LinkedIn is coming up with a service that pairs users with advisers. The feature identifies potential mentors, and those who are looking for mentorship in a particular area, and then matches them with each other. This pairing bit is a Tinder-like function, however, in this case, it is purely for work. The service is free, and will be available to users in San Francisco and Australia for now, TechCrunch reports.
To start with, LinkedIn has identified a few people for mentor roles. These potential mentors would be given the option of choosing who they want to work with. Over time, the option to become a mentor will be open to everyone, Hari Srinivasan, Head of Identity Products at LinkedIn, reportedly said. And for mentees, there’s a narrowed down search option that allows them to choose mentors from their specific region or alma mater. However, they can also search on the wider network of available mentors.
As soon as you key in your preferences, LinkedIn’s matching algorithm sends you mentor recommendations. If you send out multiple requests, you can swipe to see all the available matches, i.e. mentors. This feature is largely inspired by Tinder. Once you select a match, he/she is notified through a message, and then, both parties can start communicating privately. LinkedIn’s new effort is clearly aimed at driving more engagement on the platform that currently has over 500 million users.
The service was possibly inspired by the success of career coaching on LinkedIn’s freelancer marketplace, ProFinder. Coaching is said to be one of the most “sought-after” things there. Also, a majority of experts, i.e. mentors, are willing to give back their knowledge to young learners. “We have done research and found that among the senior ranks of our user base, nine out of 10 people have said they want to give back. Paying it forward is a powerful force,” LinkedIn’s Srinivasan said.