Starting from zero in a new industry or at the beginning of a career is exactly when mentorship matters most — and also when it seems hardest to access. Here is how to find good mentors even without an existing network.
Start With Professional Associations
Most industries have professional associations with formal mentoring programmes. These organisations exist specifically to connect experienced practitioners with people earlier in their careers. The application process is often straightforward, and the structure of a formal programme can make initial conversations easier because the context is already established.
Research the main professional bodies in your field and look for mentoring or membership programmes. Many offer reduced rates for early-career professionals or students.
LinkedIn: Used Properly
LinkedIn is often misused for mentor outreach — people send generic connection requests with no context and wonder why they get ignored. A better approach:
First, identify specific people whose career path genuinely interests you. Read their posts, their articles, their career history. Then send a personalised message that demonstrates you have done this. Be specific about what you have noticed about their career and what specific question or challenge you are hoping to explore. Keep it short — two or three sentences — and make no immediate ask beyond a brief conversation.
The conversion rate on thoughtful, specific outreach is meaningfully higher than generic requests. Expect that most people will not respond, and that is fine. A few will.
Alumni Networks
If you attended a university or college, your alumni network is one of the most underused resources available to you. Shared educational background creates an immediate common ground that makes cold outreach considerably warmer. Most universities have alumni mentoring programmes; even without a formal programme, reaching out to alumni who have built the kind of career you are interested in often gets a response.
Industry Events and Conferences
In-person and virtual industry events create natural contexts for professional conversations. Follow-up after meeting someone at an event is much easier than a cold approach because there is a shared memory to reference. Come with specific topics you want to learn about, not just a general goal of “networking.”
Be Realistic About What You Are Asking For
Senior professionals are busy. The most sustainable mentoring relationships start small — a single conversation, not a commitment to meet monthly. If that first conversation is valuable for both people, it naturally develops from there. Asking for too much too soon is one of the most common mistakes in reaching out.