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A PhD candidate at Yale University, a well engineer for Shell, and an HR analyst with Rio Tinto Iron Ore are all taking part in the 10th year of UWA's Career Mentor Link program.

A few years ago, these successful young professionals were students at UWA who took part in the program from the other side, and all of them at least partly attribute their achievements to their mentors.

When it was started by the Careers Centre (Student Services) in 2003, the program had just nine participants: three mentors and six students.  This year, 300 students and more than 250 mentors are taking part, as well as nearly 60 participants in a separate program for students and mentors from Singapore.

Jo Hocking, the program co-ordinator, said it was not about work experience but a relationship focused on helping a student to identify career goals and developing the skills to achieve them.

The mentors usually get as much out of the program as the students.

Yuna Lee is studying for her PhD in Health Policy and Management at Yale University and is hugely enthusiastic about the program.

"Reading old email exchanges with my career mentor transports me back to Perth in 2004. I had just turned 20. The emails reflect the tremendous growth I experienced in that year as a result of the program," Yuna writes from New York.

"I hadn't found the words to articulate my professional interests but I was lucky enough to have found the field of public health.

"In 2004, I was matched with my fantastic mentor, Eamon Ryan, who held a senior position at the WA Health Department. I am so grateful for his role in shaping me at that key moment in my professional growth. He brought to life what the professional world of public health might feel like post-graduation and gave colour and shape to what I was studying in the classroom. He became a role model and gave me something invaluable: the confidence to believe that my goals were attainable and not far from my reach. He helped me build the skills, language and path to achieve them.

"Soon after, I completed my combined degree in Health Science (Hons) and Commerce, and was accepted into the Health Management Masters program at Yale University. After graduation, I spent three years as a special projects coordinator for the NYC Health Department, Last year, I was accepted into Yale's Health Policy and Management PhD program, and I am currently pursuing research in quality, patient-centered care and innovation in healthcare.

"This year, I am on the other side of the mentoring relationship as a mentor. My mentee is Anna MacTiernan, working towards her MPH. It has been fun and rewarding to be Anna's mentor. Given we live on other sides of the world, we haven't had the luxury of coffee catch ups, but we have kept in regular contact via email and Skype. Anna and I bounce ideas off one another and brainstorm possibilities for her future path as she prepares for life after UWA.

"I see a lot of myself in Anna. I hope to give to her what Eamon passed on to me: encouragement, a concrete path forward, a sounding board, cheerleading, support and a reality check when needed.

"Mentoring is one of the most powerful ways to develop talent and professional practice. It never feels like "work"; it is always fulfilling and surprising for both the mentor and the mentee. Most successful people I know attribute their success to ‘standing on the shoulder of giants'.

"I like to think that I've passed on both tangible and intangible skills to Anna, as well as created a safe environment to bounce ideas around. We have talked generally about professional development but also worked concretely on questions about her approach to future opportunities.

"I am really happy I signed up for the career mentoring program back in 2004. I never thought I'd be on the other side as a mentor or that I'd be sitting writing this now from New York City nine years later."

Amy Robinson graduated from UWA with Honours in Botany and now works for Rio Tinto Iron Ore.

"I had a mentor called Phil who worked for the Department of Agriculture.  We met up for coffee on campus and he encouraged me to do Honours - which proved to be a very valuable learning experience: much greater than the previous three years," Amy said.

"Mentors are essential because they can help you work through things without having a vested interest: Your Mum or Dad always want to solve a problem for you; your supervisors will want you to do something their way; employers want you to help them achieve THEIR goals.

"I would advise anybody who was thinking of becoming a mentor to do it for your own development, but make sure you know what your drivers are for your career: you can't coach another person if you don't have your own mantra and values defined.

"Anybody can mentor but you have to have a level of self-awareness and willingness to learn, not just be able to teach but be teachable."

Royden Monteiro is a well site drilling engineers with Shell.

"My mentor was Soren Cicchini, who gave me a good introduction into the working life of a professional engineer," Royden said.

"He went out of his way to get his friends to write about what they did, how they got there and lessons learned along the way. The information his mates provided was instrumental in my decision about the path I would eventually take in the world of engineering.

"It's good to take on mentoring early in your career as your experience of transition from student to worker is still relevant and fresh in your memory.

"I'm mentoring Cem Miral, who is four years into a double degree in Engineering and Commerce. We meet face to face when I'm not working away. He's very motivated and I've taken a page out of his approach and am now getting more out of the relationship with my own mentor!"

To learn more about UWA's Career Mentor Link program, go to www.careermentorlink.uwa.edu.au