Employer mentoring

We have run a scheme to help you find out about career options for you next step, see how your research is viewed outside of academia, manage the transition from academia to business/industry/charity and start to build your personal and professional network. 

This mentoring programme is currently paused. If you would like to discuss the options on an employer mentor please email the Researcher Development and Employability Team via rdp@surrey.ac.uk 

Individuals seek mentors for various reasons but especially at times of transition, where an outside perspective and alternative support mechanism is useful. Having an employer as a mentor is particularly beneficial if you want to:

  • Get advice about moving and the differences between academia and the commercial world
  • Find out about specific work areas and the day to day reality of different job roles
  • Enlarge your network of contacts for the future, whether for collaboration or job hunting purposes
  • Gain insight into an organisation and its culture
  • Find out how your research is viewed outside of academia.

Mentoring can be one-off or ongoing (3-4 sessions over a year) and you can choose to have online or face to face contact, depending on where your mentor is based.

If you would like more information and to see our current list of available mentors email the Researcher Development and Employability Team on rdp@surrey.ac.uk

Applying for a mentoring opportunity with an employer

You can log into SurreyLearn, go to the doctoral college pages and click on the box labelled mentoring. There is a tab where you can view all of the available mentor’s biographies.  

All you need to do is:

  • express your interest via an email to rdp@surrey.ac.uk
  • tell us why you want to be involved
  • explain what you hope to gain from the mentoring process
  • attach a copy of your CV
  • We will then get in touch for a one to one appointment to find out what would suit you best.

Support and feedback

Mentors and mentees will be supported by the RDP team at Surrey and we will ask you to complete a short feedback form after the mentoring relationship has ended. We provide preparatory information for mentors and as a mentee, we will provide a briefing session for you before mentoring starts so that the expectations of both parties are clear and shared.