Latest / The Career Mentor Podcast with Fexingo: Finding Mentors, Sponsors, and Career Advisors / How to Find a Mentor When Your Industry Is Shrinking
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, we've done a lot of episodes on how to find a mentor in various situations — early career, remote work, as a manager. But one scenario we haven't touched yet is what happens when your entire industry is shrinking. When the sector you're in is losing jobs, losing relevance, and the people who would normally mentor you are either gone or hunkered down. Luna: That's a really good point. I think a lot of the traditional advice — 'find someone five years ahead of you' — falls apart when there's no clear path forward in that industry anymore. Lucas: Exactly. So let's talk about a specific case. A listener named David reached out. He spent twelve years in newspaper journalism — print reporter, then editor. His paper has shrunk from a newsroom of 200 people when he started to about 40 now. He loves journalism but knows he probably can't stay in it long-term. Luna: He wants a mentor who can help him navigate out — but who? Most of the senior editors he respected have either taken buyouts or retired. The ones who stayed are fighting fires. Lucas: Right. And that's a common dynamic in declining industries. The people who remain are often the most dedicated — or the most stuck — and they're not necessarily good mentors for someone planning an exit. So David's challenge is: where do you look when the obvious mentors in your own field aren't available? Luna: One idea we've talked about before is looking to adjacent industries. For a journalist, that could be corporate communications, content marketing, public relations, maybe even tech product teams that need someone who can write and think clearly. Lucas: That's exactly what I'd suggest. And David did that. He started by identifying companies in his city that had strong communications departments — a large health system, a university, a couple of tech firms. He then reached out to mid-career professionals in those roles, not for a job, but for an informational interview. Luna: And did any of those turn into a mentorship? Lucas: One did. He connected with a woman who'd been a magazine editor, then moved into content strategy at a software company. She agreed to a thirty-minute call, and it evolved into a quarterly check-in. She didn't have a formal 'mentor' title, but she became his primary guide on how to translate his skills. Luna: So it's not just about finding someone in your industry. It's about finding someone who has made the transition you want to make. Even if they're in a different field. Lucas: Exactly. And that leads to a second point: sometimes the best mentor in a shrinking industry is a 'negative mentor' — someone who shows you what you don't want. Luna: Can you define that a bit more? Negative mentor sounds harsh. Lucas: Sure. A negative mentor is someone whose example you learn from by observing the consequences of their choices. For example, a senior editor who stayed at a newspaper too long, watched their pension get cut, and now feels trapped. Watching that can be incredibly instructive. You see the cost of inaction. Luna: So you're not literally asking them to mentor you. You're just paying attention to their trajectory and learning from it. Lucas: Right. And it can be a powerful motivator. David told me he had a former colleague who kept telling him 'just wait it out, things will turn around.' That colleague had been saying that for five years. David used that as a sign that he needed to be more proactive. Luna: What about professional associations? Are those still useful when the industry is shrinking? Lucas: They can be, but you have to be strategic. Some associations are just social clubs for people in denial. But others have active career transition groups. David joined the American Society of Journalists and Authors, but he also joined the International Association of Business Communicators, which is broader. At the IABC events, he found people who had already made the pivot. Luna: So you're essentially looking for the part of the association that is future-focused, not nostalgia-focused. Lucas: Exactly. Look for the committees or events that focus on skills development, not just 'state of the industry' panels. At a shrinking-industry conference, the best session might be 'How to Write a Resume for a Non-Traditional Role' rather than 'The Future of Print Advertising.' Luna: I also want to mention alumni networks. A lot of people forget that their university alumni association can be a great source of mentors across industries. David went to a large state school, so there are thousands of alumni in all kinds of fields. Lucas: That's a really good point. He actually reached out to three alumni who were in roles he was curious about — one in tech PR, one in nonprofit communications, one in government affairs. All three agreed to a call. Two of them offered to review his resume. One gave him a referral that led to an interview. Luna: So the key