Hey everyone,
In this blog post I am going to write about my experience being part of the PinkNews programme where only a selected number of people were able to become mentees to those who are part of / allies to the LGBTQ+ community, able to share experiences, networks and opportunities with a new generation of young people actively looking for their voices to be heard.
I had an initial interview with Mayur Gupta who is a Founder & CEO of Career Accelerator and a Teach First Innovation Partner to discuss why I wanted to be on the programme, what my future plans are and some of the skills that I would be able to utilise in the workplace after having some training or mentoring.
At 6pm on 12th May 2021, I attended a meeting for about 35-40 minutes with Mayur Gupta, Ana Nana representing PinkNews and a small group of other LGBTQ+ individuals who were also chosen for the opportunity; including Nuru Khaliel, Daniel Cibak, Ben Slater, Shannon Wilson, Victoria Gill, Jade Campbell, Louise Davis, Ellie Lyons, Benjamin Fontanilla and Ayush Dixit (as well as the 2nd group of mentees who had a session the day after us, but obviously there was no point attending the same session twice, so I don't know who's in that group!). During the time we all had together, we began with introductions which includefd our Name, Pronouns and current Occupation and we had a short presentation delivered by Mayur as to what we can expect to get out of the programme, when we can meet our mentors and next steps. He explained that the role of the mentors/coaches is to listen and ask any questions that could help us think of the answers to our own questions, and to use their experiences, networks and previous recommendations to send us in the right direction of finding work, feeling more included within the workplace and voicing opinions for the future young people rather than keeping things quiet and not being able to voice those valuable opinions and thoughts.
After this, we played a short Kahoot quiz, which was about a lot of LGBTQ+ related topics, such as 'Who is the current CEO of Stonewall?'. At the end of the session, Mayur asked us to give any feedback on the session and suggestions on how we could all stay in touch throughout the programme as it was the first time that this project was going to be put into action and we were the 'guinea pigs' of the process. Some of the suggestions included creating various social media chats on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or even LinkedIn, having 'virtual coffee' sessions which would eventually be able to happen in real life, different breakout rooms to speak to smaller groups 1-1 rather than quite a large group all speaking over eachother, and a support group with the mentees that would allow us to all discuss things that we didn't want to share outside of the little group, or even with our mentors.
On 21st May 2021, I had my first mentoring session with Federico Montanari, currently working as an Enterprise Associate at GoCardless and we discussed the journey that we have both had to get to where we are today. Federico explained that he's originally from Italy, studied in France for a year and ended up working at the tech company in London by 'accident' and I explained that I had recently just graduated from University and was looking for my first entry level career, open to any suitable job roles as I didn't want to shut any doors straightaway. In the session we also updated my LinkedIn profile and discussed that we could work on creating a new CV document to try and make it easier for employers to understand the type of role I was wanting to get into, rather than sharing so much information and previous experience that even I get confused! I emailed a copy of both my General and Media Production CV to Federico and in our second session, I think we are going to work together to create an alternative document for me to start using when applying for jobs going forward.
On 10th June 2021, I had my second mentoring session with Federico and it was quite interesting, because I think he wanted to ask me how I was getting on with job searching, whether I had any new interviews and if I had created a new CV (which he had given me some advice about, to make me focus on seeling myself and my skills, rather than giving away too much irrelevant information). I explained that I had been working as a Recruitment Operations Coordinator at Just Eat Takeaway since the end of April, but added that they finally offered me a permanent position as an Outbound Recruitment Agent and my first day was to begin on 28th June 2021. I also said that I was very happy and excited, but realised that I wouldn't be in this role forever, and I still wanted to try and juggle 101 other things at the same time.
During this session and the previous session, I updated my LinkedIn bio, removing information that would confuse future employers, and only adding a select few skills and interests; including being a Student Mentor, Cooking Savant and Confident Public Speaker. When Federico checked my CV, he had said that he wanted me to make a new version which was down one singular column which I tried to do, but some of the skills still managed to end up in multiple columns. I made sure to include some of my recent work experiences such as the role at Just Eat Takeaway, MNM Property Services and some of the temporary roles from when I was a student at Nottingham Trent University.
