3 “The future of mentoring is…limitless!”

Moutushi Esha immigrated to Canada from Bangladesh in March 2015. She joined TRIEC Mentoring Partnership as a mentee that year and has decided to become a mentor herself in 2018. Moutushi is associate project manager in operations & capital markets at BMO. With an MBA, PMP, and over 8 years of experience in various roles in the financial services industry, she is an invaluable mentor for newcomers.

When and how did you originally become involved in TRIEC Mentoring Partnership as a mentee? Which agency did you work with?

I learnt about TRIEC Mentoring Partnership through ACCES Employment. I completed a bridging program there in June 2015 called Financial Services Connections. I was matched with a mentor in the TRIEC program through ACCES.

How did the agency support and help you in your career goals?

ACCES Employment was great in giving an overview of the Financial Services industry in Canada, which was very helpful for me as a newcomer. They were very resourceful and covered a wide range of topics such as resume and cover letter tailoring, interview techniques, as well as personal banking product and services knowledge. They created various networking opportunities for us through events such as speed mentoring, hiring events, networking sessions, etc. I got my first job as a CSR at BMO through a hiring event at ACCES.

Why did you become a mentor?

Being a TRIEC mentee allowed me to enhance my professional network and learn from my mentor about the kinds of roles that I was interested in within my chosen industry. I enjoyed the personalized attention that I received from my mentor and found it to be immensely valuable. After being in Canada for a few years and reaching a certain position in my professional career, I felt that I wanted to give back by becoming a mentor to a newcomer so that I could perhaps help them in their own professional journey in Canada.

How did mentoring help you with finding your first job in Canada?

Mentoring helped me in gaining perspective about different opportunities and challenges within my chosen industry. It helped me in enhancing my professional network.

Can you give an example of how you've put your learning from the program into practice?

Being a mentee with the program made me feel comfortable in asking others to be my mentor (outside of the program). I realised through the program that professionals here in Canada want to give back and help newcomers in transitioning into the workplace. Although I got hired by BMO before the mentoring program ended, I still continued to seek out leaders who would act as mentors for me. As a mentor myself, I can put myself in the mentee's shoes and can empathize with them and guide them by drawing reference from my own personal experience as a newcomer to Canada.

What advice would you give to a new mentee about how to make the most of the mentoring relationship?

The mentoring partnership is a great opportunity for the mentee to meet someone within the industry they are interested in and get their personalized attention. The mentee should always approach every interaction with the mentor with utmost professionalism and a positive attitude. They should be open to asking questions and receiving feedback. It's important to keep in mind that the mentor is volunteering their time, so the mentee should make the most of the valuable time of the mentor by being inquisitive and proactively following up with the mentor. A mentor can be part of the mentee's professional network even after the mentoring partnership has ended, helping them with personal and professional development opportunities; however, it is really up to the mentee to nurture that relationship. If the mentee manages to make a good impression on the mentor, this has the potential to open a lot of doors for them.

What does being a mentor now mean to you?

To me, being a mentor means being a support system for a newcomer to Canada as they venture into this incredible journey of establishing their careers in the Canadian workplace. It means being a friend and a guide to the mentee, to help them achieve their professional goals.

And lastly, could you please complete the following sentence…

"The future of mentoring is…limitless!"

The End.