Liz Stone: The power of mentorship, tenacity and setting yourself apart in today’s job market
Halloween may be long over but the scary job market doesn't show signs of changing.
Instability, layoffs and entry-level jobs that require years of experience - it’s bleak out there.
That’s where OK Mentor comes in.
OK Mentor helps women in all stages of their careers by connecting women with mentors who are the perfect fit for them. From building confidence to achieving career goals - mentorship is a great way to combat the dumpster fire that is the job market.
We sat down with Liz Stone, co-founder of Ok Cool and Ok Mentor to discuss how mentorship can help you, tips on how to stand out in the saturated job market and why you need to believe in your own sauce.
Note: This interview has been edited for clarity.
“For me, at least, I had gone through a lot of struggles.
When I was breaking into the creative industries and trying to get anyone to take notice of me read my CV, or even consider me as a viable candidate for any job,I sent thousands of CVs out and I never got any responses.
And it wasn't until I plucked up the courage to approach a lady who had guest lectured at my university in the street that things took a turn.
I saw [her] in a cafe, I went up to her and I was like, "Hey, I saw your talk a few weeks ago and you really made an impression on me. I'd love to know if you have any openings for an internship."
She got back to me and asked me to do a test brief. I put much effort into that test brief. I went above and beyond what she could have ever imagined and as a result,she hired me as an intern, and that was how I got my first role.
From there, I just built and built and built, and to cut a long story short, when I eventually started my own business, I was hiring a lot of people, personally reviewing CVs and portfolios for anyone who wanted to work at OK Cool.
I was struck by how disappointing the CVs, portfolios and cover letters were. It made me think,“This is your chance to make your first impression on someone and it’s not good”
Young women, who were my age when I tried to get into the space, just don't have a clue how they need to show up and how they need to sell themselves to get a job.
I realised there was no formal training at university. No practical tips, tools or resources are available for young girls, particularly from more underrepresented backgrounds, who really don't have access to contacts.
With that, I felt that there was a major need for practical, useful training on how to break into the creative industry.
And above all of that, there's the element of confidence and needing someone to believe in you.
All you need is one person to believe in you and tell you that for you to actually believe it yourself, which is essentially what mentorship is.
We created a program that provided both the confidence and the belief in young mentees, as well as tangible, practical advice on how to break into the creative industries, with everything from, how to write a cold email, how to price yourself, if you're a freelancer, to how to manage your time properly, to how to promote your personal brand.”
“I benefited an enormous amount from being a mentee and I wasn't afraid to ask people who were older than me for advice.
I got a lot of no’s. A lot of people said, “No sorry, really busy.” Sometimes, people didn't even reply, but there were times when someone said, “Yeah sure, I'll take you for a coffee” and then I would ask a ton of questions.
I guess my story is a little different. I started a company with a founder who's older than me and who's been an amazing mentor, but if you just work in a regular company, you can find people within that organization, be it your line manager or someone more senior.
For me, asking people for advice was just so great, because I'm not the smartest; I didn't get straight A's in school, not even B's.
I was resourceful, though, and I knew how to find the answers to things in unconventional ways. That’s the mindset that you have to have as a mentee: where can I get advice from?
It's been game-changing, I recommend everyone get into mentorship.”
“You have to make yourself the most attractive candidate.
The traditional way to do that would be to climb and work in the best jobs and get the best credentials.
But, until you get a job, you can't even do that. Once you have a job, you can work hard to make sure you keep that job that you keep getting promoted, and that you build up slowly.
If you can't get a job, you need to make yourself look attractive by putting relevant content out into the world, that reflects the job that you want to get...at entry-level, you could go to a recruitment agency that deals with entry-level jobs only and show them what you’ve been working on. Look, I have this blog. I have this TikTok channel. I do all of this, through thought-leadership. Please add me to your books.
The recruiter is going to put you forward because they're going to see that you're a solid candidate with a really good perspective on this space.
It just takes extra work, the competition is fierce and you have to be able to set yourself apart from everybody else.”
“The Internet is an incredible resource - be it on YouTube, TikTok, or LinkedIn. There's so much information and so many courses out there.
I actually taught myself how to do a lot through Lynda, which has now been bought by LinkedIn, so it's LinkedIn Learning.
You can literally find a video on how to write a marketing plan. I didn't study marketing and I’m now running an advertising agency, completely self-taught through these programs.”
There's no hard and fast playbook on how to break into the industry.
But, there are things that you can do to make yourself more attractive as a candidate.
You can work on your personal brand, do personal projects, and collaborate with people in your industry in your free time.
Me and my friends used to make YouTube videos when blogging was a thing.
Build your profile on TikTok, on Instagram on LinkedIn, and blog post about what you're seeing in the world. Have a newsletter for God's sake.
This is all free that you can do and once you know that you can do that, you just do it by second nature.
I know a lot of people think, “Why would anyone want to read? What do I have to say?” None of that’s true. Someone will want to read what you have to say.”
Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback on OK Mentor? Drop us a line - info@okmentor.me - we'd love to hear from you <3
Want to stay up-to-date with our events and get the latest advice from our experts? Head to and follow OK Mentor’s channels to stay up-to-date with all of our online and offline events.