University celebrates 10 years of alumni-student mentoring success

The University of Exeter’s Career Mentor Scheme was launched 10 years ago with a small scale pilot matching just five alumni with students for a 12 month mentoring partnership. The benefits were immediately clear;

Since then, the Scheme has gone from strength to strength. More than 2,000 students have benefitted from careers, insights and guidance and advice, giving them an edge in the increasingly competitive jobs market. Students who take part in the scheme demonstrate significantly higher employability than their University peers, being 7% more likely to be in a graduate job six months after graduation.

More than 650 alumni who have mentored students since the scheme began, collectively giving more than 33,000 hours of time. Our mentors make a difference in the lives of our students; such as Virginia Stuart-Taylor who graduated with a BA in Modern Languages in 2012 and was inspired by her mentor to start a blog and pursue her dream career.

The Scheme is win-win, with 94% of mentors who provided feedback on their experiences saying they would recommend the experience to a friend. Mentoring provides an opportunity to develop your own reflection and coaching skills and to stay connected with the lives of students at Exeter. Make sure to watch videos of alumnae Sandra Norval (MBA 2014) and Cressida Gaffney (Psychology 2003) where they talk about what they got out of mentoring.

On behalf of our students and recent graduates, thank you to everyone who has generously given their time and expertise to support the scheme. You help us make the exceptional happen!

The Career Mentor Scheme