Navigating the startup landscape can be daunting, especially when you’re first starting out. But it’s not something you have to do alone. One of the most helpful tools at your disposal is finding a mentor. 

Mentorship can be like a life hack for your tech career. A mentor is someone with more experience, knowledge, and wisdom who can help you navigate the complexities of the industry. And with the right questions to ask a mentor, you can learn more about how the tech industry works and your role in it. 

Whether you’re a recent graduate, a junior executive or contributor, or a first-time founder, a mentor can provide invaluable guidance and support as you embark on your tech career journey. 

Here are some compelling reasons why early-career tech professionals should seek out a mentor. (And, scroll down to the bottom for links to resources on how to find a mentor.)

1. Mentors Can Provide Guidance and Career Advice

Having a mentor can benefit early-career professionals in the tech industry by providing Guidance and Career Advice. A mentor, who has more experience and knowledge, can offer insights into career paths, skill development, and industry trends. They can help mentees set realistic goals, make informed decisions, and navigate challenges effectively. This guidance can accelerate career growth, increase confidence, and broaden professional networks.

Emily Finkelstein, CEO, VentureXpert Advisors

2. Mentors Allow You to Ask Vulnerable Questions in a Safe Space

I call my mentors my “Board of Directors”. I go to different people for different questions and it’s the most powerful tool in my career toolbox. Mentorship allows you to ask vulnerable questions in a safe space where you can receive feedback from someone who genuinely wants you to succeed. Early in your career, you don’t have a good grasp of what’s “normal”. They can help root you and understand what you’re learning and observing.

Hayley (Brown) Cazares, Marketing Director, Groundwork

3. Mentors Provide Experienced Perspective

Careers are complicated; early on, we don’t know what we don’t know. Mentors step in and help fill in the gaps to make the ride easier by providing their advice. They have a perspective that only comes with experience and are great partners as you navigate big and small decisions. While you can benefit from their perspective, it is important to trust your instincts, consider what else may be true, and make decisions for yourself. Everyone will have an opinion on your career—you need to be willing to take risks and make mistakes in order to gain your own new perspectives to move your career forward.

Susan Collins, Executive Career Coach, The Network Concierge

4. Mentorship Accelerates Career Progression

Mentorship can accelerate your career at any stage, but it can be particularly powerful when just getting started in the tech industry. A mentor can help you make progress toward your goals while also remaining grounded. They can also support you in navigating the hyper-competitive and fast-paced nature of the industry, which can quickly become overwhelming if you don’t have a good support structure in place.

Rather than seeking out a single mentor, consider building a team of diverse mentors who can support you as you grow in the industry. Additionally, keep in mind that your mentors will likely need to evolve as you grow in your tech career. Also, be open to passing it on and taking your own mentees under your wing.

Dr. Kyle Elliott, Founder and Tech Career Coach, CaffeinatedKyle.com

5. Mentorship Accelerates Learning and Skill Development

Having a mentor in the tech industry can be a game-changer for early-career professionals like myself. One significant benefit is the acceleration of learning and skill development. My mentor, an experienced software engineer, provides guidance on coding best practices, problem-solving strategies, and industry insights that would have taken me years to accumulate on my own. This mentorship not only enhances my technical capabilities but also boosts my confidence and ability to tackle complex projects. It’s like having a compass in a rapidly evolving tech landscape, ensuring that I’m on the right path to career success.

Phil Strazzulla, Founder, SelectSoftware Reviews

6. Mentors Instill Good Instincts

Having a mentor is pretty much the difference between a motivated but poorly calibrated performer and someone who has received the wisdom of good instincts. I had two early mentors that were incredibly impactful in my career development. I regularly send them a thank you note, just recognizing how much they shaped my perspective and abilities. I am the living embodiment of their great ideas, 15 years down the line.

Trevor Ewen, COO, QBench

7. Mentors Guide Through Workplace Culture

I find that early-career tech professionals are hard workers with a lot to offer and great raw talent, but they know little about workplace culture and politics. Nowadays, with so many remote internships and schools, they may feel even more daunted by having to confront people in person, or being confronted themselves. A mentor is a safe person to turn to for advice. They may not necessarily involve themselves in whatever’s going on, but having a knowledgeable mentor who can provide guidance and assure them that these ‘dramas’ are a normal part of one’s career is so beneficial. Oftentimes, just knowing someone’s in your corner to explain what’s going on will push you ahead to new heights.

Mark Varnas, Principal SQL Server DBA and Consultant, Red9

8. Mentors Provide Industry Insights

A mentor can benefit early-career professionals in the tech industry by providing industry insights. We can all look back on our career and imagine what we could or would have done differently to either take a different path or avoid a few speed bumps along the way. Mentors can help mentees navigate some of those pitfalls by providing expertise from years in the industry. Through these relationships, early-career professionals can clarify their career paths, hone their skills, and create actionable steps to reach their goals much earlier than they may have been able to otherwise.

