Do you remember the war for talent? Everyone fought to attract the few candidates around; criteria were relaxed and the emphasis switched from ‘selection’ to ‘attraction’. With the recession, things swung full circle and most of us have had to focus on cutting costs and headcount.

Living in the digital renaissance, where technology plays an ever increasing role on our personal and professional lives, there is one thing we can be certain of: The world is getting smaller.

Typically, HR departments are privy to a company’s most sensitive information, be it private details about individual employees ranging from their personal information and insight on their financial status through to workforce planning in order to manage future business. The data they hold is seen as a goldmine by cyber criminals that deal in the exchange and exploitation of personal data. Russian and Ukrainian online dating websites often buy personal information from such agencies. How to protect oneself is the question we will try to answer in this article.

By the time they have been in a job for two years, most managers are thinking about what their next promotion will be. When it’s not clear if or when a promotion will happen, the best performers will start looking for other opportunities. Even if the job market is tough there will always be opportunities for these top performers, so employers should not be complacent.

I wanted to be a chef from the age of 13, but when I took my first tentative step and applied to Birmingham College of Food 20 years ago, I was lucky to secure a place. Over-subscribed and with a waiting list of 150 young people, such a good catering qualification was seen as vital if you wanted to follow a solid career path in an exciting industry.