To celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Day, we’re recognizing some of our best mentors teaching Career Edge interns. Some are Career Edge alumni, some coach multiple interns, many received multiple nominations for our Mentor of the Year 2018 award, and all have been immensely valuable for their intern’s professional development. Here’s what their interns had to say:
[Editor’s Note]: Comments were edited for clarity and length, and names were omitted upon request.
“I was 7 years without work. For an IT person, is a long time – that is a big reason to discard my resume when I applied for any job…He helped me to catch on in the current practices and he gave me the opportunity to develop an important project by myself when he highlighted my skills in front of my boss. Thanks to his interest and his willing to help me, he knew my potential and encouraged me to demonstrate it…My boss offered me a contract and they have extended it twice…I will be forever thankful to [him].”
“…to my surprise, within my first month I was already leading projects, creating briefs, conducting research and so much more! Jonathan made it evident that I was a vital part of the team by equipping me with on-boarding resources, inviting me to weekly meetings with directors and other key internal stakeholders, and providing constructive and frequent feedback. Not for one second has Jonathan doubted my capabilities, and if I do make a mistake, he’ll always find the silver lining, such as the key takeaway or lesson…instead of limiting me to what’s in my job description, he has given me the opportunity to do so much more and take part in crucial business decisions. He has this talent of noticing when I have a thought in my head during meetings, so he’ll often look over and say, ‘Tania, what do you think?’ He’ll give me the spotlight to voice my opinions even when I may be too shy to do so…I see an exciting future for myself.” – Tania Halteh on Jonathan Joseph, Senior Manager, Marketing Communications (Mentor of the Year, 2018)
“He offered me opportunities to work on some of the most innovative projects which enhanced my skills and knowledge incredibly. Even after I changed my role and am no longer on his team, he still asks me, ‘How’s the new job going?’ I will forever miss the days I spent on the team at Manulife through Career Edge!!”
“[She] would give me detailed and valuable feedback on my assignment to help me learn more, remember more, and even get new ideas…I also got extra learning opportunities by joining other events, group meetings, union grievance meetings that are relevant to, but not part of my group’s span of control.”
“I had heard many things about starting out in finance. People told me that my contributions and opinions would not be valued by my superiors. Working with Marino at RBC proved to be just the opposite. Marino didn’t see my lack of experience as a limitation, but rather, as an opportunity for me to learn, maximize my capabilities, and bring a different perspective to the team. I came hungry to learn, and he gave me challenges that pushed me to develop my skills far beyond what I imagined I could do…Working parallel to others with many more years of experience and superior credentials motivated me to learn and perform to the best I could…He truly values innovation and creative thinking. Marino regularly gives me professional and personal advice, beyond what he is required to do as my manager. My four-month contract led to multiple extensions and eventually a permanent position at RBC as a manager. I am years ahead of my career goals, and I owe it all to Marino.” – Kevin Echevarria (Intern of the Year, Recent Graduate with a Disability, 2018) on Marino Rajasingham, Senior Manager, Financial Controls
“My mentor was so knowledgeable, patient, supportive and helpful and always had a positive attitude. She not only supported my professional development but also as a new immigrant helped me in my language skills and increasing awareness of workplace culture. After 1.5 years, I still go to her with my questions and she always responds to them with her smile and professionalism.”
“He has set up weekly meetings with me one-on-one where he has advised me on number of items within my internship and also outside of it (e.g. my studies). The fact that he makes time to just sit down with me and give me an opportunity to talk and ask questions when he’s swamped with work is just awesome.”
“He always challenged me to perform better and gave me the best advice I have ever gotten which was what he said at every meeting, ‘try all new things possible and find what is it that you truly love doing because money can be made in any field, it’s all about doing something you actually love.’ During my internship, I shared with [him] my goals and my dream company I wanted to join after the internship finished. [He] not only helped me prepare mentally for the application process but held weekly practice interviews with me. He went as far as helping me revise my resume possibly 20 times and every time would read it with the same depth as he did the first time and come up with 10 new revisions…Everything I did during the internship had a purpose…Without [him], I would not have found my passion and would not be sitting in my dream company today…”
“I would not have evolved into this full-time role if it were not for [her]. [Her] passion, leadership and dedication really helped me grow my corporate knowledge, and through her coaching and mentorship, helped propel me into my full-time recruiter role.” – Anthony Alliot (Intern of the Year, Canadian Armed Forces Reservist, 2018) on his mentor
“From day one, he has been very encouraging and supportive of my career aspirations by letting me be a part of projects which have provincial transformation impact. I have been assigned to various projects ranging from business to technology, to having an overall project experience and learning from the best people in the industry.”
“My coach encouraged me to join various professional bodies in and outside the company. I was able to get elected as a Board member that significantly enhanced my internship experience and allowed me to know more people. I also joined professional networks outside of the company and was able to help in organizing annual conference for young professionals in the city.”
“[She] was an opportunity I am blessed to encounter. The first meeting that was an introductory meeting was the most relaxed I ever had with a superior. [She] has a kind and nurturing nature that would relax any nerves. Her depth of knowledge and humility intrigued me…[She] was not one to wait for our weekly scheduled meetings to give me developmental feedbacks; she was also very generous with rewarding every result I brought to the table. At the time, [she] was leading a most challenging and high visibility program for the business; this did not distract her from her commitment to mentoring me through the roughs of navigating a new working environment and its personnel. She made me feel larger than life. [She] is a mentor who always makes herself available to all her mentees, providing support in every way she can. [She] has distinguished herself as a person who is deeply committed to the course of equal opportunities; [She] promotes bottom-up engagement from her colleagues, always encouraging honest dialogue. She is a successful role model. In my fifth month into the six-month contract, I was offered a Project Manager contract job in the same program that [she] was working on. I am comfortable today navigating RBC because of the confidence that [she] bestowed on me. She trusted my abilities sometimes more than I did, and she gave me wings to fly…She is indeed a blessing to humanity.”
“My coach made sure that I gained maximum exposure and experience to apply my skills as well with opportunities to broaden them and build upon…Being an internationally experienced professional, she valued my past experience and education and at the same time coached me with application of relevant local processes and practices. She has always supported my ideas and encouraged me to come forward and broaden my skills by taking leads and handling responsibilities at various levels in multiple projects. She made sure that I was able to pursue my professional licensing process while being able to use my internship experience as a requirement of the…I am very fortunate to have a coach as [her] and my team as a first professional experience in Canada…”
“Before I started working as an intern, my mentor prepared a task list for the next year ahead. Within a few weeks of starting work, [she] created a wonderful, easy-to-work and professional environment. My mentor being a past Career Edge intern helped me a lot to get the best out of the internship. She gave me the fullest assistance and guidance to complete my job. She motivated me to improve my communication and has always been supportive for me to move forward in my career…I always feel trusted and inclusive on our team. I am always invited for any discussions even if I have no input, but that gave me the opportunity to understand the overall job of our department. She always shares her knowledge and appreciates the work I do without taking the credit for my piece of work. On the other hand, she takes the blame for any mistake and explains to me what went wrong in a private conversation.”
“My internship with the company is over, but my mentoring is still on. I’m very happy to have Katherine as a mentor. She is the best!” – Abhishek Chander Gupta (Intern of the Year, Internationally Qualified Professional, 2018) on Katherine Low, Manager, Marketing & Business Development