UKH

Hello everyone,

I hope you're all doing well. I'm reaching out to my climbing community with a unique request.

I'm looking for a mentor.

While my personal life has been rich with experiences—visiting nearly 50 countries, meeting incredible people, and making countless memories—my professional journey as a Project Manager feels somewhat incomplete. I've never had the guidance of a mentor; everything I've accomplished so far has been through self-learning—no formal education related to project management, internships, or structured training. I take pride in my hard work, dedication, and ability to manage demanding schedules and projects effectively.

Despite my independent approach, I've come to realise the value of mentorship, especially as I reflect on my growth at the age of 35. I believe having someone to trust and learn from could greatly enhance my career (and perhaps my personal) development.

If you happen to know this person—be it an old friend, a current colleague, a distant relative, or even if it's you—who could offer mentorship, I would greatly appreciate your assistance in connecting us. I am a committed, detail-oriented, open minded and positive individual living in London currently.

Thank you for considering my request.

This sounds quite similar to me (less the 50 countries); same age, though I moved into Program Management in Biotech with a solid base in science, a lot of the PM training has been OTJ (which TBH I for the most part prefer, and fits well with the specifics of my role).

Never really thought about mentorship though. Generally quite happy bumbling along where I am for a bit whilst I get used to balancing a young family. Maybe it's something like that that might shake the odd fugg I get into. There is leadership potential at work over the next few years, just not too sure if I want it.

best of luck!

The University of the Internet makes me (and perhaps many others) feel like everything can be learnt freely and effortlessly. This is true to some extent, but it doesn't hurt to try the old school mentorship.

 If the new position doesn't interfere with your climbing then take it, why not!

The obvious place to start is your current work environment. Most mentorship is done that way through work connections, so start along around amongst your peers and superior as to who will help you out.  
 

Another one is you may be I hate to say it too old.  Usually mentorship starts when you have for example graduated. You also need to sort out your priorities. Mentorship implies leadership, if you do not want that then a mentor may not want to help you 
 

The other route is via paid coaching.  But it’s a bit of a lottery.

I'd suggest you need to be a bit more specific about what you want to learn and what you want to achieve. A mentor isn't going to be a free tutor or coach. Perhaps consider a professional qualification or a course such as an MBA. The idea you can learn effortlessly is certainly misguided, and internet resources, while good, certainly aren't comprehensive.

You're only too old if you've reached an age where you don't have anything left to learn from others! Mentorship doesn't have to be a youth learning from some wizened white haired sage - it could be someone 5 years younger than you who has been running their own business for a few years and that you bumped into at the gym. My understanding of a mentor is just someone who has something you don't and is happy to share enough of their time that you can learn from them (and in a healthy mentoring relationship, them from you too.) There are formal mentorship programmes within industry, i.e. sit down once a week and go through some paperwork on your goals and how your career is developing, however from what you've written it sounds like you're seeking something less formal?

I was listening to an episode of Rich Roll recently and one of the points made around mentorship was that your ideal mentors are probably people you already know, and it's probably different people for different parts of your life. 

You focused on work/career in your post but also mentioned personal development. It would be worth splitting these things out and solidifying your reasons for seeking out a mentor, and perhaps with any other aspects of your life. This means starting from a place of introspection, looking at what you want those aspects of your life to look like in the future, what your values around that area of your life are and identifying where you are currently lacking. Depending on how easy you find that kind of self reflection, you might want help at that stage either informally or from a therapist/analyst. You can then start recognising those qualities/skills in others and identifying people who you are able to build relationships with and who would be willing to spend time with you and help you on that journey. As above, you probably already know them and they are probably going to be different people for different things you wish to work on. 

For example, if discipline is holding your climbing back, then find a climbing partner who is already turning up to the crag 3 times a week rain or shine. If a lack of confidence is holding back your career, find someone who used to struggle with that but has overcome it etc.  

You also haven't mentioned what it is that has recently led you to see the value in mentorship, and thinking about that might be a good place to start as well.

Also, well done for having the courage to reach out and seek help from others. It's not an easy thing to admit, particularly as one gets older.

The first option is not really possible at the moment. Much of my work is done remotely and to tbh there isn't anyone more senior with more experience. Hopefully that would change soon.

I disagree with you on that, I have mentored a person almost 20 years older than myself, much wealthier with a lot more experience in variety of fields. In fact he's one of the reason I began thinking about finding a mentor for myself in the first place.

Agreed, I have not had great success in my short experience in paid coaching.

Thanks for the advice

You're right, I have done Project Management roles in a few industries in a couple of countries outside of the UK. Most of them was in a "remote work" setting. I feel the time has come to build my base at home in the UK.

I have thought about that route but I believe considering my background and experience in the field I can benefit from a mentor more than a uni course.

Thank you

Agreed! Yes, I definitely seek a more informal route. 

Thank you for your advice, highly appreciated