Doing right by new worker bees sounds like an easy task, but the advice and actions of the mentor can create or squash a career.

You could send a person running, thinking this is the worst field for him. You could also help mentees get jobs and make their entire careers.

A mentor is an investor in the mentee, said Ben Boyd, senior vice-president at Edelman, a public relations firm. He or she also has to be totally trustworthy, so the mentee can talk about leaving the job, hating a boss or asking for a raise.

"You need to empower them to excel in their own career and to become increasingly self-sufficient," said Boyd.

Mentoring another employee, through either a formal or informal programme, takes time and effort.

Human resources approached Boyd about being a mentor, and asked if he wanted to do it and had time.

Of course he wanted to do it. But as for the time, not so much.

So he was clear with both HR and his mentee, Amy Malerba, that he would do his best but that she would have to be patient. He might not be able to answer her questions right away, but he would always get back to her. "We went into it with eyes wide open," he said.

Setting ground rules keeps mentoring from turning into a full-time job.

Share knowledge

When Nancy Palazza, founder o Employment Specialists in Herndon, Virginia, agreed to mentor an employee who wanted to move from an administrative position to a recruiter's position, she learned just how much time it took, too. "What I found was that I like to share knowledge, but it's time-consuming and can be draining sometimes," she said. "I think it takes a real commitment on behalf of the mentor to share ideas and spend time."

She said she realises now that she should have been a little more formal about the process and worked out a schedule. Because she didn't, the relationship was integrated into every day. "It was just kind of a thing that happened during the day," she said, and it took too much time.

The job of a mentor is not to dictate, said Trish Hollar, chief human resources officer for Bowman Consulting in Chantilly, Virginia. Instead, listen to the mentee's interests, desires, goals and passions, she said. "You need to guide and support the individual. Make suggestions. Explore the thinking of the mentee. But do not tell them what to do."

Said Boyd: "The relationship is not about the mentor or what the mentor wants or needs. It really is listening and providing that feedback and input."

- LA Times-Washington Post