Students become friends with big bosses and stories at Vietnam Alumni Mentoring

This is a non-profit organization established with the mission of helping students have appropriate orientations and timely preparation for their careers and jobs after graduation, while at the same time having the best steps to develop their thinking to develop themselves for a happier and more successful life journey.

Vietnam Alumni Mentoring – The essence of polishing stones into diamonds

In July 2024, Phuong Khanh, a student at Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, finished her second year with many worries and confusion about her future path. As a good, hard-working and progressive student, she had never had an internship and did not know whether she had chosen the right major or not, what the job would be like after graduation and how to get a good job then. Although among the students, there are many who have a clear direction from the beginning, people like Phuong Khanh are not a few.

In early 3rd year, October 2024, Phuong Khanh participated in Vietnam Alumni Mentoring - the UEH Mentoring program for students of Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, season 10. On the first day, Khanh - mentee and her mentor - a former director with more than 20 years of experience in the financial industry - had a cozy lunch, and talked intimately to build a connection between the two sisters. Not only about studying, the story between the two also revolved around the topics of family, friends, intimacy and openness, making Khanh no longer shy and ready to open up her stories.

The second mentoring session started with an analysis of opportunities that fit Khanh’s field of expertise and interests. After the third session, you began to have a clearer picture of the job you wanted and began to look for related internship opportunities at businesses with majors that fit this field.

Because the mentor is also someone who has close friends in auditing and financial companies, Khanh easily sent her CV and approached interview opportunities for an internship position at one of the Big 4 foreign auditing companies in Vietnam. Thanks to her diligence, positive thinking, and skills partly trained through training programs of Vietnam Alumni Mentoring, Khanh passed the application review and interview rounds, and got a paid internship at the M&A department of one of the Big 4 auditing companies. Now, the financial job is no longer as vague and difficult as she initially thought. Khanh was also able to set simple but clear goals and a roadmap for the coming years. After 4 months of internship, although she had just finished year 3, she had received a lot of trust from the company and was willing to give her a job opportunity after graduation.

Hoang Anh, a student union officer who has just finished year 2, is starting year 3 with many concerns before the turning points and choices about the major to pursue as well as social and extracurricular activities. Paired with mentor Nguyen Duc Thang, CEO of Redsquare Company specializing in investment and financial management, after only 2 sessions with the mentor giving questions for self-analysis and answers, Hoang Anh has made a clear choice and started planning with an early internship journey. At the end of year 3, you received an opportunity to exchange international students in Marketing and have set specific goals and roadmaps for yourself, full of confidence and excitement.

At VAM, stories like Khanh's are not rare. With nearly 700 mentors who are experienced managers and executives in all fields, each year Vietnam Alumni Mentoring accompanies more than 1,000 students from the University of Economics, University of Technology, Banking University of Ho Chi Minh City, Huflit University, Da Nang University, etc. Each student will be paired with a mentor who has many years of experience and the ability to accompany and inspire students to be inspired, live more positively and have clearer goals and roadmaps in their career path. Not only career orientation, many mentees have had remarkable changes after the mentoring semester such as being confident, open, free from negative thinking states and being able to build better personal relationships with parents, friends, etc.

At VAM,

The average number of years of experience of mentors is 12 years, and a minimum of 5 years or more, of which 44% are senior management level (C-level/Director) and 56% are Manager/Leader. Vam's main activities include 1:1 mentoring, whereby the mentor (manager) and mentee (student) will meet at least once a month during a semester of 6 to 8 months to discuss the mentee's specific problems, through the mentor's assistance, inspiration and appropriate questions to help mentees find solutions to their problems and be motivated to develop themselves. An equally important activity is practical training, whereby mentees will participate in many practical professional training and self-development courses as by experts. In addition, mentees can also schedule meetings with other mentors besides the assigned mentor, thereby accessing many experts in the fields that the mentee is interested in and wants to learn. All activities are completely free. After a semester with the program, most mentees clearly feel the progress in their thinking, skills and confidence in their career orientation.

A mentor is not someone who gives ready-made answers, but a friend who is always by their side, silently accompanying and supporting their mentees through every challenge and every important decision on their learning path and future orientation.

Mentors are "teachers" who guide students in the right direction to create many values for themselves, their families and society.

Silent Challenges and Untold Stories

Few people know that mentors also have to go through many challenges. "Mentees made appointments to meet twice, then disappeared." - Mentor Ha Minh shared. Cases like Ms. Ha Minh's are not uncommon, many students have not shown commitment and effort to change. Unfinished commitments, mentees giving up halfway leave mentors feeling disappointed and tormented. The self-questioning "have I done well enough?", from which many mentors set requirements for themselves to change to have more suitable inspirational methods, better listening and friendliness with their mentees so that mentees have the motivation to become the best version of themselves. “After the first season where my mentee abandoned me halfway, I learned how to listen, no longer impose my views, and know how to be better friends with my mentee.” - Mentor Quang Dai happily reported that his mentee this semester has made great progress in time management, self-training, and has found an internship opportunity in a business of his dreams.

The inspirational exchanges between the Bosses and mentors are precious moments for students.

For a mentor, happiness is not only when the mentee achieves a resounding achievement, but also when they see the mentee stand up after falling, become more confident in themselves, and realize that they have sown positive seeds in the young person's soul.

Le Chau, one of the first mentees, currently the marketing manager at the Coopmart supermarket chain, has now become a mentor for the second season of the program. Vi Luong, head of the audit team at KPMG, a former mentee, is now a member of the mentor management team, enthusiastic and responsible. The return of former mentees to continue to contribute to VAM is an affirmation that the values that have been and are being created at VAM are truly an equally important part of the career development and dedication of mentees after graduation. “Not only is it the achievement of the mentees themselves, but the spread of the spirit of contributing to the community for a more developed and happier society from the mentees is an immeasurable value, and therefore, it is a great happiness and motivation for the members of the Organizing Committee, mentors and trainers of VAM, who, despite being very busy, still continuously invest time and passion for the students,” shared Mr. Nguyen Duc Thang, one of the founders of VAM.

If you are a person who is steadfast in life and career, has the ability to listen and is looking for an opportunity to contribute more to the community by sharing knowledge and good living spirit, then do not hesitate to become a mentor of the Vietnam Alumni Mentoring network.

Registration link: https://forms.gle/okuEZqHJZ1ssYRCJ6

or contact the program's fanpage.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/sinh-vien-lam-ban-sep-lon-va-nhung-cau-chuyen-o-vietnam-alumni-mentoring-post749681.html