This guidance describes whom to choose to mentor internally based on political considerations.

We're fans of mentoring at Manager Tools, but not in the way most of the professional world is. For some reason, mentoring is now seen as a substitute for managing – mentors are supposed to coach, and develop, and give feedback. And the tone of the public conversation is that the mentor's role – as "not the boss" – gives them special ability to do that.

Poppycock.

But we do believe in mentoring. Our casts cover both sides of the relationship – mentor and mentee. We think mentoring can add additional development opportunities for the mentee, particularly in relationships and growth in the softer skills.

But is there an advantage for the mentor? There's an investment, for sure: time. But is there a return? Indeed there is, and it's a beauty: political capital. You just have to pick the right people to mentor. Here's how.

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Today, we finish up our conversation on how to be an effective mentor.

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This cast describes how to be an Effective Mentor. [We released two previous casts on how to be mentored: Basics of Mentoring - Part 1 and Basics of Mentoring - Part 2]

In a departure from our normal planning, Mark wrote this week's show based on his strong response to a recent WSJ article, "Career Mentors Today Seem Short on Advice But Give a Mean Tour", published 28 August in the Cubicle Culture

Today we cover the second in our 2-part series on mentoring. As a reminder, our 7 simple guidelines for mentoring are:

1. Whom Should I Ask?
2. How Long Should It Last?
3. You Make the Ask
4. How Does It Work?
5. You Run It
6. The First Meeting is Critical - Script It
7. Be Ready For Feedback

Also, June 26th represents the 1-year Anniversary of Manager Tools.

Every week, we get questions about people's resumes on the discussion boards. Our resume casts are some of the most wanted of all our work. It's pretty obvious that more and more folks are tuned into their own careers, and how to manage them. That's a good thing, as we've said before, because no one else is managing it for you. And, because so few people manage their careers at all, it only takes a little to get a competitive advantage.

We thought we'd address a career management topic that also leverages our recent cast about building your network.