Conor Twomey (left) pictured with mentee Jude Russell on Wall Street.
Why did you decide to join the UCC mentoring programme?
I've been very fortunate to have several mentors throughout my professional career (more here) and found the support and coaching immeasurably helpful, particularly when transitioning from an individual contributor role to positions of management and leadership. Giving back to the next generation, and particularly to my alma mater, is incredibly rewarding. A small amount of your time can have a major positive impact on someone's initial career journey and (without sounding ancient!) it's fun working with such bright, young and talented students. Often the easiest way to help is simply discussing with students the different career paths they could follow based on your own experience and that of friends, colleagues and classmates in your network - it's really about widening the aperture of opportunity ahead of them.
What course was your mentee studying?
Financial, Mathematical and Actuarial Sciences - and like me decided they didn't want to follow the traditional actuary route - I was delighted to be able to provide guidance that there were alternative career paths
Would you consider mentoring more UCC students?
Absolutely, the UCC mentoring programme isn't a "one and done" effort for me - it's a process and habit that I'll carry with me as long as UCC students will have me. As a University I'd love to see every student get the opportunity to have a mentor - we're starting small I know but it's such a fundamental thing for students to have access to - now more than ever as we come out of 2 years of study-from-home and when many students had their work experience from home too - it's really hampered the ability to build a network
What is your advice to students as they begin a career in STEM?
The foundations of numerical/analytical skills are hugely transferable across roles and industries. The biggest challenge often is understanding where to apply your wares with so much choice.
One point that I make with mentees is that before they graduate try and speak to people within various industries who work in different roles to help guide your career steps - you have a small career compass in your hand and each interaction will guide you a little bit closer to your north star. Not every step along your professional journey will "feel" right and that's ok - you will learn and get stronger from each and every experience - even if you don't realise it at the time. I'm a 37 year old who still doesn't know what he wants to be when he grows up - and that's fine too!
Anything else you would like to add?
As a mentor to new graduates, I really try and focus on making the leap into professional life less daunting. As the mentees' career journey evolves the focus shifts to helping them realise that they have a certain level of expertise, giving them the confidence to know that they have something interesting to say. Our students are so talented, and a small nudge can give them the belief they need to compete at the highest level on the world stage. So that's my call to action here for UCC alumni - give mentorship a try and help the next wave stand on the shoulders of giants - it might make you feel ancient, but the rewards are there!
Course studied:
I studied Microbiology and was in 4th year when I participated in the programme.
Mentor's organisation:
My mentor worked for Google
What were the benefits of mentoring?
Getting to speak to someone with more career experience was very beneficial
What would you like to do after you finish your course?
Physiotherapy
Has mentoring made it easier to plan your future career?
Yes, it helped me figure out what I liked and didn’t like when I was undecided during my final year.
Course:
Biochemistry, 4th year
What were the benefits of mentoring?
Overall, I found the mentorship programme very beneficial. As I was in the final year of my undergraduate degree it was very useful to talk to someone in a senior role about the steps they took to get to where they are and how they went about deciding and figuring out what career I wanted. I found the programme useful in terms of figuring out and identifying my own career goals. In practical terms it was great to be able to talk to someone in a scientific field about key skills development in order to aid career progression and the steps that would help me to develop these skills. It also allowed me to ask questions about the interview process and get practical advice on this process.
What did you do after your degree?
I am currently enrolled in the MSc Biotechnology at UCC
Has mentoring made it easier to plan your future career?
I definitely found taking part in the UCC Mentoring Programme made it easier to plan my future career. It was extremely useful to talk through possible directions I wanted my career to progress with someone who had gone through this process before and who was able to provide advice in figuring out what I wanted to do.
