Creative Mentor Network: Shannon

Posted on: 31 July 2024 by Shannon Cheung in Graduate stories

Hi! I’m Shannon and I am currently working as the Digital Engagement Graduate Executive (yes, I’ve had a cheeky upgrade since we last spoke) at Careers & Employability.

I recently was a mentee as part of the Chanel: You, Me, Us, Designing Futures Programme (courtesy of the Creative Mentor Network) and it really showed me the power of mentoring.

At the start of the programme, we were invited to a group session to understand how to effectively make use of the mentoring scheme which ran over 6 months. During this session we set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals for us to discuss and action with our mentor.

I was paired up with a mentor based on my areas of interest (Communications and Branding) who worked at Chanel or one of their sister companies. I was lucky enough to be paired with a mentor who works in Corporate Communications at Chanel who also has a fresh outlook on the current job market.

As part of the programme, I was given the opportunity to attend various networking sessions (with other mentees and mentors at the Chanel offices) and attended a showcase event at the end of the programme. It was truly such an exciting experience to see what my fellow mentees had achieved (with the support of their mentors) and how multi-faceted the cohort was. The showcase comprised of exhibitions of photoshoots, streetwear clothing brands, jewellery brands and an AI installation!

Overall, I found the mentorship programme invaluable as it allowed me to make professional connections within an industry that is typically perceived as quite hard to get into. It also means a lot to me (especially in this current job market) to know that there is someone outside of my organisation in my industry that believes in my capabilities and is incredibly supportive.

If you get the opportunity to be mentored (even if your mentor isn’t working directly in your industry) I’d say, definitely give it a go as you never know what transferable knowledge or skills you can pick up.