Background: Management, marketing, coaching
Mentor for: Sonia
Why did you want to become a mentor at SAJO?
I am fascinated by people’s differences and the opportunities we have to achieve results through self-awareness, motivation, and mastery. I want to help more people discover their potential—the opportunities each individual has by making greater use of their own strengths and talents. In recent years, I have also been interested in the resources found in diversity. So, after many years as a leader in the business world, I decided to start my own business and pursued further education in communication, using NLP coaching as a methodology. When I was then looking for volunteer work focused on building relationships across cultures, SAJO—which I found on frivillig.no—was a natural choice.
Can you describe a typical meeting with your mentee?
We met at various places, from “Helt Sentralt”—where I have an office—to different cafes. It was like meeting a good friend, and it felt completely natural for us to talk about all sorts of everyday things and share personal experiences.
As a mentor, it’s my job to guide the process we defined at our first meeting and get a status update on which challenges are the most pressing right now. These could just as easily be personal issues that have prevented her from being as dedicated to following through on a job application process as they could be problems that arose during interviews she’s had since we last met.
What has been the most rewarding for you?
I get to spend time with a diverse group of individuals from different backgrounds and cultures—people who share a common dream and goal, yet have completely different needs and approaches to achieving those goals. Being able to contribute my experience and serve as a bridge between people fills me with humility and gratitude.
Have you learned anything new?
YES – From our very first meeting with my mentee, I was fascinated by her knowledge and skills. I was able to gain insight into another person’s thoughts, feelings, and attitudes, and it reaffirmed to me just how important our diversity is.
It was a wonderful discovery when she decided to apply for a position whose application deadline had already passed—normally, I would have just set aside a job posting like that, but we agreed on what could happen if you apply for a position after the deadline has passed……—Nothing else can happen except that your application won’t be considered, or you’ll get the job—and that’s exactly what happened!!
What would you say to others who are considering becoming mentors?
If you enjoy connecting with others, like to share, are a good listener, and are curious—then you have some of the skills I use in my role as a mentor.
For me, being a mentor means living out one of my core values: curiosity. This is despite the fact that, throughout my life, I’ve been told many times, “Don’t be so curious.” But my curiosity means being genuinely interested and keeping an open mind so that I can discover and learn something new, and I’m someone who loves to learn—not necessarily about a specific topic, but simply being part of the process. Working alongside someone toward a goal is exciting…—I just love it!