Having a good hiring process in place can eliminate time spent hiring and firing and help you get the right person. Without a process you may not know exactly what type of employee you’re looking for or which candidate will fit the open position you have. Having a solid HR background or a Human Resources degree will go a long way in helping you choose the right person for the job.

When developing a process consider these steps:

Creating a Profile

Having a position profile, or job description, will help you be aware of what types of skills and attributes you need for the position. Decide on the key skills, competencies, credentials and personality traits you need your future employee to have to be successful in the position. The more you as an employer understand what is needed to be successful in a particular position, the more likely you are to hire the right person.

Where to find the right candidate?

Creating a list of candidates that match the position profile you have can be easier then it seems.

The first place to look is with employees you already have on staff that are trusted and do their jobs well. Ask if they can recommend anyone that would fit the position profile.

Or, maybe you will be hiring from within the company. Post the position around your company and see who is interested in a change. Consider making a list of employees that would be a good fit for the position; then cross reference the lists to create a candidate pool.

Using technology has made finding employees a little easier, giving you a larger network. Use sites such as LinkedIn to approach people you feel have the right skills.

If you are still short on candidates, consider using a professional service to help match people with your company.

Pre – Interview

Once you have your list of suitable candidates consider using some pre-screening methods before a face to face interview. Pre-screening methods can help you catch things that may not match.

Phone Interview - Phone interviews give you a chance to get a good grasp on a future employee’s communication skills. For the employee it gives them a chance to learn a little more about the position and your expectations. This can give them a chance to think about if the job is really for them, saving you time.

Pre-testing – Using testing can help you evaluate the critical skills you need an employee to have.  Setting up an online hiring page can help you assess personality, cognitive and job skills.  This is a valuable tool to use to see if what is on their resume actually matches their skill levels.

Now you have an even smaller list of people you can bring in for a face to face interview.

Interviewing Process

• Be fully prepared before holding face to face interviews.
• Don’t give away too much information at the beginning of the interview, you want the interviewee to give you honest answers rather than what they feel you want to hear.
• Ask specific questions that focus on past performance in their current or last positions worked.
• Take note on how the candidate listens and how they answer the specific questions you are asking.
• Watch for conflicting body language. Twitching, ear rubbing and other behaviors can give you an idea if what the candidate is saying is the truth.
• Listen to the candidates’ questions and facilitate open communication. This will let you get a fair assessment of what the candidate is looking for in the position.

While interviewing be sure to be open minded and take thorough notes so you can correctly assess the interviews in the review process.  You should have thorough list of interview questions at the ready.

Once you have a decision on who you think is the right candidate, make sure you perform thorough background checks.  Following these tips will help you have success in hiring the right person for the right job.
 

In business all owners must make the decision on whether or not their business is in need of an EPL (Ethernet Private Line) . These lines are specifically used in conjunction with a larger company that heavily relies on intercompany communications. When deciding to use this type of service for your business it is important to know a bit about the technical side and how this system actually works

How the EPL Works
Scaling the use of Ethernet services to fit the needs of each customer is an objective that has been established with data transmission protocols and infrastructural models. The main idea is the provision of premium class connections that are not subject to standard constraints. Instead, the connections are modeled to optimize qualitative information processing and dedicated Internet access. Between two exclusive and private locations, as far as data is concerned, there is no need to subject standardized constraints to maintain universal quality.

Wide communication lines can be achieved to improve the virtual experience due to varied bandwidth hungry services like video conferencing. With the presence of existing Ethernet services in most infrastructural setups, there are protocols that would support enhancing communication services without perceived constraints.

The Operational Model
Ethernet Private Line (EPL) or Metro Ethernet is such a service for dedicated Internet access. It provides a virtual point to point connection via optical links between two or more primary locations on Layer 2 of the OSI (Open Systems Interconnect) model. The OSI model represents an adopted architecture among interconnected devices in a network of communication systems. The second layer (in a total of 7 layers) defines the architecture that opens communication lines between two interconnected physical locations, essentially a provision for a ‘piped’ connection, creating and end-to-end link.

