According to a recent research paper published in Academic Medicine, people being mentored should be open to feedback and be active listeners. They should also be respectful of their mentor’s time, including being on time and prepared for meetings.

And it helps to follow at least some of their advice.

“Successful mentorship is vital to career success and satisfaction for both mentors and mentees,” said Dr. Sharon Straus, a researcher at St. Michael’s Hospital and author of the paper.

Dr. Straus examined mentor-mentee relationships at two large academic health centers—the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine and the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, where she is director of the Division of Geriatric Medicine. She says she believes this was the largest qualitative study on mentoring that has been conducted and was unique in including participants from both Canada and the U.S.

While her focus was on teaching hospitals, she says many of her findings could apply to other professions.

Her paper identified five key ingredients necessary for a successful mentoring relationship: reciprocity, mutual respect, clear expectations, personal connections and shared values. Failed relationships were characterized by poor communication, lack of commitment, personality differences, perceived or real competition, conflicts of interest and the mentor’s inexperience.

Faculty members interviewed for her study said mentees need to take their mentors’ advice seriously. They don’t have to accept every word, but if they ignore most of the advice, it’s a fruitless relationship.

Good mentors were said to be honest, trustworthy and active listeners, meaning they were engaged with the mentee during each session, focused on the issues identified by the mentee and helped the mentee set goals. The good ones also had a network of colleagues and collaborators who could open doors for their mentees, help jump-start their careers or just explain how the system works. In addition to providing career advice, they also helped their mentees achieve the elusive work-life balance.

“One of the key challenges for mentors and mentees is a lack of time, and participants stated that the effective mentors ensured that they remained accessible to their mentees even if they were located at a distance,” Dr. Straus said. “Although they may not be able to meet in person regularly, effective mentors used email and phone contact to ensure accessibility.”

Good mentors also warned mentees of potential pitfalls. One mentee described this role as being like a “guardian angel [who] prevents you from hitting yourself when you know something is falling from the sky.”

Previous studies have found that effective mentorship produces university faculty who are more productive (including obtaining more grants and publications than non-mentored colleagues), are promoted more quickly and are more likely to stay at their institutions. Given the importance of mentoring, Dr. Straus recommends training programs focusing on promoting the characteristics of effective mentoring.

Are you a mentor or mentee to someone in our industry? If so, what additional tips would you offer to guarantee success in a mentor/mentee relationship? Please let us know in the comments.  

(Story materials from St. Michael's Hospital/Leslie Shepherd.)

Shrewd career-minded individuals have known for some time that ingratiating oneself to the boss and others—more commonly known as "sucking up"—can help move them up the corporate ladder more quickly. However, a recent study published in the Journal of Management Studies suggests that politically savvy professionals who use ingratiation as a career aid may also avoid the psychological distress that comes to others who are less cunning about their workplace behavior.

This new research shows that when politically cunning professionals use the coping skill of ingratiation, they may neutralize ostracism and other psychological distress that other less savvy individuals have to cope with in the workplace. Ostracized employees experience more job tension, emotional exhaustion and depressed mood at work.

Workplace ostracism—an adult form of bullying—is often described as an individual’s belief that they are ignored or excluded by superiors or colleagues in the workplace. A 2005 survey of 262 full-time employees found that over a five-year period, 66 percent of respondents felt they were systematically ignored by colleagues, and 29 percent reported that other people intentionally left the area when they entered. Previous studies have shown that ostracism is an interpersonal stressor that can lead to psychological distress, and distress in the workplace is strongly linked to life distress, employee turnover and poor physical health.

In the present study, researchers examined the relationship between workplace ostracism and employee psychological distress, with a focus on moderating effects of ingratiation and political skill. The research team surveyed employees from two oil and gas companies in China, with 215 employees providing responses. 

“Our data confirmed that workplace ostracism was positively related to psychological distress,” said Ho Kwong Kwan, one of the study’s authors. “We found that ingratiation neutralized the relationship between workplace ostracism and psychological distress when used by employees with a high level of political skill, but exacerbated the association when ingratiation was used by employees with low political savvy.”

While the path to success and health may appear to come from sucking up, the authors of the study have a better suggestion. They say that organizations should create a culture that discourages workplace ostracism by provide training to managers and employees that enhances self-esteem, encourages effective problem-solving techniques and promotes the development of political skills.

If you're looking for a new job, you should wear glasses. This comes from a study by the College of Optometrists (go figure!) in London, England, that found a third of adults believe those who wear glasses appear more professional and 43 percent think they are more intelligent. 

