Become or get a mentor with Animated Women UK

Mentoring can be set up to work around you and your schedule. We understand that a lot of our mentors are very busy people, so our online-based mentoring is designed to allow you and your mentor to stay in touch in a way that suits both of you.

Dexter or Emma at Prospela can be contacted within the platform and will reach out directly to check-in.

Your relationship with your mentee is unique. You can agree on a level of commitment and communication with your mentee that works for both of you and review it over time.

If you are already working in either VFX or Animation and have been for more than 2 years you are definitely in a position to add value to a mentee. Many of our mentees will just be starting out on their journey and sharing yours will be incredibly valuable. We will do our best to match mentors and mentees appropriately.

Absolutely not. Our industries comprise many roles from facilities,  management and accounting to production, technology and more.  We expect mentees who are looking at all kinds of roles and would like the same variety in our mentors. If you’re paired with someone from a creative discipline and you are not from that background, you can provide a lot of help and support both yourself and through your network.

Our programme is designed for you to interact with your mentee on Prospela’s online portal with their team’s support. We’d encourage you to keep your communication on there, but over time (if your mentee is over 18) you might look to connect with them on LinkedIn and perhaps interact over different platforms on occasion. Keeping your communication here enables us to track the success of our programme which is critical to its ongoing support by our sponsor.

The same as you would if you had a question in your day to day life. Ask your friends, colleagues and network to help you.  You have access to a wealth of resources that your mentee doesn’t.

This up to you and your mentee. You should discuss this with them so that the plan is clear. In general, we find that communication is more regular when you are first establishing a relationship and can then become slightly less frequent. It’s important to invest time upfront getting to know each other, building trust and understanding what everyone is hoping to get from the relationship.

There are many great reasons to become a mentor including:

• An opportunity to develop communication, leadership, coaching and mentoring skills
• A feeling of 'giving back' to the industry
• It is good for your CV, shows you care about the future of your industry and its composition
• It encourages you to reflect on your own skills and achievements
• It's an opportunity to use your creativity and learn from the ideas and experiences of someone who could be from a different generation, background or have different interests, life experiences or expectations, stage of career, sector etc.

Interested in learning more about becoming a mentor? Check out ScreenSkills FREE 20 min course: Becoming a Mentor.

An ideal mentor can help a mentee make the most of career opportunities and support their personal development and self-confidence. They will encourage and support the mentee to achieve their goals. Mentors actively listen and provide advice to their mentees to help them overcome challenges and get to where they want to be. Good mentors also provide advice through learned experience.

Our mentorship program pairs women with VFX and Animation Industry experience with women looking to learn more, and start or progress their careers within one of these industries. Some of the benefits mentees will gain from this program are listed below:

• Career and personal development advice from women with industry experience
• Developing communication skills (e.g. listening, asking questions)
• Growing your network
• Developing your self-awareness
• Expanding your CV
• Learning from the ideas, experiences, and perspectives of someone who could be from a different generation, background or have different interests, life experiences or expectations, stage of career, etc
• Setting challenges and receiving feedback from someone who is not your line manager
• Advice on developing strengths and overcoming perceived weaknesses.
• Helping to develop a clear sense of direction.

Our programme pairs women with industry experience with women looking to learn more, and start or progress their careers within the VFX or Animation industries.  You can gain a great deal from getting a mentor:

• Access career and personal development advice from women with industry experience
• Improve your communication skills (e.g. listening, asking questions)
• Build or grow your network
• Develop your self-awareness
• Expand your CV
• Learn from the ideas, experiences, and perspectives of someone who could be from a different generation, background or have different interests, life experiences or expectations, stage of career, etc
• Set challenges and receive feedback from someone who is not your line manager
• Receive advice on developing strengths and overcoming perceived weaknesses.
• Develop a clear sense of direction.

Your relationship with your mentor is unique. You can agree on a level of commitment and communication with your mentor that works for both of you and review it over time. This relationship should be built on mutual trust, respect and open communication between both parties.

Our programme is designed for you to interact with your mentor over a 1:1 web-based chat channel provided through the Prospela website. We’d encourage you to keep your communication on there, but over time you might look to connect with them on LinkedIn and perhaps interact over different platforms on occasion. Keeping your communication on the Propela 1: 1 chat channel enables us to track the success of our programme which is critical to its ongoing support by our sponsor.

This is up to you and your mentor. You should discuss this with them so that the plan is clear. In general, we find that communication is more regular when you are first establishing a relationship and can then become slightly less frequent. It can be a little intimidating at first opening up to someone you don’t know, but interactivity is the key. It’s important to invest time upfront getting to know each other, building trust and understanding what everyone is hoping to get from the relationship.

An ideal mentee wants to focus on their personal and professional development.

A mentee has goals and objectives they want to achieve, challenges they want to overcome and is looking for a mentor to help guide them.

As a mentee, you can expect support, encouragement, challenge, feedback and ideas from your mentor.

Interested in learning more about becoming a mentee? Check out ScreenSkills FREE 20 min course: Being Mentored (for mentees)

YES! Any AWUK Member is welcome to apply to get a mentor! We have a wide range of mentors and aim will pair mentors and their mentees accordingly to match experience levels, skillsets and desired outcomes.

Yes, all mentees must be a member of AWUK. Membership only costs £30/year. If you are not a member yet you can SIGN UP HERE.