Advice > Coaching

9 Best Career Mentoring Platforms (2024)

By Jeanette Patindol on September 30, 2024 How we wrote this article
three young people working over a table symbolizing best mentoring platforms

These times of unprecedented change and professional disruptions make career mentoring platforms very helpful. But which is the best mentoring platform?

Use this guide to work out which career mentoring platform is right for you. We've categorized mentoring platforms by different needs and specialties.

Here's our list:

Before we get into each of the best platforms, let's first look at what career mentoring is, what mentoring platforms are, what the main mentoring techniques are, whether career mentoring is worth it, what the mentoring success rates are, and how much mentoring costs across recommended platforms.

1. About career mentoring 

Here, we'll discuss the important things you need to know about career mentoring, to give you more context on what to expect from these career mentoring platforms.

1.1 What is mentoring? 

Career mentoring is a professional relationship where a more experienced individual guides and supports a less experienced individual in their career development. 

This guidance can involve providing advice, sharing insights, offering networking opportunities, and helping the mentee develop essential skills.

At IGotAnOffer, our mentors can help you work through a diverse range of challenges, including:

  • Learning new skills
  • Launching a project
  • Tackling a difficult work situation
  • Getting a new job
  • Getting promoted
  • Transitioning to a new role

While career coaching tends to be goal-oriented, structured, and short-term, career mentoring is experience-centered, with a broader focus, and is often longer term.

1.2 What is a mentorship platform? 

A career mentorship platform is an online or offline platform that facilitates connections between mentors and mentees. 

These platforms often provide tools for matching individuals based on their interests, goals, and experience. They may also offer features like scheduling meetings, messaging, and access to resources.

A user can browse for a mentor that fits the profile they’re looking for and then book sessions with that mentor.

1.3 What are the types of mentoring techniques? 

Some of the best mentoring techniques career mentors use include:

  • Goal-setting and accountability: Mentors help you set specific, measurable, and achievable goals, and then hold you accountable to those goals. 
  • Career guidance: Provide you with valuable advice and insights on career paths, job search strategies, and industry trends.
  • Skills development: Help you develop essential skills like communication, problem-solving, and leadership.
  • Coaching and feedback: Give you constructive feedback and guidance to help you improve and develop your skills. 
  • Knowledge sharing: Share their knowledge, experiences, and best practices to help you develop your skills and expertise.
  • Networking and connections: Introduce you to their professional networks and help you build your own connections.
  • Confidence building: Provide support and encouragement, helping you build self-belief and overcome challenges. 

Mentoring arrangements can be either one-on-one mentoring or group mentoring, in-person or online. Mentoring platforms, where users can book from a selection of mentors, use a combination of one-on-one mentoring and online mentoring.

1.4 Is career mentoring worth it? 

Yes, career mentoring is worth it for these three main reasons:

  • Improved career outcomes: Studies have shown that individuals who participate in career mentoring programs are more likely to receive promotions, and higher salaries, and experience greater career satisfaction. 
  • Skill development and learning: Mentoring provides mentees with the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals, develop new skills, and gain valuable insights that can help them advance their careers. 
  • Increased confidence and motivation: Mentoring can boost a mentee's confidence and motivation, as they receive encouragement, support, and guidance from their mentor. 

You should especially consider using a career mentoring platform if you are:

  • Having difficulty landing a job
  • Facing challenges at work
  • Seeking to improve specific skills
  • Seeking to level up your career
  • Considering a career change/transition

1.5 What’s the success rate of mentoring? 

Studies have shown that individuals who participate in career mentoring programs are more likely to receive job offers and experience career advancement. 

For example, a study by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania found that mentored employees were five times more likely to be promoted than non-mentored employees. 

A five-year Gartner study of 1,000 employees also showed that 25% of people who enrolled in a mentoring program had a salary grade change compared to only 5% who did not participate in a mentoring program.

Among CEOs, a Harvard Business Review survey found that 84% said that mentors helped them avoid costly mistakes, 84% shared that they became more proficient in their roles faster, and 69% were making better decisions.

1.6 How much does a career mentorship cost? 

Career mentoring costs vary across different mentoring platforms. Depending on the platform’s range of services, mentors’ expertise, length of mentorship, business model, and other related factors, their rates differ.

Here are the price ranges for the best mentoring platforms we’re recommending in this guide:

We recommend that you consider your budget in relation to the long-term benefits you expect to get from the investment. Just make sure you’ve also read the reviews on the platform and its coaches first! Then, make your choice.

2. Top 9 mentoring platforms 2024 

Here are our recommended top nine mentoring platforms:

#IGotAnOffer (Best for Tech Mentoring) 

If you’re looking for mentoring or coaching sessions with an expert who’s worked at FAANG companies like Meta, Amazon, or Google, IGotAnOffer was made for you.

