Mentorship and Maternity: Balancing Life, Career, and Giving Back to DCU

Why did you choose to give back to DCU by volunteering to mentor a student?

DCU is my Alma Mater and it holds a special place in my heart. When you spend 4 of your formative years in business school it shapes your character, you develop lifelong friendships and it paves the way for professional success. And so this opportunity to re-engage with the University was positive for me.

I’ve had the great privilege of learning from many, many exceptional mentors over the years. Many at the top of their field and in high demand. And I am forever grateful to them (you know who you are!) for every interaction, conversation, piece of advice. They often advocated on my behalf and that changes the game in the professional world.

Given that, it’s incumbent on me to pay it forward in the best way I can and Mentoring DCU students is one of the ways I actively choose to do that.

For most we could assume maternity leave is an extremely busy and demanding time but for you it felt like the right time to volunteer?

What was the mentorship process like for you and what did you enjoy most about the programme?

That’s right and I do want to acknowledge and hold space for how vital maternity and paternity leave is for all parents. It’s a protected time for families and it was absolutely critical for me to be fully, 100 per cent present as a mum as I welcomed my kids into the world.

I most definitely wasn’t prepared to take on anything after I had my first baby boy. But when I had my little girl, and she hit around 7 months old I found myself searching for a pro bono opportunity to re-engage with professional life in a finite and meaningful way. By that time she was sleeping through the night and I had a better routine in place the second time around. So I could establish times when I would be available. My husband is also a big part of the reason I knew I could take this on. Having an incredible support network at home makes all the difference!

What makes the mentoring program so great is that the students are often willing to flex around your lifestyle. So for example, we established 8pm as the time for our mentoring sessions once a month, with some WhatsApp chats in between. And we did everything remotely from home.

I also have to compliment the Alumni team on the program setup. You simply fill out a form, get matched with a student and start! They provide the material, guidance and structure so all you have to do is show up and be yourself. By taking all of the friction and admin out of the process, it really makes this easy to say yes to!

The single best moment for me was when my mentee secured her first job for her placement year. We worked on interview prep together over a period of months and she kept me updated after each interview. So when I got that news it was a really good day! When you’re a mentor, you really get to walk again in the shoes of a student. Their goals feel like your goals and you want to see them succeed!

What type of things did you work with your mentee on?

Mostly we talk about the future state. The type of roles they want to target. The industries that speak to them. We dedicate each session to one topic including areas such as interview prep, CV design, Linkedin profile setup, networking etc. All the hot topics!

Having gone through the mentorship programme, do you think you benefited personally in any way from spending time with your mentee and the mentorship process?

Most definitely. As a professional, we are often so caught up in delivering day to day that we rarely take time out to appreciate the journey and think about not only how far we’ve come but where we want to go next. Working with my mentor provoked those question for me – would the 18yr old Jeannine be happy with where I’m at right now? Would I have expected more or less? And what’s next for me? So in many ways it creates an important inflection point.

You are also gifted with the perspective of what it’s like to be a graduate in 2023. Making time to talk with a student and really listen to what their world is like and what challenges they face. For example the housing crisis right now, it brings home how tough those undergraduate days can be. And it reinforces how helping in any small way can really make a difference for an individual.

Would you recommend your fellow graduates and friends to mentor or volunteer? If so, why?

I wholeheartedly recommend the program. It’s a special juncture to give back with a small time commitment, spread over the course of an academic year. It will enrich your life and transport you back to your own undergraduate memories of DCU when you had so many unanswered questions personally and professionally.

Prior to your maternity leave you previously participated in the mentoring program. What was it that drew you back to the program while on maternity leave from your role at Meta? (This will allow me to talk about the demanding nature of working in the tech industry and tell the story about us reconnecting and your encouragement to rejoin the program after many years away.)

At the point in time that I went on maternity leave I had been in various executive and director style roles for many years. That career choice generally includes a lot of travel to the US, ASIA and mainland Europe. Which makes it harder to find flexibility in your schedule and tends to preclude other commitments.

For me Mentoring is one of those commitments I do make time for and I generally mentor at least 2-3 people professionally each year. So I wanted to find an non-corporate alternative while I was feeling a sense of detachment (albeit temporary) from regular working life. Mentoring a student provided that opportunity for me.

You’ve worked in the tech industry in Ireland for almost 20 years, always in fortune 500 companies including eBay and Meta. How has that experience shaped your ability to mentor academics?

As someone in a leadership position in the tech industry it’s typically part of my role to run hiring processes which can include everything from job spec creation right through to hiring decisions. So that experience has been useful when talking with students about entering the workforce and what to expect.

Also I was so surprised by some of the questions that came up. As a working professional you take for granted how easy it is to just show up every day. Some of the questions were: –

“What should I wear to an interview?”
“What will happen on my first day?”
“How will I know how to do the job?”

All of these little anxiety inducing micro questions add up to a lot of uncertainty for under graduates. Although the answers to those questions are always the same regardless of the job specifics: –

Ask the company for their dress code in advance
Ask to see a copy of the onboarding plan
Ask what type of training and coaching support will be provided on-the-job

Most companies will have that information readily available and it will make your first few days so much more relaxed when you can show up feeing prepared.

As well as your work in the private sector you spent part of your early career in the Public sector so you have a perspective for students entering either workforce. What advice would you give graduates joining the workforce today?

Be persistent in the pursuit of what sparks a light in you. It’s always a good idea to target an industry that speaks to you on some level. Think about what you’re drawn to, what you enjoy, what you aspire to be in the future. Go after that even if it means taking an intern role or a temporary position to begin with. Small steps in the right direction add up. And if you’re like me and you’ve never been sure of a specific career path then target a big company. Big companies have excellent training programs and will equip you with tools to really add to your skillset.

I think it’s also important to accept that your first few interviews are not going to be the magnum opus of your professional life. That comes later. So free yourself up from that expectation. Go do some less than great interviews. Make some mistakes so you can learn to avoid those next time. It’s all a process of self-evolution. And most importantly don’t forget to enjoy the highs. When you do get that first job offer or first promotion – those are important milestones in your career journey – so make time to celebrate!

Author: Jeannine Hillen, former Head of EMEA Strategy & Risk Partnerships at Stripe and graduate of BA International Marketing & Languages (French & Spanish)