Mentoring Program For Temps and Early Career Employees
Supporting CBC Temps and early career employees achieve their career goals
MEET THE CREATORS
Jennifer Chen and Catherine Rolfsen started the Mentoring Program for Temps and Early Career Employees in 2021. The program is now offered annually to employees in BC, the North, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario Small Markets, Ottawa and the Parliamentary Bureau. We hope to keep expanding the program to other locations over time.
How does it work?
Mentees are selected based on their demonstrated commitment to the CBC and priority is given to equity-deserving groups.
Mentors are full-time staff with a minimum of seven years experience.
matched based on the goals set by the mentees
six month program
monthly meet-ups
monthly meetings with the whole group
Feedback speaks to the success of the program
Several of the mentees secured full-time jobs during or shortly after the program.
Mentors have helped get their mentees stretch assignments to develop skills in new areas, and they’ve supported mentees as they navigate through difficult work situations.
Many mentees said they felt more heard, more confident, and more connected, particularly during the pandemic.
Mentors gain a new perspective and satisfaction in being able to “pay it forward”.
We continue to build on our success
coordinators take careful notes to build the program from each cohort
participants give detailed feedback
we have created a template for other mentorship programs to build on
other regions and departments are building programs similar to ours, while adapting to their needs. For example, there are mentoring programs offered by the Visible Women and Women in Tech ERGs. The CBC Maritime region has also implemented a mentoring program in 2023.
2025 Mentoring Program Coordinators
Catherine Rolfsen - BC
Joanne Stassen - CBC North
Lara Schroeder - Manitoba
Janani Whitfield - Saskatchewan
Jennifer Chen - Ontario small markets, Parliamentary Bureau, CBC Ottawa
Caroline Hillier & Carolyn Lounsbury - Maritimes
Dawna Dingwall - Network Audio - News and Current Affairs (Toronto)
Jeffrey Tam - News Network (Toronto)
PAST PARTICIPANTS TELL US ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE
James Chaarani, mentee, 2022
The mentorship program was incredible and I would highly recommend it to anybody new to the CBC. It allowed me to ask those stupid questions I was too afraid to ask in my day to day work life, which in turn made me better at my job. Not asking those stupid questions were holding me back in a lot of ways. It also allowed me to set goals for myself in areas that I didn't have much experience in and I got to work on them with an expert who has been at the CBC for years. My skill sets would not be where they are right now if it wasn't for this program. It was really an amazing experience, so thank you :))
Tara Carman, mentor, 2021
Being part of the mentorship program was meaningful because other journalists have been so generous in sharing their time and expertise with me in the past, and that contributed a lot to the skillset and the career I have now. It's been so incredibly fulfilling to be given an opportunity to pay that forward. The person I mentored has become a good friend and I've been fortunate to work with her now on a number of data-driven investigative projects at CBC.
Read more about the experience of the first cohort of Mentors and Mentees here.