An Inspirational Mentee Story of Arpan Shaily — Singapore
I am currently working as a Risk Advisory (Cyber & Forensics) with PriceWaterhouse Coopers (South East Asia Consulting).
As a risk consultant, I am responsible to create a meaningful relationship with the client and support them in assessing, designing, managing & implementing appropriate measures & processes to adequately mitigate risks & provide demonstrable value.
With my previous association with banking industry both in India & Singapore, I gained experience to work with the Global team and had supported projects in APAC regions.
I am eager to learn new skills in /out of work. I enjoy doing acrylic & oil paintings and have recently discovered liking towards doing some home furnishing DIY’s.
How long was the mentoring, what were your goals as mentee and how you have achieved it?
The mentorship programme was for the duration of 6 months (May 2021 to October 2021). Since, I started to develop inclination towards Cyber security space, I immediately enrolled for this programme when approached where I got the chance to meet my mentor.
As a mentee, my goal was to have guidance on my career advancement within cyber security space, understand what skills to develop and get networking support. To achieve this, I prepared a plan with the short-term and long-term goals that can be monitored and measured, started learning about Cyber security domain & identified areas of interest, identified certifications / programs for skill development & joined few cyber security groups.
As mentee, what is your proudest achievement and why?
My proudest achievement was when I got an opportunity to be a part of cyber security workforce after a maternity break, which was also a part of my career goal.
Did you upscale your softer skills and has it helped in your Cybersecurity career?
Yes I did, and it has helped me in my Cyber security career by prortising skills, building confidence, mentors feedback, improving communication & interpersonal skills.
How you gained a trust of your mentor? Did you feel comfortable approaching your mentor with problems, questions, and concerns?
The first introduction (mentor & mentee) via email really helped in breaking the ice by knowing about each other. The monthly mentoring sessions helped in gaining clear understanding of goals & opportunities where I use to share my progress and the difficulties I had faced.
My mentor was patient to listen about the concerns & provide valuable feedback. This indeed helped in building an effective relationship & trust with the mentor.
How did you find the mentor and have you faced any challenges as mentee? How you tackled it?
I had enroled for ISC(2) Mentorship Program SG Chapter 2021 where I met my mentor (Pooja Shimpi). The ISC (2) team would match the mentor & mentee based on the goals & interest shared while enrolling the programme.
One of the challenges I faced was to understand which cyber security certification I should consider for upskilling and what is my area of interest since each Cyber security domain has an opportunity to offer.
My mentor suggested to learn & analyse about certain certifications through various channels which helped to conclude my area of interest.
Would you like to advise or recommend any Cybersecurity mentoring program which other mentees should join?
I would recommend to join the ISC(2) Mentorship Program which gives a platform to mentors and mentee to learn, share & provide insights from each other’s experience.
It is organized by cybersecurity professionals, where every mentee is assigned to one mentor. These mentors are experienced cybersecurity professionals who will understand the mentees goals & can provide guidance in their career.
Nevertheless, if the goals are clearly articulated, planned & understood by both the mentee and mentor then one can definitely be guided towards success.
I am grateful for the opportunity I got to be associated with (ISC)2 mentorship programme SG chapter as a mentee where I met and benefited with my mentor’s years of experience and knowledge.
