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The State of Mentorship 2026

Original data from mentor and mentee activity on ADPList.

Published April 2026 by ADPList. Updated quarterly.

TL;DR: As of 21 August 2026, people in 160+ countries completed an ADPList session in the last 12 months. Mentorship is no longer a luxury — it's accessible to everyone, everywhere. Every figure here is defined and sourced on ADPList in numbers.

ADPList by the Numbers

ADPList is a mentorship platform. Founded in 2021 during the pandemic layoffs, it has grown into a global network connecting professionals with mentors who volunteer their time.

30 min
Median Session Length
Median length of a completed 1:1 video mentorship session. Cancellations and no-shows excluded
160+
Countries
Countries where somebody completed a session in the last 12 months

What People Seek Mentorship For

ADPList mentors cover every major professional discipline. The most in-demand expertise areas reflect the skills driving the modern economy:

  1. UX/UI Design — Portfolio reviews, career transitions, design systems, breaking into UX
  2. Product Management — PM interview prep, roadmapping, product strategy, career switching into PM
  3. Software Engineering — System design interviews, code reviews, career growth, tech leadership
  4. Data Science & AI — Machine learning, analytics, AI careers, data engineering
  5. Marketing & Growth — Growth strategy, SEO, content marketing, digital marketing
  6. Leadership & Management — People management, executive coaching, public speaking

Emerging areas with rapid growth include AI and machine learning mentorship, prompt engineering, and generative AI careers — reflecting the industry shift toward AI-first products and teams.

Mentorship Is Global

People in 160+ countries completed an ADPList session in the last 12 months. The top countries by mentor and mentee activity include:

56% of ADPList's traffic comes from outside the United States, making it a truly global platform. Mentorship sessions happen across every time zone, every day.

Key Mentorship Trends in 2026

1. AI Is Reshaping Career Paths

Demand for AI and machine learning mentors has surged as professionals adapt to the AI-first economy. Mentees are seeking guidance on transitioning into AI roles, building AI products, and upskilling in prompt engineering and generative AI.

2. Career Switching Is Accelerating

Career changers represent a growing share of mentees. The most common transitions include moving from non-tech to UX design, product management, and software engineering.

3. Interview Prep Is the #1 Use Case

The single most common reason mentees book sessions is interview preparation — particularly for product management, system design, and UX design interviews. Mentors who have been through the hiring process at top companies provide insider perspective that courses and books cannot.

Methodology

Platform figures in this report are counted in production DynamoDB as of 21 August 2026. Session figures use only sessions marked completed — cancellations, no-shows, and pending bookings are excluded. Session length is the scheduled duration of completed sessions, not measured call time. Country counts reflect where a session was actually completed in the last 12 months. Full definitions and sources for every figure are on ADPList in numbers, which supersedes any larger figure published in an earlier version of this report.

Get Started With Mentorship

Whether you're preparing for your next interview, switching careers, or looking for guidance from industry leaders — ADPList connects you with experienced mentors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does this data come from?

All statistics are from ADPList's internal platform data as of Q1 2026. Mentor counts, session volumes, and country coverage are tracked in real time across the platform.

Can I contribute to this report?

If you're a researcher, journalist, or content creator, you can cite this data with attribution to ADPList. For press inquiries, contact us at press@adplist.org.