The Ethernet Private Line is what would be referred to as a pure Ethernet connection, where there is no multiplexing at the User Network Interface (UNI), is a bundled, transparent connection that pushes the limits of Ethernet protocols over the Data Link Layer. Multiplexing is the service that provides encryption, decryption, conversion from parallel to serial and conversely to provide communication between the UNI and the computing data bus. With the removal of this service, the connection is greatly simplified, like a high powered direct data link between two computing devices.

Changing Frame Communication Rates
Layer 2 on the OSI model uses data frames to apportion communication between two locations. Frames, apart from the encapsulated information that is relevant for other layers on the OSI model, carry error correction filtering for both transmission and receiving ends for most protocols, The EVL service however does not respond to any Frame Instructions for error correction, delay or loss, it only filters pause frames in managing the link.

This makes the link conceptually faster, offering dedicated internet access for the EPL subscribed company. This makes services like Video Conferencing, collaboration, Cloud computing and proprietary database access achieve remarkable results for accessibility, service quality and reliability.

EPLs are normally used to dimension Local Area Networks with the same capacity as a Wide Area Network, equivalent to the services on a Backbone Network, and can be configured as a point to point network, meaning expressly designed for two primary locations or in a meshed network, allowing access from more pre-defined locations in multi-point to multi-point or point to multi-point protocols.

Conclusion
The dedicated Internet Access connection through EPL services can achieve actual bandwidth specifications of more than 40 mbps, an incredible feat for Ethernet based services. Not because of existing limitations, but in the expression of universal compatibility and error correction protocols on the data link layer. Eliminating the need for error correction by transferring it to other layers on the OSI model increases the rate of communication significantly. Dedicated Internet Access over EPL increases the experience on using Internet services to real and practical upper limits.

Payment frauds

In the last few years, famous blogs like Chinalawblog.com have been warning importers about payment frauds. The “anatomy” of this scam is simple, yet small businesses worldwide are losing millions of dollars every year by falling for this simple trick. Since many orders are confirmed “outside” of the integrated Alipay payment system, it gives the scammers a chance to interrupt the communication between the buyer and the seller. Below, we give you an overview of how this works:

1         A buyer confirms an order with an Aliexpress supplier

2     A scammer, already with access to the supplier’s email account, monitors the traffic and targets the potential buyers that are just about to pay

3        The scammer sends out an email (using the supplier’s email account) to the buyer. This email contains the Pro Forma Invoice. The only difference is the beneficiary and the bank account number / Paypal account address.

4        The buyer sends money to the beneficiary on the scam invoice

How to avoid an Aliexpress payment fraud

A payment fraud could force a profitable business into bankruptcy. Luckily, they are easy to avoid. Ensure that the beneficiary name is matching the company name seen on Aliexpress.com. A Chinese bank will not accept the payment unless both the beneficiary name and the bank account number match, thus it’s not enough to replace only the bank account number.

Wrong and/or defect products

Take a few minutes and review a supplier’s negative feedback. You’ll notice that most disappointed buyers have received a defective product, or even the wrong product. This can happen for the following reasons:

1         Scam – the supplier simply didn’t bother to purchase the right product and sent anything that seemed remotely similar to what the buyer originally ordered.

2        Misunderstanding – When an order is confirmed “outside” of Aliexpress, i’ts very important that the Proforma Invoice and/or Sales Agreement [we strongly recommend a Sales Agreement for larger orders when importing from Aliexpress] has a detailed product specifications list.

This should include an Aliexpress product page URL, colours, sizes, dimensions, materials, product standards, components or anything else that defines the quality, look and usability of the product.

Why do we list this under fraud? Because some Aliexpress suppliers use misunderstandings as an excuse to cheat their customers. Thus, i’ts best to ensure that your product specifications are so clear that this cannot be used as an excuse.

3        Transportation damage – your products will travel a long way, and must be packed accordingly. Even if the shipment has insuranc,e it’s still a hassle and takes time before you will receive any compensation. This can hardly be called a fraud, but some Aliexpress suppliers try to save a dollar or two [literally] by using cheap and sub-standard export packing.