Also, 40 percent of those with perfect vision say they would wear glasses with clear lenses if it would improve their chances of receiving a job. 

"It is not surprising that businesses want to employ intelligent staff but the idea that intelligent people wear glasses is an old stereotype that has not gone away," said Lancaster University psychology professor Cary Cooper in the Daily Mail. "In fact, glasses are a poor indication of intelligence because you can have bad eyesight for a number of reasons and then choose to wear contact lenses. It is possible that some people have more self-confidence and change their behaviour when they put on glasses, which could in itself improve their chances at interview."

This study sounds like a bunch of bollocks to me. In fact, I await any day now for an organization invested in laser eye surgery to come out with a report that shows those who have laser corrected vision are more apt to get a job offer. 

LinkedIn this week released the 10 most clichéd and overused phrases found on 85 million profiles on their site this year. 

1. Extensive experience
2. Innovative
3. Motivated
4. Results-oriented
5. Dynamic
6. Proven track record
7. Team player
8. Fast-paced
9. Problem solver
10. Entrepreneurial

"Given the broad reach of LinkedIn across the world, we went a step further and took a look at how overused terms are reflected around the world," said Manu Sharma, senior research scientist at LinkedIn. "While members from the USA, Canada and Australia tend to emphasize their 'extensive experience,' Brazilians, Indians and Spaniards identify themselves as 'dynamic' professionals. Members in the U.K. call themselves more 'motivated' and the French, the Germans, the Italians and the Dutch see themselves as 'innovative'."

I'm going to make a prediction that the phrase "thought leader" will be on next year's list. Please, if you have any good sense left if you, don't let my prediction come true. 

I currently consider myself a 3.0 worker. Wait, what, you may be asking. Well, according to business psychologist Douglas LaBier, Ph.D., 3.0 workers are ones that don't let their professionals lives run rampant over their outside-work interests. This type of employee works at keeping a proper work-life balance and will gladly leave an unfulfilling job.

"They want less fragmentation and more integration among the different parts of their lives," LaBier wrote on The Huffington Post. "More than just having a successful career, they want their careers to serve and support a successful personal life."

And as with any segment of society, there's always a new one on the rise. Enter the 4.0 career. 

"In essence, the 4.0 careerist is motivated by a sense of service to and connection with the larger human community through the product or service he or she contributes to," LaBier wrote. "The vehicle for this is the opportunity for continuous new learning and creative growth, through which you use your talents and capacities for having a positive impact on human lives, through your work."

It's an interesting new development and one that I support. 

"The 4.0 careerist wants to work for a company that practices and values positive leadership, transparency, informality, collaboration, high ethical standards, innovation...and is also a fun place to work," LaBier wrote. "They want companies that promote and value diversity and an equitable reward system for achievement. Within them, people work hard but also have fun."

The main theme of a 4.0 career is service, primarily for the common good. As meeting professionals, I would think that you're already working in a 4.0 career. By bringing people together through conferences and events, you're helping to foster idea collaboration, networking and business.

Curious, though, what are some specific ways you're working that fall into the 4.0 career category?   

• Finance executive with track record of developing new sources of income, increasing investment fund returns and reducing the cost of financial operations.
• Member of marketing team that built the world’s second-most-recognizable brand.
• Customer Care Representative recognized for the ability to quickly understand and fulfill customers’ needs. Named Employee of the Month three times in two years.
• Federal government relations professional instrumental in the development and passage of automobile safety legislation that met industry’s needs. Extensive bipartisan network of established working relationships on Capitol Hill and in the Executive Branch.

Let's admit that a lot of the "research" coming out of the corporate world these days is a little less than scientific. It's promotional bunk. Still, when Careerbuilder.com releases results from one of its (myriad) annual surveys, I tend to perk up. Usually the results are at least amusing. So, with out further ado—the worst résumé gaffs of the last year: 

• Candidate put God down as a reference (no phone number)
• Candidate listed her hobby as alligator watching
• Candidate claimed to be a direct descendant of the Vikings
• Candidate's e-mail address had "lovesbeer" in it
• Candidate listed "Master of Time and Universe" under experience
• Candidate started off the application with "Do you want a tiger?"
• Candidate pointed out that he was not a gypsy
• Candidate insisted on being allowed to bring his pet monkey to work 
• Candidate said, "I'll have your job in five years" 
• Candidate sent a 24-page resume for a five-year career
• Candidate put a picture of her cat on top of her resume
• Candidate said he was the LeBron James of table games
• Candidate sent a video trying to hypnotize the HR manager into hiring him