There’s no time like the present to implement strategies to help secure your current position—while keeping an eye on the future.

Economic uncertainty has grown stronger, leaving many fearful about their jobs, career, future. As evidenced by ExecuNet’s January survey of 238 executive recruiters, fewer than half (47 percent) are confident in the executive employment market through the first half of the year, down from 59 percent at the close of 2007.

Economy-watchers have responded to the worries, and a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, How to Recession-Proof Your Career, points to preparation as the key to professional survival, advising workers to update their résumés and stay connected to their networks.

We’ve gone out to the wider web to bring you the most relevant news and information.

Role of mentoring in effective risk management
An interview with Prof. Patrick O. Connelly

From Hindu.com
Mentoring is critical to the future and development of any resource. It is important that associates receive the best possible foundation in preparation for their chosen life direction. However, there is no substitute for the value of an experienced resource to guide the person inside the company, industry, market etc in which they are operating.

This transfer of corporate memory and experience, promotes better decisioning, reduction of risk, stimulation of contribution and creation and execution of earlier value for both the environment promoted by the mentor, and the associate being mentored. This applies at every possible level of human interaction, without exception, in my experience.

We’ve gone out to the wider web to bring you the most relevant news and information.

Small businesses feel uneasy with the Internet
from Techworld.com Mid-sized Business
It’s a love/hate thing.

“The Internet makes SME lives more difficult,” said Cranfield’s Prof Burke, who with Dr Hussels, conducted the research. “Only 16 percent of UK SMEs feel the Internet has increased operational efficiency, which is a fairly startling discovery.” Indeed, 46 percent feel the Internet has raised the complexity of running their business, with over 62 percent saying the Internet has increased competition from foreign markets - although this has another side, 56 percent of respondents said that the Internet had enabled them to sell their products abroad.

One in three SMEs strongly feel the Internet has made it harder to protect confidential company data, while 48 percent believed the Internet caused employees to waste time, thanks to distractions like social networking, personal web surfing etc.