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Giving back – rejoining WITEM™ as a mentor
Giving back – rejoining WITEM™ as a
mentor
WITEM team – 23 April 2021
Tags:
Women in Digital (/taxonomy/term/440) Women in IT (/taxonomy/term/227)
Digital Profession (/taxonomy/term/445) Capability (/taxonomy/term/398)
The Dell Women in IT Executive Mentoring (WITEM™) is a 12-month mentoring and coaching
program for talented Executive Level 2 (EL2) women in the APS. Past WITEM™ mentee Sarah
Polhill (Chief Information Officer, ACCC), shares her experience as a mentor, and her desire to
give back to the program.
Why I became a mentor
I became a WITEM™ mentor after being a mentee. Having learned a lot through the formal
training, activities with other mentees and from my mentor, I also wanted to encourage and
support women working in IT.
As a mentor, I bring my enthusiasm for people and technology, and a wide range of insights
and experiences, having worked in the IT industry for 20 years.
My experience as a mentor
It has been absolutely great being a mentor on WITEM™. I participated in the program for 3
years and had 3 mentees during that time. One of the main benefits was learning about
different challenges and environments. Listening to other’s experiences, I found that the
conversations have challenged me in different ways to reflect on my work, career path, goals
and leadership style. I’ve also become aware of the many different roles and opportunities
working in IT.
The role of WITEM™
It’s really important for programs like WITEM™ to exist. They provide opportunities for people
to build networks, and learn from each other. There is always a new process, methodology or
technology.
Mentoring can help participants become more engaged in their career path.
Programs such as WITEM™ help mentees gain a different perspective on a challenge they
might be facing. WITEM™ specifically provides opportunities for women in IT executive
positions to:
further develop their career
set and achieve career goals
have a professional support person to talk to outside of your immediate work
environment
ask for advice on resolving a challenge they might be facing.
Final thoughts and advice
I would say to women who are looking to progress their APS digital career, to never stop
learning. Take the risk – whether it is speaking up or stepping forward or trying a new idea.
My advice to new WITEM™ participants is to prepare for the conversations. Have questions,
goals or challenges you want to discuss. Be patient. Sometimes it can take 3 meetings before
the relationship starts to gain momentum. Book meetings at the start of the program and
make sure that it is a non-negotiable time in the calendar.
I would encourage people to be mentors. It is a great opportunity to meet and hear from
someone who may see things differently, and have different experiences. I would also
encourage people to become mentees, so they can expand their knowledge and skills, gain
valuable advice from an experienced person, and build their professional networks.
Become a mentee
Due to popular demand,
mentee applications have been extended to Friday 30 April 2021.
Find out more and apply to become a WITEM™ mentee (/help-and-
advice/learning-and-development/women-digital#how-to-apply)
© Commonwealth of Australia. With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and
where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license.
