Author: Dyka Smith

Running an online business has probably not been easier when you think about the developments in cloud computing, third-party apps, and the chance to hire remote workers. Especially remote work has been the star of the last two years of the business world with undeniable benefits such as reduced costs and flexible working hours. But there is one thing threatening remote businesses; cyber attacks.

Securing remote businesses from cyber attacks is a big issue and needs to be highlighted. A successful attack on the company’s resources might jeopardize the whole operation, cause a loss of profit, and make you deal with legal issues. Although all these sounds concerning (and they should), we have a selection of practices to secure your remote business from cyber attacks.

How to Secure Remote Businesses From Cyber Attacks?

In 2020, when remote work literally boomed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, there was a significant increase in cyber threats. In fact, according to Fintech News, there was a 500% increase in the attacks directed at remote workers in the first 6 weeks of the lockdown. This is mostly due to companies moving their workforce to remote work and migrating to cloud environments to facilitate access to resources.

With the increasing cybersecurity risks and more diverse company networks, businesses and IT professionals forcibly learned and developed new ways of protecting their resources against cyber attacks. For more information regarding the types of automated threats your remote business may face, you can also explore this list of owasp threats to better enhance your cybersecurity. Nevertheless, the past two years have been an incredible lesson for all IT professionals, and this process resulted in some of the best practices to protect remote businesses. Let’s see some of them so you can protect your company too.

1-) Cybersecurity training for employees

Employees might not need comprehensive cybersecurity training when in the office (although it’s still good practice), but when you are working from home, risks are even more apparent. What’s worse is that employees are the first one’s cybercriminals target.

When working in a physical office, most data is contained and controlled by the IT security team. But when working remotely, employees need to know how to protect their devices and credentials from malicious users, or to recognize phishing scams.

This requires extended cybersecurity training for every employee working remotely. They need to be advised on how to manage passwords, keep their devices and connections secure, and know about the company’s security policies and restrictions.

2-) Control access and block unfriendly sources

You don’t have much control over what your users are doing on the Internet when they are connected to the company network. There are significant risks associated with unauthorized and uncontrolled access such as malware, ransomware, and phishing scams.

In order to prevent these, you first need to have a blocklist or an allowlist of the websites and apps employees are permitted to access. If they are accessing sketchy websites when connected to company resources, there is a great chance that they will be compromised.

You also need to draw clear lines and emphasize the websites or content categories employees need to avoid. There should be boundaries on access to prevent cyberattacks and keep productivity high.

3-) Use Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

Locationally restricted security solutions do not provide the ability to offer continuous and secure access to those working remotely. They need almost instant access to third-party applications and corporate resources they use every day, and they need to be protected while using them. Secure Access Service Edge is here just to do that.

But what is Secure Access Service Edge? SASE is the convergence of network security and network connectivity. Combining SD-WAN with security solutions such as Zero Trust, CASB, or FWaaS, SASE offers edge-to-edge network security and continuous remote access.

SASE solutions are cloud-based, meaning that they can be used in remote environments and employees can be secured throughout the network regardless of where they are and how they are connecting. This brings the ability to verify remote users contextually, provide secure remote access, and assess risks in real-time. All these qualities make SASE the number one option for remote work network security.

4-) Choose remote working tools carefully

When running a remote business, you need a handful of applications and tools to facilitate communication and business operations. These can be the things such as project management software, a team communication app such as Microsoft Teams, or simply a workforce management tool.

If you are using any of these cloud-based business solutions, you are relying on a third-party vendor, and things are, to some degree, outside of your control. For this reason, it is crucial to assess your vendors to see if they have a backup or recovery plan in case of a cyber attack. If not, your remote business may experience interruptions caused by outside factors.

Even worse, some third-party vendors do not have the ability to properly secure their resources. As a company that uses their services, any vulnerability they have is also a threat to your company’s data, so choose these tools carefully.

5-) Use Multi-Factor Authentication

People use passwords such as “password”, which opens the door for hackers to come in and steal valuable data. Although passwords can be regulated and strong passwords can be encouraged, it is a fact that it can’t be the only way to verify users.

You need to implement ways to add another layer to user verification, and multi-factor authentication is just the thing. It asks for a second authentication after the password is put in. The second layer of this could be biometrics, OTP, or verification by call.

Multi-factor authentication ensures that even if a password is compromised, the system has a way to tell whether it is the actual user trying to access it or a malicious actor. This is also a great measure against device theft since MFA can trigger and require authentication from an additional device (usually user’s smartphone).

6-) Keep software updated

Software always needs to be updated in order to have the latest security adjustments. Developers work hard to fix vulnerabilities and make the software more robust, and you need to keep track of that.

Since remote work is usually done on personal devices, you need to train employees on updating software regularly, or even check frequently to see the versions they are using. Outdated software will always have vulnerabilities, and even a single outdated device is a risk to your remote business.

