FBA-Mentoring Season 3: Mentees Begin the Journey by Defining Personal Development Goals

In the journey of career development, defining goals is an important starting point, but turning those goals into concrete results requires a clear plan and persistent execution. With the desire to equip mentees with orientation mindsets and effective self-development methods, a workshop themed “Turning Goals into Actions - Building a Personal Development Plan (PDP)” took place on the evening of June 11. This was an activity within the framework of the 3rd Season of the Mentoring Program of the Faculty of Business Administration (FBA) at UEF.

25 mentees selected after the Interview round officially enter the Mentoring journey.

The program was attended by Dr. Huynh Nhut Nghia - Vice Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration; Ms. Dang Thu Huong - Founder of the Student Experience Project and Deputy Head of the SGT Executive Board; alongside the keynote speaker, Ms. My Hanh Truong - Capability Development Team Manager from the Capability Development and Corporate Culture Department at PNJ Production.

Speaking at the program, Dr. Huynh Nhut Nghia shared the significance of early career experiences for students in a continuously changing labor market context. He pointed out that many students only realize that actual work does not match their initial orientation after graduation, leading to spending extra time adapting or switching career paths. Therefore, early opportunities to interact with businesses while still on university benches will help students better understand their majors, recognize their own strengths, and make appropriate adjustments for the future.

According to him, the Mentoring program provides opportunities to listen to practical stories from experts, managers, and corporate leaders, creating conditions for students to receive companionship and orientation from predecessors. This is an environment that helps them accumulate experience, build career mindsets, practice resilience, and clearly define development goals for the future. He also expected the mentees to always maintain a learning spirit, persistently pursue their goals, and make the most of the values from the program to improve themselves, develop their careers, and contribute positively to the community.

Dr. Huynh Nhut Nghia emphasizes the practical values that the program brings across organizing seasons.

At the workshop, Ms. My Hanh Truong guided students to approach the concept of a PDP (Personal Development Plan) through practical and relatable perspectives. The speaker emphasized that everyone needs to proactively design their own future starting today, rather than waiting for opportunities to appear. In particular, students were encouraged to reflect on important questions such as: Why choose to participate in the Mentoring program? What do you wish to receive from your mentor? And what values will you achieve for yourself after concluding this journey?

One of the messages conveyed by the ,'speaker that inspired many students was: "A mentor gives you a compass and lessons from the sea. But you are the only one holding the steering wheel of your own life's ship." Through this, mentees understood that while mentors play an orienting and supporting role, final development still depends on each individual's proactive spirit and efforts.

Students actively participate in group activities, exploring the Wheel of Life.

The workshop also helped students build an architectural mindset with core elements including clear orientation, proactive communication, thorough preparation, open listening, commitment to action, and continuous self-reflection for self-improvement. These are considered crucial capabilities that help young people adapt to modern learning and working environments.

The speaker brings PDP building methods to the mentees.

To support students in concretizing their development goals, the speaker guided them through the process of building a PDP using practical execution steps. Mentees learned about the SWOT method to position themselves by identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; used the "Wheel of Life" model to assess the balance across important aspects of life; and from there, established appropriate development goals and built concrete action plans for each stage.

Mentees actively exchange with the speaker, receiving new lessons as equipment for the journey ahead.

Beyond providing useful knowledge and tools, the workshop created an opportunity for students to look back at themselves, clearly define the values they wish to pursue, and build a personal development roadmap methodically. This is also an important starting step for mentees to confidently accompany their mentors throughout the journey of discovering capabilities, perfecting themselves, and preparing for their future careers.

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