Meet Sam from Bloodwise who was supported through a data insights project
Sam is a research analysis at Bloodwise, a charity which exists to stop people dying of blood cancer.
What previous experience do you have with mentoring?
I hadn’t had any experience with mentoring before signing up with Cohort. It was something I had thought about but never really knew how to find a mentor until working with them.
Why did you decide to find a mentor with Cohort?
I wanted to get involved with Cohort because it offered an opportunity to find someone outside of the charity sector with different knowledge and experience that could potentially help me in my career. The process was also very simple, there was no pressure to say yes to the first company to get in touch and you were able to meet your mentor and discuss your and their needs and aims to make sure it would be beneficial.
What did Martin help you with?
Martin and his team were unbelievably helpful and I cannot praise PA Consulting enough. We decided to tackle a research/insight and data project for Bloodwise and they helped me to structure the data and work needed for this fundraising campaign as well as some guidance on conducting the insight and analysis for the project.
What did you get out of the experience?
It helped to teach me new skills and to have confidence and authority in what I was producing. It helped me to change jobs in Bloodwise to a much more data/research/insight role and it has given me methods and techniques to apply to my work as well as to further improve how the charity works.
How did you find the process with Cohort?
The process was very simple from start to finish, it was easy to fit in around my job. The Cohort team were very helpful in guiding and prompting in how to structure the mentoring to get the best out of it.
What would you say to anyone thinking about getting a mentor?
I would whole heartedly recommend it, as you can meet and work with some very skilled people who can help to improve your own skills and give you the confidence in yourself to know you are approaching your work in the right way. There’s also nothing to lose by trying to get a mentor and in my case it was very beneficial.
Find out more about skilled volunteering or mentoring and register your interest at teamcohort.co.uk or by following us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