How to avoid receiving defect and/or the wrong items from Aliexpress #1

Ensure that all products and their respective product description / specifications are listed on the digital Pro Forma invoice. This way, you communicate with the seller that you do not accept any non-compliance at the same time as you minimize the risk of misunderstandings.

How to avoid receiving defect and/or the wrong items from Aliexpress #2

Pay your supplier 50% before the products are packed, and 50% after. Require your supplier to send you a photo of the products and the export packing before they request the final payment. This will work as an incentive to the Aliexpress supplier to comply with your requirements.

Brand names

Alibaba Group, owner of Alibaba.com, Aliexpress.com and Taobao.com, have been cracking down on suppliers that sell counterfeit products. If you think that you have found a supplier that’s selling authentic brand products, think again! Many importers fool themselves by assuming that brand products are “extra production” from the same factories that make the originals. That might have happened on a few rare occasions in the 1990s, but not now. Even if you would be lucky enough to find an authentic brand product sold for a low price on Aliexpress, it’s still illegal to import them due to parallel importing regulations.

How to avoid purchasing brand names on Aliexpress

Avoid them. You don’t want your products to be confiscated by customs and cheap, authentic branded products simply doesn’t exist. Period.

Other things to consider when importing from Aliexpress.com

●       Always review the feedback, both positive and negative, before you place an order

●       Even “good suppliers” make mistakes or treat customers badly on some occasions. Give your suppliers incentives to not mess with you.

●       Compare prices between different suppliers

●       Negotiate price, but ensure that you don’t negotiate down the quality at the same time

●       Order samples from new suppliers and communicate with your Aliexpress supplier that the final product should match the sample

●       If you are ordering larger quantities, write a Sales Agreement before you place the order

Guest Author Bio:

Fredrik Grönkvist is the Co-Founder and Limited Partner of ChinaImportal.com, a Shanghai based information services company who provides startups and small businesses with an online system for managing sourcing and production in China and other Asian countries.Connect with Fredrik Grönkvist on Google+

To stay ahead of competitors, consider the wise words of Benjamin Franklin who once said “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Traditionally, finding out about competitor activity might have been a lengthy and costly process. But now, with the help of the internet, you can easily access lots of useful information. Competitive intelligence has never been so easy and lots of research resources are just one click away. Here are three simple ways to help you keep tabs on the competition.

1. Google It. Okay, nothing mind-blowing so far, but that doesn’t change the fact that a quick Google search should be your logical first choice when trying to gather information. Visiting industry specific sites such as Duedil, where you can access companies house data and search for information on millions of businesses is something else to bear in mind. But don’t stop there, you can use a variety of web tools to dig deeper and gain better insights into the competition.

• Google Alerts: Users can use Google Alerts to program alerts using keywords and phrases that prompt an e-mail notification whenever that word or phrase pops up online. Remember to set up alerts for your own company so you can monitor what’s being said about you, and keep track of your direct and indirect competitors.

• Google Trends: This is a great tool for keeping track of what’s hot and what’s not in your industry. Also, it could be a great tool for those who have an interest in comparing the volume of searches between a significant number of terms

2. Get Social. If you still avoid social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, it’s time to get in the game. Tuning into tweets, blogs and Facebook posts is a sure fire way to keep track of the latest buzz surrounding your competition. There’s no need to unleash the online stalker in you, but checking in every now and then is a cost-effective way to be in the know. You could even make your life easier by managing all your social media activity with a social media management system like Hootsuite. And if you’re competition is yet to discover their inner social media guru, you can still sign up to their company newsletters for example, usually available via email.

3. RSS Feeds. This could be the solution for you if you know you’re not the type to monitor multiple information channels on a regular basis. With RSS feeds you can avoid the hassle of having to constantly check for new developments by centralizing all of your news updates into a single feed.

Overall, it’s important to be proactive in your approach – if your competitors are changing their tactics you should think about why and analyse your own methods in order to succeed. Remember that change can be good in a rapidly evolving world.

Helen Major has a keen interest in finance and has been writing for blogs and newspapers on the subject for a number of years.