It is a jungle out there and only the smart survive.

As the competition gets tougher, it gets incredibly easy to get lost in the crowd.

A former boss once told this correspondent that it wasn't enough to be good at the job any longer. You need a godfather (or mother) at work.

"And I'm afraid," he added, "I can't be yours because I'm barely surviving myself."

While he suggested networking at an individual level, the same process is being formalised by organisations today.

Increasingly popular in organisations in the West to aid employee retention, the concept of mentoring has also been introduced in some Indian and multinational corporations.

Says Vishal Chhiber, HR head at Discovery Channel, "The exact manner of implementation differs from company to company. Some have it only for the first year or during the initial period of orientation of a new employee, whereas some use it even for young and middle management.

"In some cases, the mentor is from the same function and could be the superior too, whereas in others, the mentor is generally a senior manager from another function.

"Your interaction with the mentor is more like a guide-pupil rather than a boss-subordinate."

He goes on to list the advantages and disadvantages of having a mentor at work.