We are committed to using our skills, experience, relationships and knowledge to support the early careers of young women. We know from experience that future career success is dependent upon understanding the unwritten rules of the workplace and the importance of building relationships, pursuing developmentally rich professional opportunities and taking calculated risks. And we believe that it’s useful to have a career plan. After all, if you don’t know where you’re going, how can you possibly know how to get there or if you’ve arrived? We also believe that the best career decisions are underpinned by values that have been identified using an iterative and reflective process. We share the benefit of our knowledge and experience to give young women the best possible start to their careers.

My mentoring relationship with Nicole began in 2009 when we met through a university mentoring program. Since then, Nicole has had a huge impact on my professional development, my self-belief, and, most importantly, she has taught me how to open the doors of possibility. Nicole’s advice has always been practical, considered and holistic. She has understood the unique challenges I have faced and has provided practical and innovative solutions that consider not only my career trajectory but also my lifestyle choices. Having this knowledge at an early stage in my career has empowered me to take advantage of some of the best opportunities in law and commerce.”

BA/LLB (Hons), UNSW, Law Graduate, Legal Services

In 2010, Nicole McKenna inaugurated the McKenna Bespoke Development & Facilitation Coaching Prize for Young Women in partnership with Capital W, a women’s business club at the UNSW Australian School of Business. Three young women have benefitted from this prize. In 2013, we partnered with the University of New South Wales to create the McKennaBDF Career Coaching Award for Young Women. The award will be made to a woman graduate and includes a cash scholarship of $1,000 along with professional career support in the recipient’s first year of work after graduation.

The purpose of the award is to provide the recipient with high level yet practical professional support and guidance during her transition from university to professional work, and focuses on instilling the skills and building the professional resilience and confidence necessary to set the recipient up to succeed in her future career. Information about how to apply for the Award can be found here.

In addition to the McKenna BDF Career Coaching Award for Young Women, Nicole dedicates time every month to a number of pro-bono client engagements, providing career development coaching and a range of professional support services to young women in the early stages of their careers.

Nicole is also an active member of the broader not-for-profit community and is currently a non-executive director, and Chair of the Nomination & Development Committee, of Performing Lines, a performing arts company that develops, produces and tours innovative Australian work nationally and internationally. Nicole is a past President of National Foundation for Australian Women and a former Council Member of economicSecurity4Women (eS4W), one of the six national alliances funded by the Office for Women which investigate the issues that impact on the lifelong economic well-being of Australian women.

I met Nicole through UNSW. At first, she offered me advice in relation to my Honours Project, then, as I got more involved with the research, she assisted me with framing the question and finding potential research participants. Since then, Nicole has become a mentor, meeting with me regularly since I began a graduate program in financial services in 2012. Every single one of these meetings helps me to look at my career from a slightly different angle or to approach a problem with a ‘new’ set of eyes. Being mentored by Nicole has been very valuable to me and I have really appreciated her in-depth understanding of the corporate world and how best to move within it as a young woman.”

BA/BCom (Hons), UNSW, HR Graduate, Financial Services