By Naomi Yikuno Amlak

When it came to choosing a career path I found myself in a bit of a maze. The possibilities to become a lawyer seemed endless, and it soon became overwhelming. That’s when the power of mentoring stepped in to rescue me.

How mentoring helped my career development

During my Gap Year I applied and took part in the BelEve civil service mentoring programme. My mentor worked in the legal aid department of the Ministry of Justice and we met once a month to talk about her work, my goals and aspirations. 

During the programme I also experienced a day of shadowing my mentor at the Ministry for Justice where I met with senior civil servants, attended meetings and had a fast stream-style interview. This was such a fun experience and a great CV builder!

However, during my time studying Law at Bristol University it became clear that contract law, and corporate law was super interesting to me. I took time to reflect and evaluate my options and decided that a new mentoring opportunity could help my career decision making.

Mentoring with Simmons X Simmons

The perfect opportunity opened up for me to sign up to the BelEve x Simmons & Simmons mentoring programme.  

Simmons is a firm I already had my eye on; they have office in both Bristol office as well as in London which is home for me. Through my university brand ambassador I had heard about some of their exciting projects so I was keen to learn more. And after applying I was paired with a corporate associate who is incredibly invested in my development. 

Simmons have helped in evaluating my career options by setting goals, running interview and CV sessions, and have helped sharpen my knowledge of the corporate law processes. I also went into the Simmons office for skills development sessions on personal branding and commercial awareness, and had the opportunity to network with other Simmons lawyers. 

Why you should sign up and develop your career path today!

If you find yourself at a crossroads, or are looking for some practical advice I would highly recommend a mentoring programme. These women are experts in their fields and want to help you unlock your personal interests and passions. Having the opportunity to gain hands on experience before committing to a career is a real gift. And having someone to share my thoughts and personal flections along the way was empowering too!  

Despite enjoying my time on the civil service programme, my mentoring experience at Simmons confirmed that the corporate solicitor track was more suited to me. I can’t thank my Simmons mentor and BelEve enough for helping me come to this decision.

To find out more about BelEve’s mentoring programmes head here