Early career mentoring gives you one dedicated mentor outside your company for the first few years of working life. Instead of technical career advice, the focus is everything around the job: a routine you can keep, sleep, money, relationships and following through on your own goals. Sessions run by video anywhere in the US or in person in Los Angeles, and fit around long or unpredictable hours.
What an early career mentor helps with
The first years after school are when habits set. A new job brings a paycheck, a new city, new people and a schedule nobody designed with your health in mind. An early career mentor works with you on the parts of that life that tend to slide:
- Routine: a sleep, food and exercise baseline that survives busy weeks. See working long hours without losing your health.
- Money: a simple plan for a first salary, rent and any student loans, with habits that actually stick.
- Relationships: staying close to friends, family and a partner when your calendar is full.
- Work habits: organizing your week, asking for feedback, handling a difficult manager and saying no without damaging trust.
- Decisions: thinking clearly about a transfer, a second job offer, graduate school or a move.
- The unwritten rules: especially helpful if you are the first in your family in a professional job. See first generation professionals.
How this differs from a mentor at your company
Many employers assign a mentor or a buddy, and that relationship is worth using. A company mentor knows the firm, the work and the politics. But there are things most people will not bring to someone connected to their reviews: that they are exhausted, thinking about leaving, behind on bills or struggling with a manager.
A mentor outside the company has no stake in your promotion and no reason to repeat what you say. You can talk about the whole picture, including whether the job is right for you at all. The two work well side by side: your company mentor for how things are done there, your outside mentor for how you are doing overall. Our guide to the unwritten rules of the workplace covers how to make the most of both.
Can sessions fit around long hours?
Yes, and that is a large part of why people choose this format. Sessions are 30 or 60 minutes by video, scheduled in your local time zone, so a session can happen before work, on a lunch break, from a hotel room or on a weekend. Between sessions you can text or call your mentor, which matters when your week changes without warning.
- Meet weekly, or several times a week during a hard stretch.
- Choose a weekly plan billed week to week or a monthly plan.
- Meet in person in Los Angeles if you prefer; video mentoring works anywhere in the US.
- Your goals are broken into weekly steps small enough to finish in a demanding week.
Is this career advice or something broader?
Broader. Mentors do not give legal, medical, financial or technical advice about your field, and they are not recruiters or career placement services. Firms, professional associations and your own colleagues are the right source for technical skills. What a mentor does is help you run your life well while the job is demanding, and help you think through big decisions with someone who knows your goals. That is why this page sits alongside our service for mentoring and coaching for professionals, which covers people further into their careers.
We have written field-specific guides for common first jobs: first year associates, first year analysts, first year consultants, new grad nurses, first sales jobs and new real estate agents.
Who it is for, and who it is not for
It tends to fit recent graduates in their first few years of work, people starting a demanding first job, career starters who moved to a new city, and young professionals who feel busy but stuck. It is not a substitute for a licensed therapist or doctor. If stress has turned into burnout, low mood, anxiety or substance use, a licensed professional is the right step, and a mentor can work alongside them with your permission. In a crisis, call or text 988.
Parents of new graduates often reach out first. With the young professional’s permission, a parent can join the intro call and receive progress updates; the goals and the relationship belong to the young adult. See how families are involved.
Questions to ask any mentor or coach
- Will I work with one person every time, or a rotating pool?
- How do you handle contact between sessions?
- What will you not help with, and who do you send people to for that?
- How is my privacy protected, and who receives updates?
- How do plans and cancellations work when my schedule changes?
To start with us, take the five-minute assessment. Our team reviews it personally and sets up a free intro call, where rates are reviewed, before matching you with a mentor. You can read more about how mentoring works.
Related
- Your first job after college
- Your first 90 days in a new job
- Working long hours: a routine that holds
- Mentoring for new grad onboarding
- First Year Teacher Tips: Getting Through Year One
- First Year Software Engineer: How to Ramp Up and Grow
- First Year Social Worker Tips: Caseloads, Supervision and Self-Care
- Your first job at a nonprofit
- Your first job in government
- Your first job in engineering
- Your first job in media
Common questions
What does an early career mentor help with?
Routine, sleep, money, relationships, work habits and big decisions in your first years of working life. The focus is your whole life around the job, not technical advice about your field.
How is this different from a mentor at my company?
A company mentor knows your firm. An outside mentor has no connection to your reviews, so you can talk openly about stress, money or whether to stay.
Can sessions fit around long hours?
Yes. Sessions are 30 or 60 minutes by video in your time zone, and you can text or call between sessions when your week changes.
Can my parents pay for or be involved in mentoring?
Parents often start the conversation. With your permission they can join the intro call and receive progress updates, while the goals stay yours.
Get started
Starting a demanding first job and want someone in your corner outside the office? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.