The WIIW Career Guides Mentor Program creates opportunities for students to enhance their professional development and jumpstart their careers by connecting them with an experienced Career Guide for one-on-one mentorship. Career Guides will help their mentees to:
- Develop and maintain a professional mentoring relationship
- Enhance communication and networking skills
- Build confidence in setting and achieving goals
- Grow decision making and problem-solving skills
- Gain exposure to new perspectives and career possibilities
- Practice new skills at the WIIW Networking Event
Wake Tech students: Gain a career advantage
Are you looking to enhance your professional development and increase your networking skills? Join the Wake Invests in Women Career Guides Mentor Program to connect with career professionals in the Wake County and the Triangle. You'll gain invaluable skills in career readiness, build your professional network and strengthen your confidence. This program is open to all students.
Personal and professional benefits
- Develop rapport with your mentor through goal setting, accountability, constructive feedback
- Goal setting for professional growth
- Tracking progress towards goals through strategic action
- Reflection on lessons learned through process
- Build confidence through formal and informal professional networking
- Increase comfort with public speaking
- Practice active listening and communication skills
- Establish and foster LinkedIn professional presence
- Develop essential career readiness competencies
- Career Guide students will develop and strengthen essential transferable soft skills
- Career and self-development
- Communication
- Critical thinking
- Professionalism
- Career Guide students will develop and strengthen essential transferable soft skills
Wake County professionals: Become a WIIW Career Guide mentor
We are looking for career professionals of all genders and experience levels with an interest in coaching and mentoring Wake Technical Community College students, with a focus on historically underserved populations. As a Career Guide, you can support and empower your student mentee and help them reach their professional goals:
- Demonstrate qualities successful leaders possess
- Help their student(s) set and make progress on actionable career goals
- Offer perspective, advice and constructive feedback
- Provide opportunities for student(s) to increase skills in key career competencies
- Connect students with a professional network
Student participation details
- Participate in Career Guides Program orientation (September)
- Meet one on one with Career Guide (October – April)
- Once a month at minimum, but more contact is encouraged
- In-person or virtually
- Participate in at least one professional development opportunity during the course of the program (October – April).
- Options include (but not limited to):
- Discussion sessions hosted by WIIW (in-person or virtual)
- Career Services programs
- Low-stakes networking night
- Career fairs
- Employer-sponsored networking events
- End-of-program celebration
- Options include (but not limited to):
- Participants must be currently enrolled in a Wake Tech program
- No GPA requirement
- Previous leadership experience not required
- Receive WIIW swag at end of semester
Mentor requirements
- Participate in Career Guide mentor orientation
- Engage regularly with assigned student(s) one-on-one in person or via Microsoft Teams. One meeting monthly at minimum, but more engagement is encouraged.
- One-on-one discussion guides provided
- Topics include Communication and Networking, Self-Confidence and Resilience and Actionable Goal Setting
- Participate in the WIIW Networking session, which provides students an opportunity to practice what they have worked on during the semester
- Receive WIIW swag at end of semester
It boosts your:
- Interpersonal skills
- Strengthens your professional knowledge
- Enhances your leadership skills
- Adds to your qualifications
- Build your confidence
