KLS Professional Mentoring

The KLS Professional Mentoring Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Young Alumni Group with the aim of helping students to make career choices, understand the legal working world or to navigate the application process for both work and study.

This mentoring relationship runs from the summer until the end of the Spring term.   A networking event also takes place annually in London or Canterbury.   Many students have reported that their mentor has offered exceptional advice, introduced them to a wider network of professionals, assisted with applications and, in a few cases, offered / arranged work experience.

  • Applications open each year in Spring term
  • UK based Barristers, solicitors, Scrivener Notary, paralegals and civil servants are mentors
  • There are also lawyers available in Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago and Malaysia + an NGO worker.
  • Applications are available on Moodle DP237025 – deadline Monday 9th May, 9am

How has mentoring helped Kent students:

Lots of mentees have told us how the scheme has been much more help than they imagined including introductions to a network of lawyers, work experience and evening training contract success.  Take a look at these stories:

 

Mentoring – Shaping Tomorrow’s Lawyers    
By Chantal Cohen

“Being a mentee often starts as a game of expectation versus reality. Engaging in a mentoring experience means, managing your expectations and engaging in any opportunities that become available to you. Of course, I, like many students, need actual hands on experience in order to compete in today’s job market. While you are told that this is not part of the mentorship agreement, you non-the less go into the experience hoping that she/he can help you get further in your career.

While, those were my hopes, my experience with the mentoring scheme this year, surpassed my expectations and provided me with far more than I thought I needed. Too often in a competitive job market, new students are left feeling like they have very little to offer firms. This is where I think the schemes really shine through, and this is especially true of my mentor John Nee of Becket Chambers. What I received through this scheme was a lesson far greater than any job placement, which do not get me wrong, I am very thankful for having received, but the confidence I gained in myself is really the success of this experience.

My mentor made sure that he was always providing constructive criticism. This led to a dynamic, which reinforced and provided me with the confidence I needed to recognize that my skills obtained prior to law school, would enable me to stand out from the crowd of other applicants. We worked collectively to ensure that I presented myself in a light that would showcase my achievements and would ensure that an employer would see them as advantageous.

While I felt my late entry into law school might be a disadvantage, John explained that my life experiences would actually be an advantage, as I would be more confident at networking events. He always made sure to point out when I had done something exceptionally well, or what experiences I should highlight.

I cannot recommend joining the mentoring program enough. The best advice I can give is do not worry if a job opportunity does not come out of it, that can come from anywhere. Take advantage of the real highlight and opportunity that comes out of being a mentee, which is a learning experience. It provides a foundation to continue to develop from, with a mentor who has the ability to guide you into showcasing your best self for the job, and providing a reminder that you possess the skills these firms are after. My mentor, John Nee, did this for me.”

Mentors wanted:

We continue to seek mentors from:

  1. KLS Alumni working in careers which have links to the law such as journalism, Human Resources etc.
  2. International alumni whom have returned to their home countries to work in the legal profession or whom have stayed in the UK to qualify. We have a particular need for mentors in Canada, Hong Kong and Nigeria. There is also a some need for mentors in East Africa, the Caribbean and South East Asia (needs vary every year).

 

If you would like to get involved please contact Emma Kember at e.kember@kent.ac.uk