On October 30, 2020, the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University (GSOM SPbU) is again launching a new  wound of the mentoring program TalentUp!, in which alumni of different generations share their experience in building a career, developing skills and competencies with students.

 

“TalentUp! is a unique project of the Business School community — GSOM Family. Communication with alumni who have achieved success in various areas of business, while developing their own business or working in large Russian and international companies, allows students to form an idea of the labor market, assess their capabilities, and draw up their own career plan. This year, representatives of McKinsey, Apple, Microsoft, SberBank, Yandex, L'Oreal, Amazon, Google have joined to serve as mentors for the program,” said Ksenia Kolesnikova, Head of Alumni Relations Department.

 

To participate in the program, students must undergo a rigorous selection process based on questionnaires and personal interviews. The main criterion is a clearly formulated goal and vision of their professional development. This year, among the areas of most interest to students there are Product-management, Strategic consulting, HR, Big Data, Brand-marketing and Project-management.

 

In addition to working in mentor-student pairs, the project will host open events:

• Investment Banking Day about a career in investment banking.
• Management Day about the career of a product manager.
• Big Tech Day about careers in high-tech companies.
• And guest lectures by alumni.

 

During the academic year, regular Mentor's Days are planned — consultations for students on the topic of building a career path with the support of a successful alumni of GSOM SPbU.

 

FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPANTS IN THE 2019/2020 PROGRAM:

Vlada Rau, a  GSOM SPbU'17 graduate, Senior Digital Analyst (McKinsey, London), who served as mentor of the TalentUp! 2019/2020: “TalentUp! is a great opportunity for students to meet alumni from a wide variety of companies from all over the world and get support in building their career path. "

 

Egor Babkin, GSOM SPbU'15 graduate, Sberbank CIB Largest Clients Department, mentor of the TalentUp2019/2020 program: “TalentUp! is a program that provides an opportunity to better know the industry of interest in business and increases the chances of employment."

 

Ilya Misharev, GSOM SPbU'17 graduate, Investment Banking Analyst (HSBC, London), mentor in the TalentUp 2019/2020 program: “The main advantage of TalentUp! for students is constant communication with a mentor throughout the year, which makes it possible to better define career preferences and ways to achieve them. Working with a mentor is a great opportunity to communicate in an informal setting with senior colleagues who will always help".

 

Daria Arzamaskina, GSOM SPbU'15 graduate, Senior Marketing Manager (Klook Technology Ltd, London), mentor of the TalentUp2019 / 2020 program: “TalentUp! is a source of insider information about how companies actually live, what kind of employees they are looking for and how a career in this or that area can develop today." 

 

Stepan Plokhov, GSOM student, participant in the TalentUp2019 / 2020 program: “Participation in the program is an excellent experience of interacting with purposeful and motivated colleagues and mentors, helping to get on the right career path, overcoming thoughts of unsuccessful self-realization, and which, in general, brings extremely positive emotions from communication with program participants ”.

 

Alina Belyaeva, GSOM SPbU'20 graduate, participant in the TalentUp2019 / 2020 program: “TalentUp! is for those who want to find a career, and a mentor who has gone through the same difficulties, fears and doubts that we do now, and who is ready to share his experience, help with choosing a path and getting a dream job! Thanks to TalentUp! I met the amazing Alina Verbenchuk, I am now doing my favorite, highly paid job, and I am moving to work in Dublin. "

 

Daria Tokareva, GSOM student and participant in the TalentUp2019 / 2020 program: “Thanks to the project, I not only achieved my career goal as a result of productive work with a mentor, but also received help from students and mentors who had participated the program a year before. TalentUp! really revealed to me the full power of the GSOM SPbU Business Family! "