Why did you decide to become a mentor?
Throughout my own career I've actively sought out mentorship and looked for role models to learn from, whether that was for a difficult decision, a career move, or just a sounding board when I wasn't sure what to do next. Becoming a mentor felt like a natural way to give something back, and it's also given me the chance to meet some genuinely great people I wouldn't otherwise have crossed paths with. I also think the fact that someone's taken the step of signing up to MentorCruise as a mentee says a lot about them. It shows they're driven and proactive about their own development, and that's exactly the kind of person I enjoy working with.
How did you get your career start?
Honestly, I stumbled into product management rather than planning for it. My first job out of university was as a project manager for training courses at a psychometric testing company. As part of that role, I started surveying attendees for feedback and putting together recommendations for how the courses could be improved. Someone in the business noticed and suggested I interview for a product role. At the time I didn't know anything about product management as a discipline, but it turned out I'd already been doing the job in everything but name.
What do mentees usually come to you for?
It varies quite a bit, but the most common group I work with is mid-level product managers who are looking to take the next step up into a more senior, strategic role. Alongside that, mentees often come to me for help navigating challenging work relationships, whether that's with a manager, a stakeholder or a difficult peer. I also get a fair number of people going through job searches, wanting support with interview prep, positioning their experience, or just building confidence before a big conversation.
What's been your favourite mentorship success story so far?
Last year I helped a student land their very first product management role, and it's stuck with me as one of my favourite mentoring experiences so far. I've helped a number of people move into product roles over the years, but there was something particularly rewarding about supporting someone right at the very start of their career. He put in a huge amount of effort throughout, practised interview questions with me repeatedly and took every bit of feedback on board. When he got the offer, I was genuinely proud of him and it reminded me why mentoring matters so much.
What are you getting out of being a mentor?
Mentoring gives me the chance to meet people who are genuinely passionate and driven about a profession I love, and that alone is a big part of the appeal. There's real satisfaction in getting to know someone properly and helping them work through whatever challenge they're facing, whether that's a job search, a promotion, or a difficult situation at work. A lot of mentees are in the thick of something stressful when we start working together, and I enjoy being a calm, steady presence who can help them step back and see the bigger picture. It's often easier to spot a way forward from the outside, and I like being that person for someone else.
