Mentorli aims to close what former LinkedIn CEO, Jeff Wiener, calls “the network gap”
Written by Bri Ray
Shock surged through the recruiting industry last month when news broke that Jeff Weiner was stepping down as CEO at Linkedin. Now, taking this next phase of his career, Weiner will focus on increasing network diversity and leveling the economic playing field (Elsesser, 2020).
“Those that have the skills, but lack the networks get shut out of opportunities. That’s the network gap problem that Weiner is trying to fix,” – and LinkedIn has perpetuated – by encouraging people to connect with others that have similar education and career backgrounds.
Last year, former Linkedin and Workday employees, Luke Mocke and Tanner Lenon noticed the network gap on the platform and created a mentoring system to equal the playing field. Launching a basic website with 100+ mentors who posted tips about getting a job at their company and offered help to job seekers generated an astonishing response.
Over the course of three months, mentors volunteered their time at alarming rates to help job seekers, they didn’t previously know, land a job at their company.
“After hearing about multiple interviews, internships, and jobs landed through the platform, it all came full circle when I interviewed a candidate for a job at LinkedIn. Post interview, I asked how he found out about the job and learned he’d been referred by a mentor he met on our platform!” (Mocke, CEO at Mentorli).
This year, Mocke decided to go ‘all in’ on helping companies attract underrepresented talent by putting his “money where his mouth is” and leaving a job with all the benefits in the world, earnings over $150K/year, and the prospect of another promotion to start a movement––Mentorli. A movement that rallies and empowers employee allies to help their company attract more women and underrepresented minorities.
“Leaders can no longer afford to ignore any opportunity that could present qualified candidates. This includes creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels like they have a place” (Luke Mocke, CEO at Mentorli).
On January 27 of this year, Mocke proudly announced that the Mentorli solution had given 35 underrepresented associations exclusive access to their mentors and are actively on-boarding new association partners.
Already going ‘all in’ to help their members find the support and opportunities needed to land dream jobs, Mentorli goes a step further by donating a portion of every placement fee to the support of associations’ missions and members.
Mentorli supports the philosophy of creating an inclusive work environment by empowering underrepresented employees to recruit candidates from similar backgrounds—showing candidates how to set themselves up for success in the interview process and thrive in a new environment—building diverse networks from the grassroots level. Read Mentorli’s full press release here.
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