How to find a mentor in New Zealand

What a mentor is for, and what they are not

A mentor is someone with more experience who helps you think: about your career direction, a decision you are facing, how your field works, or how to handle a situation. The value is in their perspective and their questions, not in them solving problems for you.

A mentor is not a recruiter, a referee on demand or a source of job leads, although some will help with those over time. Nor are they a manager: your manager is responsible for your work, while a mentor has no stake in it, which is exactly why they can be candid. Some people also have a sponsor, someone senior who actively puts their name forward. A mentor may become that, but it is not the starting point.

Formal programmes that exist in New Zealand

Several organisations run mentoring schemes. Check eligibility, cost and when intakes open: most run once a year, and when we checked in September 2026 several had closed their 2026 intakes or had a waitlist.

• Professional bodies. Engineering New Zealand's Mentor Me is free for members early in their career. The New Zealand Law Society runs a free programme open to all lawyers. HRNZ runs a free scheme for members, though new mentees are waitlisted. If your profession has a body, ask whether it runs one.
• Universities. Victoria University of Wellington runs a free Alumni as Mentors programme for final-year students, and other universities run schemes for their current students. Ask your careers service what is available.
• Communities and industries. She Sharp runs mentoring for women in science, technology, engineering and maths.
• Starting a business. Business Mentors New Zealand is for small business owners and people with a startup idea, for a one-off $295 plus GST for twelve months. It is not for career mentoring within a job.

Our guide to professional development covers other ways to grow, some of which your employer may fund.

The ask that gets a yes

Most people are flattered to be asked, but "will you be my mentor?" can sound like an open-ended commitment. Ask for something small and specific instead:

Choose someone a few steps ahead of you, not at the very top: they remember what your stage is like, and they are more likely to have time. Former managers, senior colleagues in other teams and people you have met through your network are good places to start. Our article on networking for introverts covers how to build those connections gently.

Running the relationship without wasting their time

You own the relationship, not them. Arrange each meeting, send a short agenda beforehand with one or two questions, and keep to time. Afterwards, send a brief thank-you and note what you plan to do.

Come back next time with what you did and what happened. Mentors stay engaged when they can see their advice making a difference. After the agreed period, review together whether to continue, change the focus, or end it with thanks. A mentoring relationship that ends well often becomes a lasting professional friendship.

Recording what you agreed to do

Write down the advice, the actions you agreed and the dates, so each conversation builds on the last. It shows respect for their time, and it gives you a record of your own progress, which is useful at review time.

In jobtracker.co.nz, Your Career's 1:1 notes can record each mentoring conversation: when, who it was with, and what you agreed. Its goals and wins journal keep the progress you report back next time, and under Keep in touch, Add a person holds your mentor with how often you want to be in touch, so it reminds you when it has been a while. You can see example 1:1 notes, a goal and wins in the demo, which needs no account.

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