You can browse hundreds of engineering mentors/coaches across many roles, including software engineering, data science, data engineering, machine learning, etc. 

Since they’ve all worked at top companies, IGotAnOffer mentor coaches can give you inside insights into how to get into these companies and how to thrive if you're already there.

  • Services: Hourly mentoring sessions 
  • Pricing: from $119 for a 1-hour session
  • Reviews: 5.0 on Google from 40+ reviews, 4.95 rating on own site 
  • Coaching expertise: All coaches/mentors have worked at top companies (Google, Meta, Amazon, etc.)
  • Money-back guarantee: 100% refund if you're not satisfied
  • Pros: Many ex-FAANG coaches, better booking system
  • Con: Less set up for long-term mentoring

Click here to browse hundreds of mentors on IGotAnOffer.

 #ADPList (Best for Free Mentoring) 

ADPLIST FREE MENTORING SITE

ADPlist isn’t perfect, but we’ve made it one of our overall picks because it’s free and for a free product, it’s really quite impressive.

Signing up takes a few minutes as you have to give details about yourself, your company, etc., but once you’re in, you can browse mentors across a whole load of industries and roles, including engineering, sales, design, data science, marketing, and others.

As you’d expect, the experience and expertise level of the mentors isn’t as consistent as on a paid platform such as IGotAnOffer, but there are still some highly experienced people on there willing to connect with you for no charge. 

Also, the booking system works well, as you can immediately see mentors' available times and request a session.

The platform is built to encourage community, so there’s even a ‘Neighborhood” forum where you can ask questions. If you’re willing to invest some time on a mentorship platform, ADPlist is the sort of site where the more time you spend interacting with it, the more you get out of it.

  • Services: Mentor matching, mentor calls
  • Pricing: Free
  • Reviews: No TrustPilot rating but lots of positive comments on Reddit
  • Coaching expertise: Varies significantly
  • Pros: Free, sense of community
  • Cons: Hard to book a top mentor in your field

#GrowthMentor (Best for Marketing Mentors) 

growthmentor mentoring platform

GrowthMentor has a range of mentors but has a strong focus on marketing. If you’re in marketing or trying to grow demand for your business, you can find some fantastically experienced marketing mentors, even willing to give their time for free, which makes it a pretty incredible product.

You can search mentors by skills—SEO, content marketing, growth, etc.—and there are lots of people on there ready to share their considerable expertise away.

  • Services: Mentoring calls
  • Pricing: $100 per month for unlimited calls (although some mentors charge);
  • Reviews: 4.8 on TrustPilot
  • Mentor expertise: Ranges from mid-level to CEO.
  • Money-back guarantee: Only in the first 14 days before you’ve made a call
  • Pros: Less expensive
  • Cons: Booking is not immediate; mentors may decline your request.

#IGotAnOffer (Best for Product Manager Mentoring) 

IGotAnOffer has 50+ product management mentors, almost all of whom have worked at one or more of FAANG/MAANG companies such as Meta, Amazon, and Google. 

Whether you need a mentor to guide you through the next steps in your product management career, a coach to help you improve product leadership skills, or someone to help you get a job in a top tech company, you’ll have plenty of ex-PMs to choose from.

Click on a coach/mentor’s profile, and you can instantly see their hourly availability. Book your online session in just a few clicks. Prices are clearly displayed before you book, and if you’re not satisfied with your session, you get a full refund.

  • Services: Hourly mentoring sessions on career/interview/resume/leadership
  • Pricing: from $119 for a 1-hour session
  • Reviews: 5.0 on Google from 40+ reviews, 4.95 rating on own site
  • Coaching expertise: All PM coaches/mentors have worked at top FAANGcompanies
  • Money-back guarantee: 100% refund if you're not satisfied
  • Pros: Many ex-FAANG mentors, and you can see mentor availability
  • Con: Less set up for long-term mentoring

Click here to read more about product management coaching and the options available

#Codementor (Best for Coding Mentoring) 

codementor - mentorcruise alternative

Codementor is a platform where you can browse software developers and get them to help you with your technical problems. 

Maybe you need them to debug your code. Perhaps, you want someone to teach you how to solve a complex coding problem. At Codementor, you can find an expert and book a call with them for a minimum of 15 minutes.

The platform has an impressive selection of developers covering a large range of skills and technologies, so you should be able to quickly find a mentor with expertise in the specific technology or problem you need to solve. 

However, if you're looking for a technical mentor to give you advice with career next steps or interviewing help, you're probably better off going to somewhere like IGotAnOffer, where you can find a large selection of coaches who are professionals in doing exactly this.

