You Can Now Find a Mentor Using LinkedIn
A good mentor is great, but difficult to find. Now LinkedIn is trying to connect those seeking mentor advice with professionals willing to share it through a new mentoring feature. It began rolling out to a select few locations this week and is scheduled to be rolled out across the country shortly.
As of now, all available mentors have been hand-selected by LinkedIn (although they will eventually be available to everyone), and they can set a perimeter around the people they want to mentor and by topic. For example, a mentor might say that they are willing to help students who graduate from the same college as them, or those who are connected within a few degrees of others in their professional network on the site.
The mentees also have the option to filter out what they are looking for in the mentor, and if they match, the two will be linked on the site so they can send messages to each other. It’s a Tinder-like concept in which you won’t be able to communicate with each other until you get a match. You can also end the conversation whenever you want, so if you decide that your first conversation isn’t perfect for you, neither party is required to continue the conversation.
This is an interesting idea. I know that early in my writing career, I got a ton of benefits from connecting with people who used to be where I was, and from time to time I get emails and phone calls from students at my alma mater trying to get into the realm activity that seeks advice. I’m always ready to help, but without my old advisor to facilitate these connections, I’m not entirely sure how the current students would find me. Establishing such connections is difficult for both parties and may simplify the process a little.
And there are definitely tons of career counseling services out there that do it for the money. However, when you’re looking for a new gig, the free offer is a much easier offer. However, due to the lack of money, it can be difficult to find really helpful mentors. For now, users in regions where this feature is available (which, unfortunately, only in San Francisco and Australia so far) will see the opportunity to become a mentor or mentee from their dashboard in the LinkedIn app under the Career Tips tab.
What do you think? Would you use LinkedIn to find a mentor, or would you become one on the platform yourself?