This section of the toolkit explores on dealing with discrimination and asking for a raise, equipping you with the skills needed for you to interact more comfortably with your peers and excel in your role.
If this is your first time meeting each other, introduce yourself to your mentor/mentee! Few key points to talk about:
- Cultural background
- Tell a story about your career and how you have gotten to where you are right now
- For mentors: What is something you wish you knew when you were a fresh graduate?
Goals are very important in mentorship, as it sets a direction to the session.
Mentees should set goals into what you want to achieve in this session, while mentors can set expectations over what you can provide in this session and what you are unable to give guidance on.
Racism is a real problem in Australia. You may potentially encounter this in the workplace, and it can be difficult to respond when faced with it.
Learn more about how to deal with this with the below exercise of reverse mentoring.
Tell a story about a time you have encountered discrimination or subtle racism in the workplace.
- What was the situation? who were you with and what happened?
- How did you deal with the situation?
- How did you feel? Did you feel like you dealt with it correctly?
This section will present 3 scenarios in the workplace, inspired by real life stories, and mentees are to “mentor” mentors, guiding them step by step what they think the best solution to the scenario would be. After that, mentors are to generate a discussion over their solutions.
Reverse mentoring flips the traditional method of mentoring, where the person in more junior positions mentor someone who is more senior. This exercise aims to empower the mentee, helping them develop self confidence to speak their ideas, who is traditionally the one being taught knowledge.
StartImagine you’re a designer at a networking party. You introduce yourself to someone next to you and they remark “You’re a designer? You don’t look like it” You question why. They reply “I don’t know, you look like you would be someone doing engineering, there are a lot of people like you in our company’s engineering department.” Although they don’t explicitly mention your race, you feel they’re making implicit racist stereotypes.
Mentees,
How would you respond?
You’re meeting a new manager for the first time in your company. You have had great relationships with your past managers, however, this new manager would occasionally laugh at your accent, calling it ‘funny’. Others in your team are afraid of voicing out and says nothing about it. However, you feel uncomfortable.
Mentees, What would you do?
Imagine you’re working in a management position in a prestigious management consulting firm. You’re meeting with a client and they remark “You are the first Asian person to work on this project. Typically I wouldn’t mention it, but you’ve done well here in Australia, haven’t you?” You grew up in Australia and the way they said it makes you feel uncomfortable. You want to explain to them that what they have said is discrimination.
Mentees, What would you do?
“People who are racist think they have go more support in society than they do. If you don’t say anything they’ll continue to think that. If you do, they start to reassess.”
- Prof Yin Paradies
For more help on how to tackle racism, go to our resources page
Mentees can now choose one or two topics of discussion or up-skilling exercise below, raising any concerns and questions for discussion.
Transitioning from university to the professional workplace might feel overwhelming and confusing, such as struggling blending into the culture and socialising with your colleagues.
For mentee: Talk about any concern or experiences you have on transitioning from school to professional workplace
For mentor: Give guidance into mentee's concern, and methods of transitioning into the workplace.
Networking is a great way to meet new people in the industry. You can make lots of new connections and even land yourself a new position!
Mentees: Share your experiences with networking and any concerns or feelings you have had.
Mentor: Share how networking has benefited you, how you would usually approach people and make the most out of the experience.
Salary negotiation is a skill that is extremely practical. It is important to know what you are worth and how to get what you deserve.
Mentor: Share your experience of salary negotiation. What are some tips and ways to make the process easier?
"Break the Bamboo" is a mentorship toolkit for experienced Chinese-Australians to mentor younger Chinese-Australians so they can fight through the Bamboo Ceiling in Australia.
