“It has made me stand by my ambitions”

When you meet Jasmin Farshchi, there is no doubt.

You are standing in front of an ambitious young professional who wants to build a successful career and a meaningful life.

She has big dreams – but sometimes it can be difficult to figure out how to achieve everything you want and which direction to take.

Jasmin is a trained pharmacist and was already highly ambitious during her studies. She served as a chair of the student association, spent a study period in England, and completed her thesis with research at the Novo Nordisk Metabolic Center.

Today Jasmin works as a Regulatory Affairs Manager at Ferring, and over the past year she has received guidance in navigating her many ambitions from her mentor, Efstathios Vassiliadis.

“I’m in the process of finding my path in my career, and our conversations have been a great way to prioritize my many dreams. We’ve talked about how to break things down into smaller steps and which further education opportunities might be relevant for me,” Jasmin says.

“I’m in the process of finding my path in my career, and our conversations have been a great way to prioritize my many dreams."

“I’ve also shared my personal goals, so we haven’t only talked about career. We’ve worked with the whole package – the whole Jasmin.”

Giving something back

One of the things Efstathios and Jasmin have returned to repeatedly is that it is okay to dream big.

“It has been really inspiring to meet someone who believes so deeply in their own dreams and doesn’t focus on what other people might think,” says Jasmin and continues:

“It has made me stand by my ambitions and at the same time feel that it is completely okay to want a lot from my career – even if my friends might have different ambitions.”

For Jasmin, it was important to have a mentor with extensive career experience.

“It has been really inspiring to meet someone who believes so deeply in their own dreams."

Today, Efstathios is CEO of Evnia Group with more than 25 years of combined medical and commercial experience across Europe, USA and the Middle East as well as a long track record in international research and industry leadership.

His CV is extensive, and Efstathios has been part of Pharmadanmark’s mentoring programme for the past three years.

“It is incredibly meaningful to talk with young and highly motivated professionals who dream of achieving many things in their careers,” says Efstathios.

“I have gained so much from the mentors I’ve had throughout the years, and now I feel that I can give something back.”

Learn from your mistakes

According to Efstathios, a mentoring programme makes a lot of sense, because many young professionals have not been trained to think about how to achieve their dreams.

“It’s one thing to be educated in a field, but it’s something entirely different to learn how you can actually use that education to achieve the things you want.”

Efstathios clearly remembers what it felt like to doubt his own abilities and not quite know which direction to take.

Uncertainty is almost a given when you are young and newly graduated, but today Efstathios encourages Jasmin to embrace both her doubts and the mistakes she may make.

“You learn the most from your mistakes. If everything goes a little too well, you don’t really learn much,” he says.

The mentoring conversations have also been a reminder for Efstathios himself that it is still okay for him to make mistakes and that learning is a lifelong process. In many ways, it has been a reality check, he explains.

No instructions

Jasmin and Efstathios have had regular conversations by phone and on Teams, and from time to time Jasmin has also sent quick messages with updates.

For both, it has been important that the dialogue was open and honest – and the mentor has also been very conscious of his role.

“It’s not my job to give instructions. My role is to share life experiences in a way that can be meaningful and useful for Jasmin,” says Efstathios.

“It’s not my job to give instructions. My role is to share life experiences."

The two have talked a lot about Jasmin’s long-term dreams, but they have also discussed which specific roles in the life science industry might suit her well. In particular, Jasmin has clarified that she sees herself at the intersection between the commercial and the medical fields.

And when Jasmin is asked whether she has gained anything from the programme, her answer is very clear: Absolutely.

“I would definitely recommend the mentoring programme to others. When you are shaping your career, it is incredibly valuable to talk to someone who has already walked the path before you,” she says.