Rekita King, HR Specialist, Conexus MedStaff

9. Mentors Open Doors to Opportunities

Having a mentor in the tech industry can provide invaluable guidance and networking opportunities. My mentor, for instance, has helped me navigate complex projects, offered career advice, and introduced me to influential contacts. This support accelerates my growth and opens doors to new opportunities, which is crucial for early-career professionals in tech.

Eric Lam, Founder, Exploding Ideas

10. Mentors Offer Industry-Specific Knowledge

Having a mentor can greatly benefit early-career professionals in the tech industry by providing guidance and valuable insights. For instance, mentors can offer industry-specific knowledge and best practices, helping mentees navigate potential pitfalls and challenges they may encounter. Furthermore, mentors can share their own experiences and lessons learned, providing practical advice and inspiring confidence in mentees. Through personalized guidance, mentors can accelerate the professional development of early-career professionals, helping them gain relevant skills and broaden their network in the tech industry.

Jonathan Zacharias, Founder, GR0

11. Mentors Aid in Professional Network Building

Mentors are a great source of knowledge and experience, and they can provide constructive feedback and guidance. Over time, the goal of a mentee and their mentor is to grow their relationship. 

A key benefit of getting a mentor early in one’s career is that they’ll have an advocate or promoter in their corner. A mentor can help them build a professional network. When they identify their professional goals, a mentor can connect them to potential opportunities or individuals who can help them.

The tech industry is constantly changing. Their mentor can become a trusted ally in their professional endeavors.

Getting a mentor early in one’s career is vital for professional growth and success, in any industry.

Catherine Nkonge, MEd, LPC, Career Coach, Hazina Career Coaching

12. Mentors Develop Mindset and Discipline

Having a great mentor was essential to my early development in the tech industry, and a big reason for that was that it helped me develop the mindset and acquire the discipline needed to thrive in this industry. Tech mentors are the industry’s seasoned veterans, and you should not only listen to what they say but also pay attention to what they do and how they do it.

Max Wesman, Chief Operating Officer, GoodHire

13. Mentors Clarify Career Path

It can help you clarify your career path and future in the industry. The tech sector is constantly evolving, and the sheer number of career options can be overwhelming for a recent graduate or others early in their career. The guidance of a mentor can be invaluable in developing a vision for your overall career progression and identifying which roles will best lead you to those long-term goals. They can also help early-career professionals identify the right certification and professional development for their ultimate goals, allowing them to more quickly craft the kind of ideal resume that will let them land their dream role faster.

Archie Payne, President, CalTek Staffing

14. Mentors Help Build Lasting Skills

Early-career tech professionals might understand the tech skills necessary right now, but they haven’t yet had 10, 20, or 30+ years in the industry watching trends come and go. Those coding languages hot now might fall out of fashion in another five years, so it’s essential to set yourself up to keep your skills relevant and easily adaptable to these changes. 

Experienced mentors can help young tech professionals understand how to build a technical skill set with lasting power and evergreen soft skills to make them invaluable employees through constant flux and innovation.

Robert Kaskel, Chief People Officer, Checkr

15. Mentors Resolve Workplace Confusion

Most of the time in tech, office culture confusion is what really holds technically skilled professionals back from career development. They don’t know whom to ask, where to go, or how to approach when they have difficulties. You can train for ability, but without a mentor, your new employees are at sea.

Every seasoned employee should have an “I’m here when you need me” attitude toward nurturing talent. This allows the new employee to choose whom they bond with best when it comes to resolving their workplace confusion. From there, the mentorship can develop naturally. It’s actually impossible to assign someone a mentor, but by building this focused communication naturally, you better ensure mentorships do happen, and that they’re successful for the long term.

Corey Donovan, President, Alta Technologies

16. Mentors Improve Peer Troubleshooting

Having a mentor doesn’t just provide the benefit of troubleshooting and experience, but it also allows early-career tech pros to actually learn how to troubleshoot with peers. This is a soft skill that is often lacking within the industry, especially when it comes to translating technical language for colleagues outside your department. Mentorship will naturally show young professionals how to more effectively engage with bouncing ideas off others, providing them with a training ground for real working situations that will inevitably arise later on.

Gates Little, President and CEO, altLINE Sobanco

Keep Reading: How to Find a Mentor, and more

At Powderkeg, we’ve written a lot about mentorship because we believe in its power. If you’re curious about finding a mentor, becoming a mentor, or helping facilitate these kinds of relationships, keep reading: 

How to Build an HR Tech Startup with Techstars, gBeta, and Business Mentors with Darrian Mikell

12 Powerful Questions to Ask a Mentor About Career Path

How to Make the Most of Mentoring

9 Ideas for Finding Great Startup Mentors and Connections (No Matter Where You Are)

Unlocking Growth: Understanding Mentoring vs Coaching and Which Strategy is Best for You

How to Find a Mentor When Working Remotely

Are You Getting These Benefits from Mentorship?

13 Entrepreneurs Share Their Mentor’s Best Advice

Mentorship Matters: 4 Startup Execs Share How Mentorship Impacted Their Professional Journey