Execs taking more problems to their mentors

• Executives are leaning on their mentors more often, a recent study by Accountemps has found — in some cases, as much as they lean on their spouses.

Forty-one percent of executives polled said they would consult their mentors first about a career transition, compared with 28 percent in 2002. Some issues are particularly well-suited to discussing with your mentor initially instead of your spouse: the prospects at a new company, whether another department at the same employer might be a better fit, and the impact on your career of taking a year off to focus on raising your children.

• Tuesday is the most productive day of the week for workers, according to 57 percent of the executives recently polled by Accountemps. The least productive day of the week? Friday.

To make your Fridays a little more like your Tuesdays, spend a few minutes first thing each morning planning how you'll spend your day. Then move on to items for next week. That should make those Mondays a little less hectic.

• Does your résumé need an overhaul? Or just a little touch-up? Often, the flaws in people's résumés lie not in their content, but in their format.

To make sure your résumé is showcasing your skills, look closely at the fonts you've chosen. The body text should be in a mainstream font, such as Times New Roman. (Save the fancy stuff for birthday-party invitations.) Limit the total number of fonts on the page to one or two. And resist the urge to cram more type in by shrinking the type. Anything smaller than 10 points is going to be difficult to read. Before you shrink, see if you can trim.