Find Your Path Mentoring Scheme

The result of the pandemic has meant that, more than ever, young Alumni will need to stand out and differentiate themselves if they are to succeed in this task, and the Find Your Path scheme can offer them the personal support they will need to do so. The scheme pairs young Old Bolts with a fellow Old Boy mentor, who can offer a wealth of experience, contacts and advice across a variety of sectors and industries. Here two Old Boys share their experience as mentors:

“I have spent my professional career as a solicitor in the City of London, working in very large international firms until setting up my own practice within the firm GunnerCooke in 2020. I specialise in commercial real estate matters, covering a wide range from leases of offices and buying shopping centres to football club takeovers and defence projects. “I was graduate recruitment partner for one of my firms and have always had a great interest in the process of bringing on new talent so I was keen to become a mentor in the Find Your Path scheme. My experience in how graduate recruitment works in professional services can help mentees to understand what potential employers are looking for, and to prepare themselves from an early stage to stand out. As an adviser of businesses, I have also been able to help mentees think about how they might start their own and some of the pitfalls to avoid”.

“Since leaving School I have obtained a Geography degree from the University of Oxford and an MBA from INSEAD and have since worked for large financial service companies, starting out as a management consultant and working my way up to Director level. Currently I work at Bupa as the General Manager of their UK consumer health insurance business, leading a team of c 350 colleagues. “Coaching and mentoring are core to business leadership, and it is rewarding to use those skills to support the boys as they start out in their careers. Frankly, it is easy to forget how bewildering the world of work can be when you emerge from university: the world of work changes ever more rapidly, with roles appearing that didn’t exist a few years ago. I generally find that I can help in some way: sometimes connecting mentees to friends or colleagues in my own network where there is a specific interest or expertise needed. I am hugely grateful for what Bolton School has given to me, and being a mentor is an ideal opportunity to ‘give something back’ ”. So far, the Find Your Path scheme has supported over 70 young Old Boys with:

One mentee who has benefited from the scheme is Thomas Chia (Class of 2015), who was initially put in contact with David Seddon back in 2019 when exploring new career options after a few years as an accountant. He recently sought further advice as his role within Deloitte’s audit department was providing little opportunity to develop his client skills. David agreed that getting external exposure, being involved in the process of winning new clients, and working on developing relationships would be key to Thomas’ career development and he suggested looking at the Consulting department within Deloitte. With David’s help, Thomas managed to make a smooth transition to the new department. Thomas highly recommends the Find Your Path scheme; he found having an extra opinion from an experienced mentor invaluable in progressing his career. George Morgan (Class of 2018) has also been helped by the scheme. He says: “I have been extremely fortunate to be the mentee of Professor Nigel Slater for the last 18 months. “I was introduced to Nigel during my third year of university, at a point in my life where I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do after completing my degree in Materials Science. At my first meeting with Nigel, I told him that I was interested in consulting, industry (engineering), and further study (PhD) – a wide range of things! Nigel then helped me consider each option in detail, and think about which would be most suited to my skills and interests, and which I’d enjoy most. “As a result, I am very much looking forward to beginning my PhD at the University of Oxford in October 2022, investigating perovskite materials for next-generation solar cells, and I am extremely grateful to Nigel for his invaluable advice and guidance which helped me to get there.”