Career Mentoring

What is Career Mentoring?

Mentoring can take the form of a short-term, focused series of conversations, or a longer-term partnership, tailored to suit an individual’s needs. At Viswali Consulting we understand that ‘career’ has several meanings. Your career might be an occupation built on purposeful intention and fostered through network development. Your career can also be a search for a purposeful path. Ultimately, the path through which a career is built varies from person to person and mentors can help out along the way.

I found our sessions productive at getting to the heart of what I was and was not being drawn to in my career so far. I was surprised at how much we were able to unpack and then develop a clearer picture of what kind of professional I want to be, the environment I want and need to be in, that ensures my success, and the different ways I can take to get there. Our mentoring sessions gave me a lot more confidence in my ability to take control of the situation and how to be more self-compassionate. I think Leela showed a lot of empathy in our process while also challenging me to think differently about my situation, goals, skills, and environment.

E.B., Urban Planner

Something that really stood out to me with my experience with Viswali Consulting was the level of detail and dedication Leela went into designing recommendations, synthesizing the concerns or focus areas of our sessions, and providing career mentoring and support that is above and beyond. Additionally, she is an accessible resource as she gives a sliding scale for students, which contributes to her already fantastic reputation of being a very empathetic, welcoming and attuned professional. I could tell that she was dedicated to helping and seeing me grow.

Y.G., Graduate Student, Planning

Before mentoring, I felt like I was floundering in inclinations and ideas, without a clear understanding of how to move beyond google searches. Leela helped provide the structure to direct my reflections and untangle my thoughts. She identified different sources I could consult to learn more about myself and my options. Our conversations provided an opportunity for synthesis and helped to daylight many undercurrents and patterns in my past experiences. I now have a clearer sense of what I want to achieve with my career, am equipped with tools and networks to explore, and have the confidence to pursue new avenues.

M.S., Project Manager

Persons who have a goal (or a series of goals) they would like to accomplish but are not sure of which avenue they should start with first and how to best branch off from there would benefit from working with Leela. I really appreciated the care and thought that Leela gave to my specific needs/goals, and visions for both the present and the future. The ease of our conversations, being able to prioritize what was most important to me, and being able to discuss how to best leverage them in my daily routine were all valuable in my mentorship experience.

P.T., Principal Planner

Those who struggle to comprehend their value as a professional, especially those like myself who are at the start of their career, will not only find Leela’s style of mentorship inspiring and motivating, but will also be provided the concrete tools you need in order to utilize this value. My discomfort of self-promotion was quickly diminished because Leela was able to explain why my skills and abilities are valuable rather than simply telling me what is valuable.

C.C., PhD Candidate, Physics

Leela is a skilled listener whose greatest superpower is the ability to see the best in everyone. In our time working together, she helped me to set personal, professional, and academic goals, create an individualized plan that was appropriate to me and my circumstances, and facilitated the self-growth, personal development and skills training required to follow through.

R.T., Policy Advisor

Leela's approach achieves the perfect balance between structure and flexibility. I appreciated that our conversations were always organized, while also allowing the freedom to explore the full range of topics that were on my mind. Looking back, I am amazed at how much material we covered in just a few focused career mentoring sessions. I really appreciated that Leela provided so many new ideas, suggestions and resources in the detailed reports that I could continue to explore on my own after our initial conversations. After working with Leela, I felt a renewed sense of optimism and eagerness to take the next steps on my career journey.

E.M., Planning and Real Estate Professional

Leela deeply understood the unique challenges I encountered as a woman of color working on a non-European context, offering support that was both empathetic and addressed to my specific needs. She was knowledgeable and understood the unique challenges that arose from the nature of the knowledge I produced, offering insights that were both relevant and deeply informed. I really appreciated the sincere validation I got regarding the value I produce in academy that often gets undermined in the euro-centric and colonial frameworks of my discipline.

