Mentor 16-17 year old students online! - Volunteer

Other Jobs To Apply

Mentoring helps people dream bigger and reach higher. As an SMF mentor, you'll help talented young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds thrive in education and work.<br><br>What difference will you make?<br><br>Whilst talent is everywhere, regardless of social background, sadly, opportunity is not. Our SMF students face additional barriers to accessing top professions and they lack the support networks to help get them there.<br><br>With the help of our fabulous mentors we support thousands of students each year across the UK to gain knowledge, develop skills, and feel confident that they can achieve their aspirations.<br><br>What are we looking for?<br><br>We are looking for someone with several years of experience and knowledge of their career sector, who is willing to share this with students. Ideally, volunteers will be understanding and encouraging to support a young person who is at the very beginning of their career journey. They will also be able to help students plan, research, and develop their time management, as well as professional skills such as networking and communication.<br><br>We are particularly looking for volunteers with expertise in the following sectors<br><br><ul><li>Accountancy</li><li>Banking & Finance</li><li>Law</li><li>Medicine</li><li>Politics</li><li>Science & Engineering</li><li>Technology<br><br></li></ul>Ideally, volunteers will have had experience of recruitment processes within their sector, and will have strong communication skills.<br><br>What will you be doing?<br><br>As a mentor you would support a 16-17 year old for around 9 months (April 2026 - January 2027). Matches are made based on career sector interest and typically you would support with career insight, professional skill development, CV guidance, and support with post-18 choices and Personal Statements for example.<br><br>Mentoring pairs communicate via our online messaging platform but also have the option to attend virtual events and have phone calls depending on their preferences. We ask mentors to commit around 1-2 hours per month to their mentoring relationship and be in contact around every two weeks throughout the programme.<br><br>Volunteers can sign up on our website until the 6th of March 2026 and we will be in touch with further details. For safeguarding purposes, all mentors must complete a DBS/PVG background check before they can be matched but the SMF will arrange this free of charge. Please feel free to contact the team (mentors@socialmobility.org.uk) if you have any questions.

Back to blog
Ads

Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...