Latest / The Career Mentor Podcast with Fexingo: Finding Mentors, Sponsors, and Career Advisors / How to Find a Mentor When You Are a Remote Worker
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, I want to start with a number: as of this June, about 28 percent of knowledge workers in the U.S. are fully remote, according to WFH Research. That's down a bit from the pandemic peak, but it's still tens of millions of people who never see colleagues in person. Luna: And that creates a real problem for mentorship, doesn't it? I mean, the classic advice is always 'grab coffee with someone senior' or 'bump into them in the hallway.' What do you do when there is no hallway? Lucas: Exactly. And the data backs that up. A 2025 study from Harvard Business Review found that remote workers are 38 percent less likely to report having a mentor compared to in-office peers. But here's the flip side — those remote workers who do find mentors get promoted 23 percent faster than those who don't. Luna: So the payoff is even bigger, but the barrier is higher. That's the tension we're talking about today. Lucas: Right. And I think the key is to stop trying to replicate office mentorship and instead embrace what's unique about remote work. So I have three strategies that are actually working for people today. Luna: Okay, hit me with number one. Lucas: Strategy one: use asynchronous video updates as a networking tool. A lot of remote workers send weekly or biweekly Loom videos to their team or manager summarizing what they've done. But what if you also send that to someone two levels above you? Luna: You mean cold-email a senior leader with a video of yourself? That feels bold. Lucas: It is, but when it's done with context, it works. The trick is to frame it as a learning update, not a self-promotion. Say something like, 'I've been working on X project and I'm trying to improve my approach. If you have five minutes, I'd love your feedback on this three-minute video.' That's low friction for them. Luna: I've actually seen that work. A friend at a fintech startup did exactly that — sent a Loom to the VP of Product, who she'd never met. The VP replied with a five-paragraph email of advice, and now they have a monthly call. Lucas: That's perfect. And it's scalable. You're not asking for a recurring commitment upfront. You're asking for one small piece of input. That's how relationships start. Luna: Okay, what's number two? Lucas: Number two: leverage internal project-matching tools. A lot of companies now have platforms where you can volunteer for cross-functional projects — things like a diversity task force, a product launch squad, or a process improvement team. These are goldmines for mentorship. Luna: Because you get to work directly with people from other departments? Lucas: Exactly. And often those projects are led by senior leaders who are looking for contributors. If you join a project that a VP is sponsoring, you get visibility and a natural reason to interact with them. GitLab actually formalized this — they have a 'mentorship matching' feature built into their project management tool where anyone can offer or request mentorship tied to a specific project. Luna: That's smart because it's not an abstract 'will you be my mentor?' It's 'I want to help you with this initiative.' Lucas: Exactly. And the data shows it works. GitLab's internal surveys found that employees who participated in at least one cross-functional project per quarter were twice as likely to report having a strong mentor relationship. Luna: So if your company has any kind of internal gig board or project marketplace, sign up. If it doesn't, could you just ask your manager to connect you with someone in another team? Lucas: Absolutely. That's actually a version of strategy three, which is the 'coffee roulette' approach. This is something Zapier has been doing for years — they randomly match employees each week for a fifteen-minute virtual coffee. No agenda, just talk. Luna: And you hope that some of those turn into mentor relationships? Lucas: Exactly. But even if they don't, you're building a wider network. And when you do find someone you click with, you can follow up with a more structured ask. The key is consistency — one coffee a week means fifty new connections a year. Luna: I love that. But what about people at smaller companies where there isn't a formal program? How do you start coffee roulette yourself? Lucas: You can start it informally. Pick five people in your company who you admire — maybe from different teams or levels — and send each a calendar invite for fifteen minutes. Say, 'I'm trying to get to know more people across the company, no agenda, just a virtual coffee.' Most people will say yes. Luna: And if you're at a very small company, you might run out of people quickly. Do you look externally then? Lucas: Great point. If you're at a startup with twenty people, you need to go outside. That's where industry-specific Slack communities and virtual conferences come in. But that's a whole other episode — actually, we've done episodes on conferences and alumni networks. Luna: Right. So for today, the takeaway is: don't wait for mentorship to happen organically. Use video updates, join cross-functional projects, and schedule random coffee chats. Lucas: And one more thing — track it. I've started keeping a simple spreadsheet of who I've talked to, when, and what we discussed. It helps you follow up and deepen the relationship over time. Luna: That's a great practice. And I think it also shows the other person you're serious. If you reference something they told you three months ago, that's powerful. Lucas: Exactly. And if today's conversation was useful to you — maybe you're thinking about your own network or you've been putting off reaching out — the way we keep this show ad-free and focused on actionable advice is through listener support. If you'd like to help, you can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, it's a small gesture that really does make a difference. We put a lot of research into each episode, and knowing people find it valuable keeps us going. Lucas: Alright, back to the strategies. One thing I want to emphasize is that the best remote mentors I've seen aren't the most senior people — they're the ones who are intentional about staying connected themselves. Luna: So maybe look for someone who is also remote and has figured out how to build relationships virtually. They'll have empathy for your situation. Lucas: Exactly. And they're more likely to say yes because they know the struggle. So to wrap up: remote mentorship isn't impossible, it just requires a different playbook. Asynchronous video, project matching, and coffee roulette — pick one and start this week. Luna: And if you try it, let us know how it goes. We'd love to hear your stories. Lucas: We would. That's it for today. Thanks for listening.