Applications for the 2023 FINSIA Mentoring Program are now open. Find out more here.
Mentoring is one of FINSIA’s strongest attributes, according to Chris Conrad.
“The greatest benefit I've got from it is the fact that - unlike a work environment where they're not too sure if you can be candid with the person - you get that freedom with a mentor from FINSIA.
“That's really beneficial. You're not involved in any of the workplace politics unlike when you have a mentor through your work.
“That can be an issue and you have to filter what you say because you might be being assessed. You don't have those restrictions with a relationship with a mentor from FINSIA, which is great.
“If you have a workplace issue or problem or career decision, it's always good to have someone shed a different perspective on it and that's been really helpful for me.
“That was especially true with my latest me mentor. He’s been able to give me these different outlooks on my career, and that's something that's been helpful in making career decisions.
“Mentoring is one of the strongest attributes that FINSIA can offer.
“When I first joined, I wasn't aware of it.
“It's a very, very good tool. I've got a lot out of it, definitely.”
But there are some circumstances where mentoring is not the right option, according to Chris.
“If you're looking to gain technical knowledge in an area, that's probably not what it's designed for.
“The mentors come from a wide variety of backgrounds, so it'd be very difficult to match someone who you really want to boost your knowledge about a specific area - in banking, for example.
“It'd be very difficult to pinpoint someone with a specific skill that you want to gain technical knowledge, but from a non-technical, general mentoring perspective, it's been awesome.
“I think that the main difference between them and say, a mentor through work as well, is that actually, the mentorship program through FINSIA, you get people who want to mentor.
“I've been, in the workplace, been paired many a time with people who just don't want to be a mentor. And that's something that's refreshing with FINSIA, you get people who actually do want to mentor.
“I would definitely recommend it.
“With my first mentor, the first conversation we had was basically about the fact we were actually having a more of a collegiate relationship."
