By 
Founded by a recent Kent Alumni, UniTorz is an exciting new professional mentoring scheme aimed at students starting stages 2, 3 or a Master’s in September 2021.
Aim:
Designed for students trying to build a career in the financial services sector without established connections such as friends or family. The aim of UniTorz is to help university students’ build these connections, gain an insight into financial services and enhance their skillsets by leveraging their mentor’s knowledge and experience.
Who are the Mentors and what can they offer:
Mentors on the programme will be recent graduates, working within organisations ranging from Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Lloyds Banking Group, Deloitte, Accenture etc. In areas such as technology, risk management, investment banking, commercial banking, audit, consulting. Successful mentees will be allocated a mentor each. Mentees will be expected to leverage their mentors’ experience and insight to enhance their understanding of working in finance. This can range from getting advice preparing for assessment centres to enhancing knowledge of a particular are such as consulting.
It is worth noting that neither the mentors nor this scheme promises employment or work experience as most of the mentors are at the beginning of their own careers. However, they are likely to be more understanding and empathetic towards students’ and their struggles – which is what makes UniTorz unique!
With regards to time commitment, mentors have signed up to contribute a couple hours of their time each month – ideally an hour catch ups every fortnight. However, the timing and extent of mentoring can be agreed between the mentor and the mentee. We will also be running special skills sessions on how mentees can leverage/use their mentors. Depending on the demand there is also potential for additional workshops that may focus on writing cover letters, interview preparation etc.
Eligibility:
For stage 2, 3 or master’s students starting in September 2021 – as the nature of the scheme encourages students to apply for internships and graduate schemes (which mentors can support with if required).
Application process:
The application process will consist of a short application form and CV. If shortlisted, this will be followed by an informal interview/meeting to better understand the mentees’ interests. Please note that the purpose of the application process and interviews is not to judge applicants against any set standard except purely understand their interests. This is so we can best match them to a suitable mentor i.e. if you are not successful it is not because your application was not good enough but simply because we don’t have a mentor that we think is a good fit for you.
Here is the link to the application form: https://forms.gle/WoQsSkTNwWRgU8Gs5.
Applications are being reviewing on a rolling basis so early application is advised. We shall get back to you within 2 weeks of submitting your application. If you haven’t heard from us, please check your spams before emailing us.
Deadlines, Start Date and Duration:
The program is exclusively open to students at the University of Kent. The scheme will be launched in early September and conclude at the end of February in line with recruitment campaigns for internships and graduate schemes. However, this end date is flexible and can be agreed between the mentor and the mentee.
Additional Information:
We are particularly interested in hearing from students planning to apply for either internships or graduate schemes from September 2021, especially students with no connections (friends and family) in financial services.
Please email contactunitorz@gmail.com if you have any questions.
GDPR disclaimer:
By agreeing to this statement, you consent to UniTorz using the data you provided in this form, including your CV, for evaluation and contact purposes regarding your application to the UniTorz mentor scheme. Your details will be kept in a secured Google Drive folder. We may pass on your details to an assigned mentor if you are successful and we may contact regarding your application. We will not use your data for any other purpose, and you can ask us (via email at contactunitorz@gmail.com) to access, adjust or delete your information at any time. We will only hold your data for as long as necessary to evaluate and contact – no longer than 2 months after you have been successful or not in the application.