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💼 Find mentors on LinkedIn: 5 surprising ways

💼 Find mentors on LinkedIn: 5 surprising ways

How to find people to connect with.

Jennifer Chou
April 12, 2023

Use hashtags

Hashtags can help you discover people - and advice - to help you grow.

Here’s how:

Step 1: go to LinkedIn search bar

Step 2: type a hashtag related to your industry. Include the word “mentor” if you want

Step 3: sort through the posts and people for who might be the right mentor foryou

You can also use general hashtags like #CareerAdvice, #Leadership, or #Networking.

Here’s an example of a search for Data Analysis mentors:

Attend events

Networking with event attendees and speakers is a great way to find mentors.

Here’s how to find the right events to attend:

Step 1: search for your industry (product management, data analysis, UX design, digital marketing, etc.)

Step 2: filter by events

Step 3: stalk the speakers and posts about the event (to see who’s attending)

Step 4: attend the event and be engaged, asking good questions

Step 5: send a personalized connection note to speakers and attendees with your key takeaways from the event

Here’s an example of Product Management events:

Ask questions in communities

Communities can be more engaged than people posting on their personal profiles or people attending events. If you ask a question to the right community, you might get better insights than if you had posted the question on your LinkedIn profile.

Here’s how to find the right communities to join:

Step 1: search for your industry

Step 2: filter by groups

Step 3: join 2-3 large groups of more than 100k members, and 2-3 smaller groups of less than 100k members

Step 4: read the rules of the group before posting. See example rules below

Step 5: stalk previous posts of the group, and send a connection request (with a personalized note) to anyone whose posts you like

Step 6: post relevant information in the group - and tag a few members if you want a better chance of getting a response. You can ask for feedback on your portfolio

Search by commonality

Finding people who went to the same school as you OR people who currently work at the company you want to work for is a great way to establish common ground.

Here’s how to get started:

Step 1: think of a list of things you can bond with a mentor about. This could be a hobby, your school, your career goals, music taste, passion for web3, or something else

Step 2: type your passion AND industry in the chat. If your hobby is knitting and you want to learn more about marketing, type “knitting marketing”

Step 3: find people who are passionate about the same thing you are

Step 4: stalk their profile to see if they’d be a good fit for being your mentor

Step 5: send a personalized connection note, and make sure to mention your shared passion and why you’d like to connect

Connect meaningfully

When you find a potential mentor, DO NOT just send a connection request. Instead, do this:

Step 1: send a personalized connection note, so they know why you’re connecting

Step 2: include WHY you want to connect with them in the personalized connection note - what caught your attention about them? Where did you find them? Why do you want to connect, and what do you hope to learn from them?

Step 3: if they accept your connection request, send a follow-up message thanking them for connecting

Step 4: send another message that will bring them value - i.e. ask them a question about their work, share an interesting resource you think they’ll like, and generally try to get to know them better

Step 5: continue following up with them and engaging with their LinkedIn posts (liking and commenting) to build the relationship before asking for a mentorship call

Summary

Here’s how to find mentors on LinkedIn:

Use hashtags
Attend events
Ask questions in communities
Search by commonality (industry, hobby, career path, company)
Connect meaningfully