On Chen Jiaying's first day working at the supermarket giant Carrefour in 2010, an HR manager introduced him to another employee.
2010年，陈嘉赢（音译）第一天到超市巨头家乐福上班时，人力资源经理把他引荐给了另一名员工。
The HR told him that the person would be his mentor during his three-months probation period.
人力资源经理告诉他，在三个月的试用期里，这位同事将作为他的导师。
Although Chen, 26, has long passed his probation period, he still enjoys taking afternoon tea with his mentor and discussing various company issues. Sometime they touch upon Chen's relationships and personal life.
尽管26岁的陈嘉赢早已过了试用期，但他依然喜欢和自己的导师一起喝喝下午茶，聊聊公司里的事情。有时也会聊到陈嘉赢的个人感情和生活。
In most foreign corporations, it's common for a newbie to get a mentor to guide his or her work. It provides support for a new employee. Mentoring is a mechanism in career building, which combines consulting and networking. A mentor's job is to give workplace advice to young employees.
在大多数外企中，通常都会有一位导师为新人指导工作；从而为新入职员工提供支持。这种工作指导是职业规划中的一种机制，它将咨询和交流联系起来。导师的职责就是为年轻员工提供职场建议。
"A mentor is someone who can guide you, help you, take you under his or her wing, and nurture your career," said Shi Xiaobai, human resource director in L'ORéAL (China) Co, Ltd.
欧莱雅（中国）有限公司人力资源总监史晓白表示："导师就是可以引导你、帮助你、保护你、培养你职业生涯的人。"
"Being different from the average network contact, the relationship with the mentor is a long-term deep-seated investment in your future."
"同普通的人际关系交流不同的是，与导师之间的关系是对你自己未来的一种深层次的长期投资。"
According to Shi, a typical network contact might be associated with quick introductions, exchanges of business cards and phone calls. But the relationship with a mentor will more likely involve lunches and time spent in the mentor's office.
史晓白表示，一般的人际交流往往同简短介绍，互换名片和电话号码联系在一起。而提到与导师的关系则可能更多的会是一起吃的午餐，以及在导师办公室度过的时光。
"My mentor is an expansion manager and I knew clearly that I would like to be in that position as well," he said. "And he has the clout and connections to guide me to a similar role."
"我的导师是一位发展经理，而且我很清楚自己也想成为一名发展经理，"他说："他有足够的影响力和关系网，可以引导我成为他那样的人。"
He has lunch with his mentor as often as possible. He listens to his stories about climbing the career ladder.
他一有时间就会和导师一起吃午饭，听导师讲自己职场奋斗史。
"He sometimes takes me out to meet clients, and I can learn the best solutions to the problems which I will also face in my work," said Chen.
"他有时会带我去见客户，从中我也学到了自己今后也会面临到的问题的最佳解决方案。" 陈嘉赢说。
But he knows that his mentor is busy, so he makes sure not to overburden him by demanding too much time and attention or becoming overly dependent. For instance, he never asks his mentor to go out for dinner after work.
但他知道自己的导师很忙，因此他不会要求过多的时间和关注，也不会过度依赖对方，以确保导师不会有负担。比如，他从来不会邀请导师在下班后一起吃晚饭。
Ideally, a mentor will motivate the employee to do his or her best work. But not all people find their mentor "useful".
一位理想的导师会激励员工在工作中做出最好的表现。但并非所有人都认为自己的导师能够帮到自己。
Liu Jiacheng, 24, got a mentor when he entered P&G China. "I find that I seldom get advice from her, as she's at a senior level and doesn't share the same problems as me in work."
24岁的刘家成在进入宝洁（中国）有限公司工作时也有一位导师。"我觉得自己很少会从她那里得到建议，因为她是公司高层，我们在工作中遇到的问题是不一样的。"
What's more, Liu might be put into an awkward situation. "My mentor is higher up in the organization, but she's not my direct boss," he explained.
更糟糕的是，这可能会时刘家成身陷窘境。她解释说："我的导师是公司中的管理者，但她并不是我的直接上司。"
"Sometimes her ideas contradict those of my manager, or I wrongly took an issue to my mentor that should more appropriately be discussed with my boss."
"有时她和我经理的意见会相悖，有时我会把错把本应和上司讨论的问题，拿去和导师讨论。"
A good mentor doesn't always give praise. You want a mentor to help you learn and grow, not simply to make you feel good. "I admit mistakes and share failures with my mentor, and he provides an honest assessment of my strengths and challenges."
一位优秀的导师不会总是给予表扬。你需要导师来帮助你学习和成长，而不是简单的让你感觉良好。"我向导师承认错误，分享失败经验，而他则会诚实地评价我的优势和所面临的挑战。"