“Mentoring in general is something that I would always recommend”

Success story on e-Mentoring at VHS Göttingen, Germany

From June 2012 until February 2013, Julian Draws and Manuel Kriehn attended the transnational EU project “E-mentoring: New skills and competencies for new jobs” as mentees. They both were apprentices participating in a mobility program at VHS Göttingen in their last year of vocational training as precision mechanics at the University of Göttingen. Their mentor Dietmar Macke, who had a wealth of mentoring experience, supported his mentees in form of a group mentoring on employment related issues.

The following interview was held with the mentees during their final meeting.

Mentees Julian Draws, Manuel Kriehn with Stephanie Langsch (manager)
and Dietmar Macke (mentor)

Questions for both mentees (Julian Draws and Manuel Kriehn):

What was your situation before starting mentoring process on employment related issues?

Julian: The offer to participate in a mentoring program came definitely at the right time. As we already knew that we wouldn’t be hired by our training company upon completion of our training we had to think quite early about writing applications etc.

Manuel: For me, another thing I had to think about was if would like continue working in another company or start studying. And of course, it sounded very interesting to work with someone who could tell us about the Do’s and Don’ts for job interviews.

 What were your expectations?

Manuel: I think we both were quite open. We had already heard about mentoring in different contexts. I e.g. hoped to get some advice on how to present myself the most positive during a job interview. And of course to discuss the different options I have after the completion of my training.

Julian: For me it was the same. It seemed to be very useful to get advice from someone experienced who knows exactly how e.g. an application should look like. The new dimension was the so-called e-mentoring. But as we are both very familiar with social media and all kinds of web 2.0 tools it was no problem.  

 Had your expectations been fulfilled?

Julian: Yes, absolutely. It was good that we had the initial meeting where we could meet the mentor before and get to know each other. Afterwards the contact was always very nice and very helpful.

Manuel: I can only agree here. The advices given were indeed helpful – not only for the moment but also for future situations.

What are your plans for the future?

Manuel: Amongst others, I applied for a job at one of the leading aircraft manufacturers – and obviously I have a realistic chance.

Julian: I succeeded in getting a job in a local company and then maybe later on start an additional qualification to become a master technician.

In general would you recommend this kind of (e-) mentoring program?

Julian: (e-) Mentoring in general is something that I would always recommend. I could also imagine, later on, having gained much more experience, to be a mentor.

Manuel: E-mentoring is a bit special and I think only suitable for people you are used to communicate and interact with social media. Both of us had absolute no problems – and the great advantage is that there is no waste of time as you can communicate with your mentor from where ever you are.

Julian: But I could imagine that there are people who might prefer having the personal, i.e. face-to-face contact with the mentor. It is normal, that people have different preferences.

Manuel: Of course, but from my point of view it was the best and easiest way and a very good experience.