February will mark our third full year of running Mentoring Sessions, our studio initiative designed to help Graphic Designers of all levels through expert guidance, feedback, and mentoring.
Over the past year, we hosted 25 mentees – a vibrant mix of emerging and established designers from across the world. Our 60-minute sessions tackled specific challenges, explored future ambitions, and ignited personalised action plans, aiding each mentee to make strides towards their future goals.
While online resources are abound, the overwhelming feedback we have received highlights the value of face-to-face interaction with a seasoned creative mind. Mentees cited overcoming common hurdles and challenges as a key motivator for seeking mentorship, including:
- Navigating career transitions — finding the perfect job, breaking into the industry, or transitioning to agency, in-house or freelance roles.
- Building confidence and self-belief — conquering self-doubt and effectively showcasing skills and potential.
- Expanding design expertise — mastering new skillsets, refining existing ones, and staying ahead of the curve.
- Demystifying career paths — understanding different design roles, responsibilities, and expectations within creative environments.
- Charting a course for growth — taking a current role to the next level and achieving long-term career goals.
As we embark on a sabbatical year from the Mentoring Sessions initiative, we have been keenly aware that our programme has focused beyond technical critique — it has been primarily about human connection, the genuine conversations that can spark self-belief, empowering designers to set goals and realise them. We’ve been privileged to see many find their unique path forward.
We shall resume our initiative in 2025.
Q&A
We asked some of our 2023 mentees why they looked for a mentor and how it helped.
Beatriz Carvalho — Graphic Designer
Why did you look for a mentor?
It’s really easy to feel lost in the industry when we are freshly out of the academic world and to not know how to get to the next stage and evolve into the best professional we can be. I felt the need to have some guidance on what I’m doing wrong or how could I improve to get some call backs.
How did it help?
Having the opportunity to speak with Roz and have some advice and even some reassurance that I can make it when I’m just starting my career was truly valuable to keep me moving forward. After putting the advice to work I got great results and hopefully I’ll find that dream job where I can be challenged and surrounded by creative minds.
Yelyzaveta Berestova — Illustrator and Designer
Why did you look for a mentor?
Upon graduating, I felt a bit overwhelmed with the job search and started to reach out to designers and studios I admired for a chat, help with portfolio, pointers with hiring etc. Roz and Charlotte from Minx Creative were one of the few people who got back to me and offered a mentorship session, where I didn’t only get to share my work but also practice speaking about it, which is so important in preparation for job interviews.
How did it help?
At the time, I was looking for a helping hand, but what I found was so much more. The Mentoring Session gave me confidence to reach out to new people and essentially became the basis for building my professional network, which is especially important when you are fresh out of university. I’ve also learnt that a chat with someone you admire can go a long way and can be more rewarding than asking for a favour right away.
Emilie Lim — Graphic Designer
Why did you look for a mentor?
I looked for a mentor, specifically a creative mentor because I needed assistance in my design journey to get insights and guidance.
How did it help?
The mentorship has been incredibly beneficial, and I’ve made improvements to my CV and portfolio based on the valuable feedback provided.
Matthew Russell — Graphic Designer
Why did you look for a mentor?
I had a portfolio that I put together from my time at Shillington, and thought it would help to get some input on my projects and what I could improve. I had been job searching for a while without much response and it was making me doubt my portfolio and whether it was any good. When I saw the mentorship opportunity from Minx Creative, I was delighted and thought it would be really useful to get some input from other industry creatives. There’s not many studios that offer mentoring and I think lots of entry-level designers would benefit from interacting with more experienced designers, as it can be challenging to start out in the industry.
How did it help?
Roz and Charlotte were really great to speak to in the virtual portfolio review, and I instantly felt relief in knowing that my portfolio was well received and that there were projects I could edit without needing to redo too much. The feedback was really concise so I was able to implement the changes with ease, and being able to resend them the updated portfolio for further feedback was incredibly reassuring.
They also helped me with my confidence, and it’s made me feel that I can better present myself in interviews with potential studios. This mentorship experience came at a crucial time as I didn’t have much faith in getting into the industry and needed the validation to keep pursuing to get my first full-time design role. Of all the interactions I have had in my job searching period, this has by far been the best experience.
Lizzie Emrich-Mills — Graphic Designer
Why did you look for a mentor?
I sought out a mentor to gain a better understanding of the design industry and what it takes to become a part of it. Graphic design job listings can be quite varied in what they require from candidates so I always aim to speak to real people (recruiters or otherwise) to ask them what they think of my skill set and portfolio projects.
How did it help?
I felt encouraged, motivated by the specificity of the feedback given and confident that I had the ability to improve. I had reached out to a number of different creatives looking for advice, but this session was particularly helpful because it went into detail about the responsibilities of a design agency intern or junior designer.
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