For many of us here in the UK and Europe, our final teaching semester is coming to a close. While our attention turns to writing, publishing and dare I say... marking, the end of a busy season signals time to reflect on where you are at. Looking back on your goals from January this year, how have they worked out for you so far? Maybe you have ace'd them or perhaps you are yet to get one in the bag. Well, wherever you are at with your goals, I have an idea...
This summer, I am holding mentoring sessions for early career and aspiring academics. Whether you are taking your first tentative steps into postgraduate study or are a time-served academic my sessions are here to help. I started these sessions earlier this year after some fellow academics reached out to me for some mentoring support, and following the feedback I've decided to keep them up. So, that's why I have been a little quiet on the blog front. I have been working away developing a mentoring pack for others who are in the same boat. I felt that there was a space for mentoring that was personalised, coming from someone who has navigated part-time postgraduate study and all the challenges that come with it and is trying to build a research career.
My mentoring sessions have been designed to provide structured support to help you accomplish your academic career goals whatever they may be and whatever stage you are at. Perhaps you are working in small institution where there isn't the time or resource for mentorship and guidance. Perhaps you are in a large institution where you are one of many and you can't talk as freely about your plans as you would like to. Or maybe things are going great but you want to make sure you are working smart or you just want some tips on finding out about doctoral study.
We all need space to focus on our own academic career goals, and sometimes you need someone who can look at things with an outside view and who gets it too. While I do not profess to be an expert in everything my time in academia combined with my industry career thus far have taught me a few tools and techniques to make academic life work more effectively, and perhaps you might find them useful for you too. I wish this was around when I was starting out. So here we go...
One-to-One Mentoring Session
Each mentoring session lasts for 1 hour with a little preparation beforehand (via my digital resource pack). The sessions are delivered online, but if you prefer, I can come to you. As it's an individual session, we can focus on anything you would like. For example, goal setting, productivity, work-life balance, personal branding, finding and starting a PhD. You can book just the one session, or if you want to delve deeper, you can take a series of sessions - up to you. Following each session, you will have developed a clear plan of action which you can implement immediately to help you move forward and get you where you want to be.
Mentoring Workshop for Groups
Perhaps there are a few of you who would like to try out a session together, or you might feel more comfortable in a group setting. My mentoring workshop for groups is delivered in person and can focus on whatever you like, e.g. productivity, time management, getting ready for your first academic role. If you would like a one-to-one after the group session, you can bolt this on too.
Mentoring Menu
Online or in-person one-to-one mentoring 1-hour session
Group mentoring 2 hour session
Custom session
Reviews
Samantha... supported me through mentoring. We focused on many areas such as research, industry projects, personal branding and strategic planning. I highly recommend anyone working towards growing within academia in all areas to seek Samantha’s support." Frederica (Academic, UK)
Interested?
DM me @drsamlynch on Twitter, message me on LinkedIn or email me at hello@drsamlynch.co.uk.