In any industry, knowledge, experience and relationships are invaluable.
What better way to gain access to industry experience and knowledge than through the WOHO Mentor Program?
With annual intakes, the WOHO Mentor Program matches mentees with suitable mentors and runs for 6 months, working towards the desired outcomes of both parties.
Objective of the Mentor Program
To provide WOHO members with an opportunity to be inspired and gain hands-on experience and guidance from industry influencers and leaders. We have cast the net wide in our search for mentors to ensure a diverse cross section of the industry is represented and the calibre is exceptionally high.
Benefits of being Mentored through WOHO:
Real Training
A mentor will guide you through your role or career by using their own real life experiences and knowledge as a tool. They will assist you in gaining practical knowledge, experience and reflections within your own career and provide you with advice and constructive feedback as you progress.
Skills Development
Our mentorships focus on skill development that will aid career progression. Mentees will add value to the organisation they work for and gain resources to further their own career path.
Goal Setting/Career Planning
By focusing on goal setting and career planning within the mentorship, you can identify your professional and personal goals as well as think about your long-term career path.
Assistance With Challenges You May Face
Mentors can assist you with developing the skills to strengthen personal and career growth outside of the boundaries that can exist within your current role/workplace. It’s a mentor’s job to push you beyond your perceived limits. This will help you gain new experiences and build confidence while teaching you to trust in your skills and knowledge. It may also assist with identifying areas where there is room for improvement.
Networking
Mentors can introduce you to key players in their field which can assist you to expand your professional connections and networks.
Why our Mentor Program?
Professionally Facilitated
We believe women in hospitality deserve the same high-quality professional programs that are available to women in other sectors. Our Mentor Program is delivered in collaboration with industry leaders and business people who are willing to give their time, knowledge and expertise.
Connecting Across Organisations
Our Mentor Program connects female mentees with male and female mentors, from different organisations, varied roles and areas within hospitality. Our connections are arranged through a matching process using the Application Form completed by the Mentee and a Skills/Experience Matrix for Mentors.
Professional Development
WOHO is committed to providing women in the hospitality industry with professional skills outside of their day-to-day roles. Our Mentor Program includes facilitated events and workshops for both mentees and mentors over a 6 month period, or longer, depending on the commitment made at initiation.
Program Criteria
The WOHO Mentor Program aims to support career progression of females in hospitality into leadership roles within our sector. Career trajectory typically steepens at managerial levels where the proportion of women declines relatively to men. For this reason, we encourage all mentees to apply to work with mentors who can assist them to take their next step up the ladder.
The mentee and mentor participation criteria are outlined below.
Mentees
- A female hospitality worker from any area of hospitality who has demonstrated they are aspiring to a more senior position in the sector.
- A minimum of 3 years professional experience. Ideally, mentees are full time employees in the industry but this is not essential.
- Has the capacity, availability and commitment to work with a mentor for the entirety of the program.
Mentors
- A female or male who has demonstrated significant experience in the sector at a leadership level across any facet of the industry. Skills and experience can be either specific to a role like a Chef, or more general like a COO.
- A minimum of 10-15 years professional experience.
- Has the capacity, availability and commitment to work with a mentee for the entirety of the program.
What to expect from the program
Successful mentoring partnerships are advantageous for both the mentor, the mentee and the organisation the mentee works for. While every mentoring relationships is different, there are certain things you can expect, namely:
Ground Rules
These will be set between you and your mentor and will be done so at the beginning of your mentorship. This enables you and your mentor to be clear on what you would like to achieve and what the mentor can/will guide you through.
Define Goals and Objectives
The actual goals and objectives of your sessions are for you and your mentor to determine. Objectives for the mentorship such as skills development, career growth, networking or life balance are some of things you may want to cover, and once you have figured these out you can identify 1-3 goals to work as part of the mentorship.
Plan Useful Activities
After you’ve figured out the main objective of the mentorship and defined the main goals, work together to create activities that will help you achieve them.
A Unique Approach
Our mentorships are designed to be practical and thus do not adhere to strict rules, worksheets and excessive reading materials. The best approach is a mix of formal and informal with basic guidelines and resources.
The next intake is launching July 2023 and applications are now open.
Thank you
