition from University to the professional working world to ensure I could make myself as employable as possible. I joined the programme back in 2022 as a mentor and was able to share my experiences of professional life, my education and give knowledge, tips and guidance to my mentee (which you can read about in my first article)

2- 'Why did you choose to volunteer as a mentor at Career Accelerator?'

I think the main reason why I decided to apply to be a mentor was because I had an interview at University for a media placement opportunity, and I clearly remember the hiring manager saying to me that I had no experience, but 'the right amount of motivation and understanding of my own skillset' in order to be successful in life. He explained to me that he was wiling to give me the opportunity of having a placement, if I was to give back to somebody in the future, and I thought this was the best way for me to give back to somebody, who was going through what I had already experienced in the previous year.

3- 'What was the best thing that you got out of mentoring a young person?'

I feel like I have been a mentor since I left Secondary School and went to University, as I have always been somebody to put other people before myself, even when I was at my worst. Whether that be helping with video projects, editing, organising content for people, cleaning, giving people relationship advice, studying advice or just being a good listener and being able to take in information, so for me, I think the best thing I got out of mentoring on the CA programme was that I was able to learn about myself and realise how far I have come, by speaking about some of my previous experiences and opportunities. It's important to have a solid friendship group and employees that you can trust, but the most important thing in life is putting yourself first, mentally, physically, socially, emotionally and financially which was something I was finally able to understand...and that's how I have got to where I am today.

Having a mentee allowed me to put 110% effort into somebody that I didn't know, to try and help them get a better understanding of what they wanted to do as they got older; even if there was nothing 'set in stone', it was more of a discussion of the possible paths they could go down.

4- 'Why do you value Just Eat Takeaway's partnership with Career Accelerator?'

Just Eat Takeaway is a company that is involved with many internal and external projects, such a the sponsorship of FIFA, Love Island, the new ambassador partnership with Katy Perry along with a company that stands for a lot of subjects and topics including Mental Health, LGBTQ+ inclusivity, Black history month, Women in work, Inclusion and Diversity and many more! I think it's important for companies to use their platform to show off their own projects, whilst also raising awareness about topics they are passionate about, and also being accessible and attractive to the new generation of young people who are studying, graduating, working or in a gap year looking for a start to their new career. The partnership of JET with CA means that young professionals like myself who have had difficulties and challenges of our own, are able to be matched with young people who are on the road to success, by giving them advice, knowledge and support that we have gained over the last few months and years. We can also give them information that they would not have necessarily been given at school or by their parents for example, and as the job market continues to change, fresh faces are needed to continue being the voice for the next generations to come, making easier for them to find secure work in open minded and safe work environments.

My work with Career Accelerator is not over, and I hope to help inspire other young people, graduates and professionals to delve into the world of mentoring or coaching, if you have a story to tell, because we are the ones that can make a change with our voices, or at least give hope to the next generations when they do eventually begin looking for work!

I know there are also a lot of current students and graduates looking for work within my network so if anyone just wants to have a chat, some advice, or to talk about what they're doing to make themselves more employable and how to tackle the job market, I may not have all the answers, but I will take the time to sit down and listen to anyone who wants to share a part of their story!

I'll be back soon with another article soon! Have a good rest of your Tuesday!