W4C Mentorship Programme 3rd Edition – in Cooperation with Industry Partners
Mentorship leads to career success
The Women4Cyber Mentorship programme is designed to help women improve their skills and advance their cybersecurity careers at all levels. Mentors provide personal and professional guidance, share their experiences, and help mentees identify and achieve career goals.
The programme will have a duration of 6 months, starting in September 2022. It will be held online through a mentoring platform and in English.
The programme will be held in collaboration with industry partners. The partnering entities will provide volunteer mentors (women and men of all levels) to the W4C programme. (The companies involved will be disclosed when the programme starts).
The mentors coming from the different entities will provide personal and professional guidance, share their experiences, and help mentees identify and achieve their career goals.
Mentees will be selected by the W4C Secretariat after completing an online application process, and each mentee will be assigned to a mentor based on their experience and career goals.
CALLING INDUSTRY PARTNERS:
We are looking for companies that want to do their bit to make the field of cybersecurity more diverse. Given the huge demand from mentees to get career guidance, and the incredible benefits demonstrated in previous editions, we partner with companies to ensure that we have a wide and varied pool of mentors and that these mentors have the availability to meet once per month with their mentees.
What we expect from companies: We expect companies to launch an internal call for volunteer mentors, by sharing the resources provided by W4C. Companies should allow their volunteer mentors to dedicate some time to their assigned mentees.
What we offer: The company is featured on our social media channels as a mentorship partner, showcasing the company’s efforts to attract more women to the field. The company logo is displayed on the mentorship page, and additionally, we can share vacancies, events etc. with the participants of the programme.
To partner with us, or learn more, get in touch at hello@women4cyber.eu
SELECTION CRITERIA
MENTORS
- Women or men working within the cybersecurity industry, with more than 3 years of experience in the field
- High level of competence in one or more of the areas of expertise related to cybersecurity
- Recognised by her/his peers as a leading expert in her/his field
- Based in Europe (Geographical Europe)
- Excellent command of English
- Willing to dedicate their time to helping women advance their cybersecurity career (commitment to meet at least once a month with the assigned mentee)
More information for mentors here!
MENTEES
- Open to everyone regardless of age, looking for help in their career development
- Based in Europe
- Excellent command of English
- University students/Junior professionals/Senior professionals
and/or - Working in cybersecurity but looking to specialise
and/or - Not working in cybersecurity but looking for a career change
MENTORSHIP PARTNERS PREVIOUS EDITION
If you or your company would like to partner with us and join our programme, get in touch with us at hello@women4cyber.eu
FAQ
How do you match people?
Matchmaking will be based on available candidates and areas of interest. We will pair you with someone in a slightly removed role from yours, who has more experience (typically between 3-5 years more experience) and has progressed their career in a similar way to the way you wish to develop your own career.
In order to work out who the right mentor is for you, it is very important that you consider what your goals and objectives over the next 6-12 months are, and state them clearly in your profile when filling in the application.
What does this relationship look like?
You will meet regularly, at least monthly, to connect, discuss different career-related topics, update on major developments, and discuss successes, opportunities, and goals.
Share interesting events/opportunities on an ongoing basis.
Introduce your mentor/mentee to others in your network.
Share interesting articles, materials, or resources on an ongoing basis.
When will I be matched?
Matches will be made in April and early May, and participants will be informed by email. We hope to find a mentor for everyone, but it will depend on availability and compatibility.
