Latest / The Career Mentor Podcast with Fexingo: Finding Mentors, Sponsors, and Career Advisors / How to Find a Mentor When You Are a Career Changer
Transcript
- Luna: So Lucas, we've done almost fifty episodes on how to find a mentor — but we've never really dug into the toughest scenario of all: what if you're completely changing careers? Lucas: Right, and that's a great pick for episode fifty. Because when you're switching industries, your old network barely helps. And your new industry doesn't know you yet. You're in this weird in-between where traditional advice — go talk to your boss, ask a senior person in your field — just doesn't land. Luna: Exactly. I've got a friend who did this — a former middle school teacher named Maria. She spent eight years in the classroom, then decided she wanted to move into product management at a fintech startup. And she was totally stuck on the mentor question. Lucas: That's a perfect case. Let's use Maria as our example. The key insight is that career changers don't need one mentor — they need three distinct types of people. And that's actually freeing, because you stop looking for this single Yoda figure who can do everything. Luna: Three types? Okay, I'm listening. Break it down. Lucas: First: an industry insider. Someone who's been in your target field for at least five years and can give you the real picture — the unwritten rules, the jargon, which skills actually matter versus what's on the job description. For Maria, that meant finding a senior product manager at a fintech company who could explain how her classroom experience actually maps to product work. Luna: And that's not someone she'd naturally meet in her existing network as a teacher. So how did she find that person? Lucas: She used LinkedIn pretty strategically. She searched for 'product manager' plus 'fintech' and filtered for people who had 'teacher' or 'education' in their past job history. That gave her a shortlist of ten people who had walked the same path. She sent each a short note — not asking for mentorship, just asking for a fifteen-minute informational interview to hear their story. Three of them said yes. Luna: That's smart — targeting people with a similar background. They're more likely to empathize. Lucas: Exactly. And here's where the donation appeal fits: if you're listening and this kind of practical advice has helped you think through a career move, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's what keeps this podcast ad-free and focused on real strategies. Luna: Yeah, and every little bit helps us keep doing deep dives like this one. So back to Maria — she had the industry insider. Who's the second type of mentor? Lucas: The skills translator. This is someone who can help you repackage your existing experience for the new field. In Maria's case, a skills translator might be a former teacher turned corporate learning and development professional — someone who understands both worlds. They can look at her resume and say 'Don't say you managed a classroom of thirty students. Say you managed stakeholder expectations and facilitated group learning outcomes.' Luna: That's huge. Because career changers often undervalue their own experience. They think their past doesn't count. Lucas: Exactly. And the third type is the peer mentor. Someone who's also in transition, maybe six to twelve months ahead of you. They're not an expert, but they're going through the same thing — they can recommend courses, share job leads, and just be your emotional support when you get rejection emails. Luna: So Maria's peer mentor might be another teacher who switched to tech six months earlier. Lucas: Right. And the beautiful thing is, you don't need all three at once. Start with one. For Maria, the industry insider was the most urgent — she needed to know if product management was even a good fit for her personality. So she prioritized that. Luna: But let's talk about the actual ask. A lot of people are terrified of reaching out. They don't want to seem needy or bother a busy person. Lucas: Totally. So here's the template Maria used: 'Hi, I'm a former teacher exploring product management. I noticed you also transitioned from education into fintech. Would you be open to a fifteen-minute chat about your experience? I'd love to hear what you wish you'd known.' Short, specific, low-pressure. Luna: And she didn't ask for a mentor — just a conversation. That's key. Lucas: Right. Most people are happy to help if you make it easy. And after the conversation, you send a thank-you note within twenty-four hours. Then, if they offered to stay in touch, you follow up a month later with a quick update — something like 'I took your advice and signed up for that UX course. Thanks again.' That keeps the door open without being pushy. Luna: What about the follow-up ask? At what point can you actually say 'Will you be my mentor?' Lucas: Honestly, I'd avoid that exact phrasing. It puts pressure on the other person. Instead, you let the relationship evolve naturally. After two or three conversations over a few months, you might say 'I really value your perspective — would it be okay if I reached out quarterly to check in?' That's a mentoring relationship without the formal label. Luna: So Maria followed this playbook. She found her industry insider — a senior PM named Jenna who had been a teacher for five years. They had a great call. Jenna gave her three specific recommendations: take a free course on SQL, start a blog about product thinking, and join a local product meetup. Lucas: And that's exactly the kind of concrete advice an industry insider can give. It's not 'network more' — it's 'do this one thing.' Now, the skills translator — how did Maria find that person? Luna: She actually found her through a former colleague who had moved into corporate training at a bank. That colleague introduced her to a learning and development specialist who had worked with career changers. That person spent an hour with Maria reworking her resume and LinkedIn profile. Lucas: And the peer mentor? Luna: She joined a Slack group for teachers transitioning to tech — there's actually a few of them — and connected with a woman named Priya who had just landed a product associate role. They started doing weekly check-ins, and Priya became her accountability partner. Lucas: That's the full triad. And within six months, Maria had built enough confidence and a targeted network that she applied for a product associate role at a fintech startup. She got the job. Luna: She did. And she told me the mentor triad was the single biggest factor. She would have been wandering in the dark without those three perspectives. Lucas: So the takeaway for anyone listening: if you're changing careers, don't look for one all-knowing mentor. Look for three people: an industry insider to show you the landscape, a skills translator to reframe your experience, and a peer mentor to walk beside you. And start with just one. Luna: And don't be afraid to use LinkedIn strategically. Target people with a similar background. Keep the ask small. Follow up with gratitude. Lucas: One more thing — once you land that new role, don't forget to pay it forward. In a year or two, you'll be the industry insider or the skills translator for someone else. That's how the ecosystem works. Luna: Absolutely. And if this episode gave you a concrete next step, support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It keeps us independent. Lucas: Thanks for listening, everyone. We'll be back next week with another deep dive on finding your people.