takeaway seems to be: when your industry is shrinking, you need to expand your definition of who can be a mentor. It doesn't have to be someone in your exact field. It can be someone who made a similar transition, or even someone who shows you what to avoid. Lucas: Right. And I'd add one more strategic layer: look for sponsors, not just mentors. A sponsor is someone who will advocate for you when you're not in the room. In a shrinking industry, sponsors are even more critical because you may need someone to vouch for you in a new field where you don't have a track record. Luna: How did David find a sponsor? Lucas: He didn't at first. But after about six months of informational interviews, he met a senior marketing director at a regional bank who had also been a journalist. That person was impressed by David's initiative and offered to introduce him to the head of corporate communications. That's sponsorship — putting your reputation on the line for someone. Luna: And that introduction came because David had built a relationship over time, not just sent a cold email asking for a job. Lucas: Exactly. He approached it as a learning conversation, not a sales pitch. That made the marketing director willing to help. And now David has a part-time contract with that bank's communications team, while still freelancing for his old paper. He's building a bridge instead of jumping off a cliff. Luna: I love that framing. Building a bridge instead of jumping off a cliff. It takes longer, but it's safer. Lucas: And that's really the core advice for anyone in a declining industry: don't wait until the ship sinks. Start building relationships in adjacent fields now, while you still have some leverage. Your current job gives you credibility and a platform. Use it to explore. Luna: We've been talking about how to find mentors and sponsors when your own industry is shrinking. And you know, it's conversations like this that remind me why we keep this show ad-free. We want people to get honest, practical advice without having to sit through commercials for things they don't need. Lucas: That's right. We deliberately don't run ads on these episodes. If this kind of content has helped you think through your own career move, and you want to support that choice, the link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, ever. It just helps us keep doing this. Luna: And we're grateful for every listener, whether you contribute or not. Now, let's get back to David's story, because there's one more lesson I want to pull out. Lucas: What's that? Luna: David also told me that he started a small accountability group with three other journalists who were also looking to transition. They meet every two weeks on Zoom. They share leads, review each other's applications, and hold each other accountable. That's a form of peer mentorship. Lucas: That's a great point. Peer mentorship is underrated. Your peers may not have answers, but they can provide support, pressure, and connections. And in a shrinking industry, your peers are also your best source of market intelligence — who's hiring, which companies are open to nontraditional backgrounds. Luna: So you're not always looking up. Sometimes you look sideways. Lucas: Exactly. And the last thing I'll say is this: don't overlook the possibility of reverse mentoring. You have skills that someone in a growing industry might lack. A journalist knows how to research, write under deadline, distill complex information. A tech marketer might benefit from that. Offer to trade knowledge. Luna: That's a great way to build a relationship on equal footing. Instead of 'I need you to help me,' it's 'I have something you need, let's help each other.' Lucas: Exactly. David offered to help his marketing director contact by editing a white paper. That small act of generosity deepened the relationship. So if you're in a shrinking industry, don't think you have nothing to offer. You have expertise that's valuable — you just need to find the right context for it. Luna: Alright, so let's recap the actionable steps. One: identify adjacent industries and reach out for informational interviews. Two: observe negative mentors to learn what to avoid. Three: leverage professional associations and alumni networks broadly. Four: aim to convert a mentor into a sponsor over time. Five: build a peer accountability group. Six: offer reverse mentoring. Lucas: That's a solid list. And I'd add one more: be patient. David's transition took about eighteen months from his first informational interview to landing that contract. It's not overnight. But it's better than waiting until the industry collapses completely. Luna: And the beautiful thing is, once you've made that transition, you can become a mentor for the next person coming from a shrinking industry. You can be the person who shows them the bridge. Lucas: Absolutely. That's the cycle we want to create. If you have a story about finding a mentor in a declining industry, we'd love to hear it. You can reach us at the show's page on Fexingo. Until next time, keep building those bridges.