Jo Cameron discusses her journey on the AYP Mentor Scheme with her mentor Carla Riddell.

When I discovered that Aberdeen Young Professionals ran a successful Mentor Scheme, I knew I had to sign up. I had heard of a couple of friends having a mentor through their employer and as this was not offered through my work, I saw this as a great opportunity to receive some guidance with my own career.


I was immediately drawn to Carla Riddell as my mentor, particularly because she seemed like such a positive and friendly person who has had such a successful career within the energy industry so far, a sector that I’m eager to pursue a career in. 

The scheme is being run differently to how it has been in the past due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I thought this year it would be challenging to carry out a Mentor Scheme but we’ve been able to adapt well to the situation through using video calls.
 
The main areas I’m looking to work on during my time on the Mentor Scheme are:
 

• Developing my skills
  

Aside from enrolling in a course, I am looking for alternative ways to develop my current skills as well as gain new skills outside of work.

• Networking

I know it’s important to network but how do you go about networking when you’re starting out in your career in a small company? 

• Confidence

I’m hoping to improve my confidence and mental resilience as I’ve found it challenging dealing with setbacks in the past. 

Although we both have different technical backgrounds – I studied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at university while Carla is a Geologist - I’ve been surprised to learn that there were some similarities between Carla’s first job out of university and mine. Carla has provided me with some great suggestions on how to work on achieving my goals and I’m already feeling more confident and positive even though I’m only a few months into the Mentor Scheme. There’s still so much I’d like to cover during my time on the scheme and I’m excited to see what else I can achieve! 

​If anyone is wondering if they should get involved with the AYP Mentor Scheme then I would highly recommend it. A mentor will provide a different perspective on topics (which I never would have got by doing my own research online) and will also really encourage you to invest in yourself.

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