  • Services: Get help from software developers
  • Pricing: $8-$30 per 15 minutes
  • Reviews: 4.1 TrustPilot rating from 189 reviews.
  • Coaching expertise: Varies, but all mentors are vetted
  • Pros: Great for solving specific problems quickly
  • Cons: Not designed for long-term mentoring

#UStrive (Best Mentorship Service for Students) 

UStrive is a mentoring platform that connects high school and college students with volunteer mentors from top companies. It offers free mentorship and support, especially for first-generation students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

It’s best for students and early-career professionals looking for mentorship and support while trying to move beyond their limiting circumstances.

UStrive seeks to assist students in underserved areas with college preparation, the college application process, and financial aid navigation. It’s dedicated to helping students achieve their full potential and succeed in their future endeavors.

Instead of following a one-size-fits-all model, UStrive matches individuals with mentors best suited to their specific needs and goals. These mentors are hand-selected for their expertise in various areas. They provide tailored insights, advice, and feedback to help students grow and reach their goals.

In addition to one-on-one mentoring, UStrive also provides access to resources and tools such as online courses, workshops, exclusive networking events, and job postings.

  • Services: Online mentoring from experienced mentors from top companies
  • Pricing: Free
  • Reviews: No TrustPilot rating but positive reviews and testimonials online
  • Coaching expertise: Varies, but all mentors are vetted
  • Pros: Aside from mentoring, it provides free resources and tools
  • Cons: Matching of schedules with mentor

#Career Contessa (Best for Women) 

Career Contessa

Career Contessa is a career resource website for women. Aside from career coaching services, the website offers a job board, online workshops, and a podcast all about helping women thrive in the workforce.

If you’re specifically looking for a female mentor who knows the struggles of women in male-dominated industries such as tech, then Career Contessa is a good match. 

They may have a limited range of mentors, but they do represent a vast array of industries. The price range of each mentor also greatly varies, with some charging as low as $75 per session and others with a rate of $250, depending on their years of experience.

IGotAnOffer also has many female mentors, especially in the tech, finance, and consulting fields. If your target role or industry is not represented in Career Contessa, you might find a good match on IGotAnOffer instead.

  • Pricing: $75-$280 per 50-minute session
  • Reviews: 5 stars on Facebook
  • Coaching expertise: hand-selected by Career Contessa
  • Money-back guarantee: issues refunds for canceled sessions
  • Pros: with mentors across a great range of industries
  • Cons: limited number of options for mentors

#MentorCam (Best for CEOs and Senior Executives) 

mentorcam

If you want to find an elite-level mentor and you’re willing to make a hefty investment, MentorCam offers you a choice of coaches who are  big-name entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and experts at the top of their game, people with intimidatingly impressive profiles.

MentorCam was born out of the famous Y-combinator accelerator program, and they’ve made good use of their Silicon Valley network to get some exciting mentor profiles on there. 

The price per hour, or even per half an hour, will make it out of most people’s budgets. But if you run a business or, even better, have some corporate cash to spend, it could be a worthwhile investment.

  • Services: 30 or 60-minute calls with top entrepreneurs and professionals
  • Pricing: $250-$1000 per hour.
  • Reviews: 5.0 on Google, 4.95 rating on own site
  • Coaching expertise: Elite (e.g. founders of multi-million dollar companies)
  • Money-back guarantee: not available
  • Pros: Impressive selection of elite profiles
  • Cons: Expensive

The alternatives we’ve listed above have all been aimed at individuals. But if you want to offer mentoring or coaching to your team, we’ve found a great option for you.

#MentorcliQ (Best for Businesses) 

MentorCliq - MentorCruise alternative

Instead of a platform where you can find a mentor, MentorcliQ is more of an all-encompassing software solution aimed at fostering employee growth and satisfaction within companies.

With a focus on advancing and retaining talent, it has some flowing testimonials from some huge companies, including Bacardi, American Airlines, and 21st Century Fox.

MentorcliQ has an innovative matching algorithm that aims to pair mentors and mentees based on data-driven insights, which should help facilitate better connections. It adds the right structure, support, guidance, and a knowledge base of best practices to help users so businesses can improve employee engagement, development, and retention.

  • Services: Mentoring for teams
  • Pricing: Unspecified, depends on your company.
  • Reviews: Not on Trustpilot
  • Money-back guarantee: Not mentioned
  • Pros: Designed for companies and teams rather than individuals
  • Cons: More expensive

Book Mentoring Sessions on IGotAnOffer

We hope you found our recommendations useful! We’ve made sure to include a range of the best mentoring platforms fit for different situations.

Still, we believe that IGotAnOffer is an excellent all-round option with a wider range of high-quality mentors/coaches than anywhere else.

Browse 200+ mentors, all with experience at top companies. Search by industry, role, or company to get the right match for you. You can see the mentors' hourly availability and book your online session in a couple of clicks. No monthly commitment, no waiting to see if the mentor accepts your request.

Book your mentoring session now.

 

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