Few would argue that one of the most important things a woman can do for their career is to find a mentor. In fact, many successful women have said that mentors were a key ingredient to their success. Did you know that Oprah Winfrey had a long-time mentorship with Maya Angelou?
“Mentors are important, and I don’t think anybody makes it in the world without some form of mentorship.” – Oprah Winfrey
According to Women in Revenue’s 2024 Annual Report, mentors also serve as advisors to help talk through, evaluate, and build plans for work and life opportunities or challenges. For respondents with mentors, 74% say the mentor helped them navigate a challenging workplace situation. Specific examples given in the responses included dealing with “bro culture,” maternity discrimination, and being overlooked for promotions.
The report also found that despite there being so many benefits of mentorship, barely more than one-quarter (28%) of women in revenue have mentors while more than three-quarters (78%) see the value in having a mentor. So why that gap? The lack of women in leadership roles could be a factor in the low mentorship activity. Leaders have limited bandwidth and can only manage a few mentees, and potential mentees may not have access to potential women mentors. Women also make up a small portion of leadership in most companies, with women holding just 28% of c-suite roles yet make up almost 50% of entry level roles.
Mentorship is important and should be considered an investment in your career. Like other investments, the more time you put in, the more return you’ll get.
To help you jump start your mentorship journey (or invigorate the one you are already on), here are 8 different ways you can find the mentorship program for you:
[1] Make Use of Your College Alumni Network
Whether or not you are a current member of your college alumni network, this is a great place to start. Check with your respective institution to see if there is an existing mentorship program.
[2] Join a Few LinkedIn Professional Groups
LinkedIn is definitely a great resource for finding professional interest groups. Groups focused on Digital Marketing or Women in Tech Sales may be just what you are looking for. Whatever your professional area of interest is, chances are LinkedIn has a group for it. Find a group, introduce yourself and be active within the community. This may not be your best option if you want a formal mentorship relationship but for those that just want someone to connect with on an ad-hoc basis, this could be a good place to start.
[3] Consider Women in Revenue: A Plethora of Resources With an Established Mentoring Program
Another terrific resource for women in Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, and Revenue Operations is Women in Revenue and it’s free to join. Women in Revenue (WIR) offers tailored professional development opportunities including workshops, webinars, and in-person events as well as:
- Curated content including industry-specific research and articles via our monthly newsletter
- Career advancement support via our job boards and dedicated resources
- An engaging community of like-minded professionals fostering support and camaraderie
- Mentorship and Speakers Bureau programs
Learn more about Women in Revenue’s Mentorship program here.
[4] Research Local Professional Organizations For Larger Groups That May Offer In-Person Meetups
Looking for more in-person connections and don’t care if the members are within your specific line of work? Search online based on your metro area and use a more broad professional area of focus. For example, if you are based in Denver and you work in marketing, you could try “networking for female business professionals in Denver” and you’ll find a variety of resources such as The Alliance of Professional Women and Colorado Business Women. Not all of these groups will have an established mentor/mentee program but joining will give you the opportunity to meet people and even put the ask out there if there is someone you connect with and think you could learn from.
[5] Narrow Your Search to Find Groups More Closely Aligned to Your Exact Profession
A slightly more tailored search than suggested above, this is recommended if it is important for your mentor to be in the exact same line of work. For example, if you’re a woman in SaaS sales, you may want another woman who is experienced in that same type of sales. Women of SaaS may be perfect for you.
For more facetime, find a program that’s tailored to your profession and local. Here are a few examples:
- CREW Detroit – Commercial Real Estate Women (Detroit, MI Chapter)
- CREW San Francisco (San Francisco, CA Chapter)
- AWT – Austin Women in Technology (Austin, TX group)
- PWC – Professional Women in Construction (New York Chapter)
[6] Lean In: Small Circles of Women Supporting One Another
Another great resource is Lean In, founded by Sheryl Sandberg. Lean In Circles bring women together for peer mentorship, camaraderie, and support. Training topics include how to navigate bias, growing leadership skills, and learning to lean into strengths.
[7] Look to Your Existing Network
Consider connections you already have – current and former colleagues, professional acquaintances, or maybe someone you “know” and follow on LinkedIn. Your current network is ripe with opportunity if you consider what it is you’re asking of the person. It may feel intense to ask someone for 30 minutes of their time once a month out of the blue so start small. Reach out and comment on something they’ve posted or shared.
Former colleagues can be perfect for this. Assuming you’re both at different organizations now, you’ll be able to talk more openly and candidly.
[8] Give to Get
Successful mentorship relationships are mutually beneficial. You may feel that your mentor needs to be older to be wiser but that won’t always be the case. Mentors come in all forms and the most fruitful relationships provide advice, a listening ear, and sometimes just a small break from the workday, to each other.
