In recent decades, increasing attention has been directed towards the importance of mentorship in supporting the career aspirations of college graduates, including those from underserved backgrounds (Beals et al., 2021). Mentoring programs have shown promise in facilitating personal and professional development and success (Beals et al., 2021). The challenges with adjustment, retention, and overall well-being that disproportionately affects students from underserved backgrounds (first-generation, low-income, and individuals of color) are rooted in systemic inequalities and barriers (Knotek et al., 2019; Schwartz et al., 2018). Research suggests that despite perceived barriers that students from underserved backgrounds are willing to acknowledge, they are unwilling to allow these factors to damper their self-efficacy, the belief that they can overcome their circumstances and reach their goals (Ali & Menke, 2014; Raque-Bogdan & Lucas, 2016; Toyokawa & DeWald, 2020). For many students from underserved backgrounds, the challenges faced are confronted and mitigated through the support of formal mentoring relationships. Mentoring involves a more experienced person being matched with a less experienced person to coach, guide, teach, provide counsel, and share resources and experience (Sanfey et al., 2013). Mentoring, as a relationship tool (Beals et al., 2021), provides a bridge between a mentee and a mentor. This bridge provides space for the mentees' social capital; that is, information, knowledge, and resources to be developed and expanded. Theorists Bourdieu (1986), Coleman (1988), and Putnam et al. (1993), agree the value of mentoring is vast. Mentoring facilitates the development of social networks by connecting mentees with others who have valuable connections, resources, and insights. Mentoring provides access to resources, such as knowledge, information, and advice essential for career development and success. Mentoring helps to navigate social norms, expectations, and cultural values within college, workforce, and other post-secondary environments. Mentoring can contribute to the accumulation of social capital for a community over time, as mentees turn into mentors themselves and pay it forward to the next generation. According to Imandoust (2011), college graduates should be able to more effectively navigate their post-secondary environments and the workforce, and make significant progress towards upward mobility. Furthermore, given the overwhelmingly positive outcomes in the literature that mentoring provides for inexperienced proteges, the expectation is that these experiences when paired with a college degree would position graduates to effectively navigate their career paths of upward mobility. Taking into account that mentoring is not able to solve the persistent social inequities rooted in historical oppression, racism, and exclusion, evidence does suggest that mentoring can afford access to valuable expanded social resources and capital (Berardi et at., 2013); thereby placing graduates from underserved backgrounds in a more beneficial position than if they were not mentored. When students from underserved backgrounds with a college degree and experience as a mentee are not accomplishing their career goals, examining the barriers that stand in their way are worthy of exploration. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study is to identify the barriers to achieving career goals that persist for college graduates from underserved backgrounds after participating in a formal one-on-one mentoring relationship. The aim is to promote awareness of the barriers or challenges they confront as they pursue their career goals. Each graduate has a unique perspective and lived experience; however, the goal is to identify the nuanced themes across them. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]