Unwind the Grind: Mentorship Program Round-up

Unwind the Grind Mentorship program was kicked off in Dubai in Jan 2018 with opening up applications for mentors and mentees. We also organized a Mentorship launch event in February where mentors and mentees who had signed up could meet with each other and get to know the cohort better. We shared mentorship best practices with a fun gamification exercise and provided an opportunity to our community to engage with and listen to various mentors in person. As a result of our successful event, we continued receiving more applications and by early March we paired 70 mentors and mentees with each other.

What makes UTG Mentorship program unique is that firstly, it is a platform for millennials, by millennials. Through a rigorous vetting process, we ensured that our experienced millennial mentors were paired with the right mentees based on mentee’s preferences with regards to experience, industry, skills and personality fit. We also made it a two-way street whereby both mentors and mentees were able to contribute to the relationship in a meaningful way. Mentors benefitted from the expertise, experience and network that the mentees offered. Mentees got clarity on their career goals, developed industry relevant functional skills, sharpened their soft skills and benefitted from the mentor’s broad network. In some cases, mentees also ended up with lucrative job opportunities. Seham Bejammal, mom of 2 was on a career break for few years and one of our mentors, Umair Hammed – Partner at KPMG gave her the opportunity to intern at KPMG for 3 months.

“For me, it’s all about learning new skills, I work with different and diverse people and learn something interesting everyday”, says Seham. Susan echoes the same message. “Although there have been few interactions, I have gained so much knowledge from Huma, who is highly inspiring and has helped me explore options for my Masters that I am planning to pursue”.

Karan Bangera who runs the startup “Gentleman’s community’ has been able to source a freelance content writer for his website, from UTG community. His week-long hunt was resolved in 5 minutes thanks to our Whatsapp Group which has all 70 members from the current cohort. His mentor Nida Sumar, founder of Keza came up with the idea to have a Whatsapp group so people could reach out for specific queries and get an instant answer.

We’ve also helped promote the work of our fellow mentors. Briar Prestidge, founder of Deals in High Heels led a workshop with Andreea Zoia on public speaking which Hanifa Itani from our community attended and found extremely useful. “Andrea, captivating and energetic, has a unique approach to public speaking: know thyself. I have learnt to use my voice properly to create more opportunities”. says Hanifa. She adds, “Samia Hasan, founder of Unwind the Grind was my mentor and we’ve had a solid, rich and mutually beneficial relationship in the last 5 months. Actively looking for a job, taking a proactive approach in connecting with professionals in my field, networking, going outside my comfort zone, and attending several workshops to cover gaps in my strengths are some of the many benefits I have gained through our mentor-mentee relationship.”

We also gave our mentorship cohort community access to various career development events and conferences. Some members of the mentorship program attended SME World Summit while the others benefitted from the Human Capital Forum which brings together senior HR professionals from the region and covers relevant issues such as workplace culture, diversity & inclusion and how to engage millennials at the workplace.

Jenson Cherian, Commercial Analyst at Digital Media Services loved his sessions with Vivek Mehta, Brand Strategy Consultant. “I received actionable inputs during every session. Vivek helped me focus on the bigger picture, being able to talk through it was very valuable for me”.

We whole heartedly thank our community of inspiring mentors and eager to learn mentees for coming together and learning from each other. The program has come to an end but definitely not the relationships built throughout these six months. We encourage our mentors and mentees to continue being in touch and supporting each other as needed. Good relationships offer understanding when you fail, confidence when you’re in doubt, and celebration as you go through life. Take time to nurture and appreciate the relationships that make a difference in your business and your life.