Federico asked me what else I would want help with as I had already found myself a new role, and I said that it would be nice to plan for when I eventually do progress into a new role at Just Eat Takeaway or onto a new business; and if he has any suggestions for continuing to network effectively, are there any sessions, videos or resources that I should be taking advantage of, and what other things should I be thinking about later on down the line. He hinted at the fact that I could stay in this role at JET for however long I feel comfortable for, and should be able to either progress on the job ladder, potentially into a more creative/media based role, or continue to work until something more suitable is available elsewhere. We also spoke briefly about the LGBTQ+ inclusivity within the company and whether they had any relevant groups, sessions or senior team leaders who were also part of the community. I was aware that there is a group called 'The Kitchen' but that is only open to permanent members of staff (which I am soon to be thankfully!) and will try to network and connect with senior professionals and find out if there are any LGBTQ+ friendly/inclusive communities within the company as this is something that's important to look out for, especially being part of a minority group!
On 4th July 2021, I attended a meet-up in Soho, London and met a few of the other mentees who were part of the programme. I was the first to arrive (as per usual) as I hate being late to events and wanted to make sure I was in the right place. Once arrived at Balans No.34 in Soho, London we ordered our 'brunch' meal. I decided to get a cheese omelette with a side of potatoes, and had a glass of water to accompany the meal. There were lots of topics of conversations covered including the coronavirus pandemic, being a creative in London and also plans for the future once we are able to go back to normal (or once we have grown up). It was also great to meet a variety of other LGBTQ+ individuals who are quite local to London, including some who lived in Stratford and others in South London would be happy travelling to Central London! Here is the blog post that I wrote, about a photoshoot I did with some of the girls (and I also managed to get some nice pictures of myself which I will link here!).
My third and final virtual mentoring session was on 2nd August 2021, where I discussed with Federico my potential plans for the future. I explained that I was happy in the current role that I was in, but was planning to eventually get back into the creative industry in the future. The fact that I am still so young and unsure what kind of career path I want to get into, the best thing to do is just focus on the role that I have successful in at the moment and see what the future brings when the time is right. We also discussed how I could be both professional and be able to showcase my fun personality at the same time. As a recent graduate who has never worked in the 'real world' before, it's a massive realisation that I have had to grow up quickly, focus on learning and developing my skills, such as communication, teamwork and motivation to focus on my work. In addition to this, I have had to try and forget about everything else that is happening in my life in order to make sure that I stay focused on the role, but also ensuring that I still have some free time to meet friends, chill out, create content and plan for the future! Federico also explained that the longer I stay in a recruitment/customer service based role, the more distant I will become from the creative world, but I realised that potentially my creative side could be a side hustle and for pleasure, rather than a career, and my natural talent of being able to communicate with different people could be the role that I would be able to develop in. It's a difficult time for everyone at the moment with jobs, job losses, deaths, cases and people not knowing what steps to take next in their careers, but I think for myself at the moment, my creative jobs and content isn't earning my money, but a job will...and that has to be my priority.
To bring the programme to an end, there was a post programme mentor and mentee lunch with Go Cardless which happened on 10th August 2021. It was great to meet with some of the other mentors and mentees from the programme to speak about how we all found out about the programme, what journeys we have been on through our LGBTQ lifestyles, education and whether we study, work or are just enjoying the free time that we've had over the last almost 2 years. work, and to enjoy a social and civilised night out! I also decided to go for the restaurant's special which was a creamy pasta dish with mushrooms and brocolli (a much healthier option than what I expected, and it was super tasty as well!). And to top it all off, we didn't have to pay for our meal as it was covered by the company which was an added bonus, and now I wish I went for one of the most expensive meals!
It was a great programme to be a part of from the introduction presentations at the beginning, up until the final meal with 'the lads' and it was great to start adding to my LGBTQ+ group of connections as coming back to London has definitely made me want to change my own perceptions of the city, rather than just looking to escape to somewhere else all the time. There are good people here, there is good food here, and there are lots of opportunities in London, and it will always be the place that I am from, but don't necessarily be the place that I will have to stay for the rest of my life!
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post about my time on the programme, and I'll be back with another blog post soon!