Continuing the Mentoring journey
By Emma Gillingham
Consultant, IRI Australia

Welcome to WIRe’s Mentoring Blog Series! We will be featuring both a mentee and mentor throughout the year as we follow their journey through our award-winning one-on-one mentoring program here at Women in Research.

As the new year’s applications open up for the WIRE mentoring program, it seems like a good time to reflect on my journey so far. My Mentor Mike Beder and I have been meeting regularly to discuss my goals and progress so far. There are a few key areas which stand out which have helped me progress towards my objectives:

• Increased activity on social media – I am posting on Twitter and LinkedIn more regularly than when I started on the mentoring program, commenting on relevant news stories as well as expressing my opinion on the future of the MRX industry. It is also a good way to spend the time on my train journey to work!
• Applying for professional membership – I am working towards a further qualification as part of my membership of AMSRS (the Australian Market & Social Research Society) to further embed my knowledge and experience. This will provide a really tangible achievement of my career to date.
• Networking opportunities – I am starting to attend more conferences and events to provide further professional development as well as the opportunity for networking. This will really push me out of my comfort zone to interact more with other members of the industry!

Another important aspect has been the ability to have open and frequent communication with my mentor. Outside of our regular sessions, we have been maintaining communication to discuss blog ideas and other observations relevant to the industry. This has been important to ensure we don’t wait until our meeting to discuss anything relevant.

I am looking forward to the next meeting with my mentor and to learning new ways to grow in my MR career!

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