H.A., Assistant Professor

In our work, it was helpful that Leela had a planner's lens to apply to our conversation, first and foremost. That said, Leela's prior experience in academics, for one, helped me realize that there are planning-adjacent opportunities, with similar skillsets required, that didn't readily come to my mind, and second, gave me indirect access to folks in her network, outside of the planning world, who could give me more information on the paths I was thinking of exploring.

My biggest 'aha!' moment may have been when Leela and I had the conversation on how I could transfer the skillset of my current job to something completely different. I already knew the concept of transferrable skills, but I was having trouble thinking about what other fields I could consider that would use those same skills and be of interest to me. My second-biggest 'aha!' moment was when I realized that it's okay to take a step back on something or pivot, even if society (or your parents) tells you otherwise. The results of our work together gave me the confidence to advocate for a better work-life balance for myself.

Planner, Private Sector

Why choose Viswali Consulting for your mentoring needs?

At Viswali Consulting, we specialize in working with people at early and middle stages of their careers, particularly in professional planning, planning-related occupations, academia, and in various levels of government. We have worked with individuals who have taken diverse career paths.

Some of the reasons for seeking career mentoring with Viswali Consulting could include:

Wanting to go beyond web searches to find more focused results and options to explore a career path.
Seeking assistance to validate a major decision in a deliberate and systematic way, be it seeking a new job, staying in your current job, returning to school, and/or considering a new opportunity.
Searching forward-thinking advice and insight in setting out your career goals.
Looking for support in self-reflection and goal-orientation to define your career path.
Seeking support to navigate your career within a system that you are also trying to change (i.e., trying to make a cultural shift; you’re a system change actor).
A desire to work with someone who is in-the-know, enterprising, and skillful at brainstorming ideas and options, and who can facilitate making decisions that benefit your career.

Working with your mentor, Leela Viswanathan, PhD, RPP, FCIP

Leela Viswanathan,
Founder and Principal

When we work together, my mentoring approach is not about ‘do as I have done’. Rather, I work with you, empathically, to break down the issues you face into smaller more manageable parts. We find solutions together to help you meet your goals.

As a mentor, I draw from 20+ years of insights and experience to assist my clients to find purpose and progress in their careers. We work together in a deliberate way; we set out goals and outline steps, and then explore options together, until the reason for seeking guidance has been satisfied.

I work with clients to create a collaborative, reassuring, and personalized process, tailored to their needs and preferences. I actively listen to my clients and help them to identify and work toward their goals and recognize and leverage their own strengths and assets. I may also challenge them with self-reflective exercises to encourage deeper thinking about their current job and/or career goals.

If you are interested in starting with a free ‘Discovery’ consultation to discuss mentoring services;

Getting Started

Setting up a free 20-minute Discovery consultation session is the first step. You are encouraged and welcome to contact me (Leela) by email with your questions or with a description of what aspects you are seeking help about. We will then set up a time for a Discovery consultation, free of charge, over the phone or by video conference.

FREE 20-minute Discovery consultation session

During our ‘Discovery’ call or video conference, I hope to learn more about your needs and interests, and I will let you know more about what I can offer as well as about my approach to mentoring. You have an opportunity to discover whether career mentoring is a good fit for you.

Single Strategy Session

In a single strategy session, we will have a focused conversation on what matters to you most in developing your career, like discussing a problem or obstacle you are trying to address, a decision you need to make, or a goal you are trying to reach. I’ll ask you questions, and we will consider approaches to take. By the end of the one-hour session, you will feel more prepared to take action.

The session can be held over the phone or via Zoom.

The fee for a one-hour single strategy session is $225 + GST/HST

Follow-up sessions can also be scheduled at $225 per hour, or you might choose to discuss a more customized package. I charge GST/HST on all services for Canadian residents, and the rate matches the client’s province of residence.

Customized Package

I am happy to work with clients to design a customized package ways to offer longer-term follow-up support and consistency in guidance and accountability. Please feel free to contact me to discuss a customized package that fits your time, needs, and interests for ongoing career mentorship.