A curriculum is established to provide guidance for student-mentor meetings and to align them with learning community meetings and the full group meetings and activities.
Topics:
- Job search, how to interview, potential interview questions
- How to choose and negotiating initial job offer(s), benefits, adaptation to a new place
- Professional image, strengthening your personal brand, work-life integration
- Building mentorship (how to find a mentor) and developing professional network
- Navigating the organizational culture: Interactions with your boss, peers, and direct reports
- Conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, dealing with microaggression and implicit bias
- How to advance yourself in the workplace, how to recognize the opportunities
- Career development, How to look for other job opportunities; either at your company, or another company, becoming comfortable taking risks
- Diversity in the work place, imposter syndrome, building confidence
- One minute talk: prepare and deliver a clear, accurate, interesting short talk
Activities:
- Learning communities are established which will serve as support networks for the students. The learning communities will meet regularly on a bi-monthly basis facilitated by an adviser to share their experiences and to motivate each other and to build confidence.
- A meeting between mentor and student will be organized on a bi-monthly basis alternating with learning community meetings. These meetings will be structured around a curriculum topic to coordinate discussions within the learning communities. It could be in person or by Skype or equivalent.
- Meetings will be organized among mentors at the beginning to discuss the program and at midway through the program to discuss progress
- Meetings will be organized with the full group including all the mentors, LC advisers, and students for various activities.