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Mentoring Case Studies
Read more about how Crick colleagues have found Mentoring useful. More case studies coming soon!
Sophie
I wanted to ensure I was fully informed about all the options available to me after my PhD and was looking to apply for a work placement organised annually by the Academy Team. Before applications opened, I used CrickConnect to identify alumni working in areas I was interested in to learn a little more about.
How I used the CrickConnect Mentoring platform
I identified a number of people working in areas I was keen to find out more about such as science communication and medical writing. I found some who had also completed a PhD and started by messaging 2 people explaining my background and that I was interested to find out more about their work and what they do. They both responded within a few days and I organised a Zoom talk with each, taking some time before each call to prepare some questions and research their background in a bit more depth to fully utilise the time I had with them.
How mentoring helped me
The conversations, each lasting about an hour, helped me feel more informed when applying for work placements as I now had more of an understanding of how my experiences and skills were transferable to work outside a lab. Often when you meet employers at events or at recruitment talks, they’re presenting a particular view of their organisation/industry to encourage applications but from the mentoring and attending other careers talks at the Crick where alumni have been involved, I’ve found people are happy and willing to give a realistic and honest insight into what they do. They understand what it feels like to work here and are able to give really useful insights and tips. I was a bit daunted at first to reach out to someone I didn’t know in this way but it was clear they were really happy to help having signed up to the platform to specifically do that!
Cagla
I’ve always loved science and chose to pursue a PhD at the Crick to explore that interest further. I like to keep my options open for my future career and next steps, so I was keen to speak to others and explore the different pathways they’d taken.
How I used the CrickConnect Mentoring platform
I reached out to 3 people working in various sectors, particularly people conducting science in industry. I sent them a short message outlining my current experience and what I’d hoped to achieve from speaking to them. This was to hear more about their work, how they got into it and if they had any advice for what I could be doing during my PhD now to support possible future applications. Everyone I contacted responded to me and we arranged a short meeting where I could chat with them and ask my questions. I only needed to meet each person once (we met online via Zoom), but all were happy to meet again if I needed to in the future.
How mentoring helped me
It showed me how important it is to ask questions and to utilise the opportunities available at the Crick (and the extended network we’re part of). All the people I spoke to had done a PhD like me and then entered different industry roles. They all highlighted that they had stayed curious and developed skills like teamwork and problem-solving and hadn’t done anything extra that felt out of reach for me. The perspectives they shared definitely helped me to feel more relaxed and confident about my future prospects.
Joe
I’m a Postdoc in the DeBenedictis Group at the Crick, working on microbial engineering with extremophiles and robotic automation for experimental biology. I signed up to the reverse mentoring programme as I was keen to get a different perspective on life and challenges at the Crick.
How reverse mentoring helped me
My mentee is a senior leader in Operations here at the Crick. In the reverse mentoring programme, junior employees like me provide coaching and feedback for leaders in the organization, ensuring a two way flow of information and community support. As we both work onsite here at the Crick and we both volunteered for the programme, we have been meeting in person for the past months.
We have more in common than may have been obvious from the start. I previously co-founded, and briefly led, a successful tech startup in the US, and some of the key tasks of my mentee today are identical to those I learned in that role; team building, agenda setting, contract negotiation, and the like. Having an opportunity to exchange lessons learned and current observations about the Crick from diverse viewpoints has been beneficial for both of us in our day to day jobs. I now have a more rounded view of what keeps the Crick running, and how to request those resources when I need them.
The equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) team here at the Crick has been absolutely essential for the success of this offline programme. By providing structure, outcomes from past reverse mentoring cohorts, and opportunities to "train the trainer", they've made it easy to get started and see some progress for both mentor and mentee quickly.
