AREEJ’S REVERSE MENTORSHIP JOURNEY

What do you think the duties of a mentor can be? And how about being a mentor for a leader in a big company like Unilever?

While scrolling in Facebook, I found a post about the Embark`s Program and I applied because it’s a new challenge for me, to get more experience and build new networks with successful leaders.

In my first meeting with the Embark Team, they explained to me the duties, steps and goals of the program. Then they set a date for my first meeting with my mentee. Before my first meeting, I prepared and read the guidelines and handbook that the Embark team sent to us (mentors) and tried to follow the instructions.

Finally, our first meeting was online because of the Coronavirus pandemic. I met my mentee, and she broke the ice immediately. She was an intelligent woman and rich in information. During our first meeting, we started getting to know each other, our hobbies, goals, motivation and what we will talk about in the next sessions.

Through our meetings, we discussed topics about Turkish and Syrian cultures, we used pictures to show details like architecture and traditional clothes. We also talked about women empowerment, learning Turkish language, goals and job paths.

At the end of the program, I learned a great deal about the business environment, leadership, and gained a great friend. I have to thank her and Embark`s team for this successful journey.