Mentor Match
Mentor Match is a matchmaking mentorship service that connects enthusiastic professionals in tech with dedicated mentors passionate about helping them succeed in their careers. With the sharing of industry resources, insider wisdom, referrals, and social support, mentees are able to build their innate confidence as they navigate career transitions.
Problem Space
My problem space started with “unemployment and wellbeing”, which then later transitioned into “lack of social support and tailored resources”.
Problem Statement
“How might we provide genuine and tailored career support for tech transitioners by focusing on 1:1 quality mentorship using a digital service?”
Problem Background
The ideal user is a career professional in tech (or who wants to transition into tech) looking for quality, dedicated, and structured social support so they can better prepare professionally for their transitions.
This problem matters because it’s difficult to navigate career transitions alone, let alone in an emerging industry such as tech. We often need the guidance of another professional with more experience, wisdom, and resources than us. Quality and relevant social support helps with the isolation of job searching, lack of clarity, professional development, unemployment, and other adjacent circumstances.
Research Insights
User Pain Points
Using Co.Lab’s Discord community, Reddit “Unemployment” groups as well as my LinkedIn network, I conducted 10 user interviews and gathered 20+ survey results.
Supporting Data
User Research: Navigating Unemployment & Wellbeing
Navigating Unemployment (Responses)
- 100% of respondents listed that they needed more support while job searching
- 100% of respondents used social media and online networks to find jobs
- 82.4% wanted professional support and honest feedback to improve as a candidate
- 75% said that comparing self to others was also a big negative factor
- 70.6% wanted emotional support and someone to listen + empathise with them
- 64.7% said that losing confidence was a bit negative effect
- 63% said that family and friends support helped the most
- 62.5% said that creating a daily routine + having structure helped
- 62.5% also said not receiving tailored / relevant / sensitive feedback was a negative
- 58.8% said that managing finances was also a big negative
Feedback
Our research aimed to validate the idea that 1:1 peer support was necessary for confidence building and career success.
Landing on the Solution
Based on these insights, we knew that we wanted to tackle the space of quality mentorship and resource sharing.
Explanation of Solution
The solution is to provide social support and design a space of belonging for professionals who may be struggling in their career transitions. This may look like:
- 1:1 quality and dedicated mentorship
- The sharing of relevant and tailored resources based on the mentees context / situation
- Accountability via structured and periodic check-ins based on the mentees goals
User Flows/Mockups
Future Steps
People need additional peer support while career switching and job searching in tech. There’s a social piece that cannot be denied - whether that looks like reaching out to a recruiter, learning more about a company's culture, following influencers, receiving mentorship, CV reviews, or simply being surrounded by supportive friends and family.
A focus on qualitative, tailored mentorship regarding the mentees context matters in building trust and a longer-term relationship. It’d be great to get more user feedback in the near future or pitch this idea to startup founders.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Melanie Palapuz
I’ve learned so much in 4 short weeks. As a product designer, the main goal for me was to have a more well-rounded understanding of the product development process and lifecycle, especially from a PM’s perspective. Zooming into the details that make the bigger picture has been not only a refreshing reminder but a necessary step moving forwards in my career.
I’ve learned that fostering a spirit of belonging is key to career success. When other people are invested in you, you care more about yourself and what you can offer. We can’t create in vacuums. Creating spaces of belonging for others brings out the best in all of us.
Centering the user also creates more opportunity for humility and service to each other. As a PM and designer it’s important to stay humble to what people actually want and how to best serve those needs.
Designer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Developers Learnings:
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