Conclusion

Securing a remote business from cyber attacks is vital to ensure business continuity and keep your client’s information safe. You might think that some of these are far-fetched, but these practices have become the standard in the last two years. It is important to take measures against something before it actually happens and damages your business significantly. Invest in cyber security to keep profits stable and build your business securely.

Human resources professionals are tasked with selecting the best and the brightest to join a company’s ranks. As such, we must ensure that those we let in the door can perform the work required and have the suitable mental capacity to work in our company culture. Getting it right the first time around is crucial. Verifying college degrees is one of the essential parts of ensuring we choose the best candidate.

Most applicants for jobs have degrees from learning institutions all over the world. Several also come with professionally edited cover letters that show off their skills and experience. The trend of virtually edited applications is not new, as more graduates and students look for “edit my paper” online solutions. Yet, despite all of this, it’s vital to remember that not all that glitters is gold. Some applicants may not be what they seem at first glance. 

Why Is Verification Necessary?

When an HR professional looks at a shortlist of candidates, college degrees and where they’re from stand out. However, just getting a degree at a prestigious institution doesn’t tell us anything about the candidate apart from their ability to learn. During the education verification process, we can determine the nature of the degree and what skill level they qualified at. 

Verification is also crucial in determining whether an applicant has a degree from a proper institution or if they just bought one from a “diploma mill.” According to GCF Global, diploma mills are institutions that sell degrees without concern for the student’s ability to complete work or learn anything about the topic.

If you’re faced with a candidate that seems to have a degree issued by a diploma mill, you may need to run a background check to verify other particulars of their application. However, it might be best to simply remove the candidate from the shortlist once this dishonesty is detected. 

An applicant that submits a diploma from one of these institutions shows a dishonest streak that would probably endanger the company’s operations over time. It may be best to simply avoid dealing with this candidate altogether. A diploma mill in the candidate’s education section is a red flag for any HR professional.

How To Spot Diploma Mills?

According to Angelina Grin, an expert at Studybay, many candidates who are used to editing papers apps online feel they can get away with diploma mill degrees because those organizations are challenging to tell apart from traditional educational institutions. Sometimes, these diploma mills use a naming structure similar to a real university. HR professionals can leverage several background screening services to help them figure out if a university is real or not. 

Many universities utilize a degree accreditation system linked to an international accreditation body. In other cases, HR professionals can access the National Student Clearinghouse to verify a candidate’s degree particulars.

How Do Employers Verify Education?

Many HR professionals prefer a more hands-on approach to proof of degree for a job. Occasionally, an employer asking for a copy of a degree to keep on file is the accepted way to collect this information. Hiring managers may prefer to call the office presented on the degree to verify the institution and its degree program. Diploma mills have offices set up expressly for this purpose, so calling to verify particulars defeats the purpose and legitimizes a degree that doesn’t deserve the acknowledgment. 

Other companies require a transcript to be forwarded from the institution to the hiring manager directly to ensure there’s no tampering with the degree level or grades. Even here, diploma mills can do the same as a real university, with the hiring managers none the wiser about the situation.

The first step in verification comes from collecting the relevant information from the applicant. This information includes:

1. Their full name and address, including their maiden name if they were married after getting the degree
2. The name and address of the institution they got their degree from
3. What dates they attended the institution
4. The educational field and title of the degree
5.  An authorization letter, signed and dated, from the applicant

This information is critical in helping an HR professional verify a degree.

Student clearinghouses are among the best options for verifying a degree’s veracity. These clearinghouses collect payment and loan information about students, alongside their degree enrollment at academic institutions. Querying a clearinghouse usually has a small fee attached. HR professionals should only attempt to do this when they have cut down their candidate list to a relatively short amount to reduce costs to the company. 

Clearinghouses are also helpful because they can integrate with many application tracking backends. If that’s the case, you could keep all your queries and responses in a single place for later reference.

As mentioned before, HR professionals could opt to call the institutions directly. This DIY method is labor-intensive and doesn’t always generate the best results. DIY verification saves the business money, but the hassle and stress it may cause the HR professional isn’t worth it. 

Moreover, this verification method is more time-intensive and impractical for even a shortlist of candidates. Information collected through DIY verification may also be incorrect, depending on the source of that information. HR professionals may also fall prey to diploma mill administrative centers when opting for this verification route.

By the way this guide would surely be interesting to you: “low-stress jobs that pay well without a degree“

Sidestepping Discrimination Claims

As an HR professional, you might be inclined to “mix and match” your verification procedures for candidates. You may outsource some of your verification to a clearinghouse while keeping a few in-house. Others you may decide not to verify at all. This approach could leave the business open to a discrimination lawsuit. If you start doing verification checks through a third party, then all shortlisted candidates should be processed through the same verification system.

Education background checks are usually performed before a candidate enters the workforce. Employees who are already within the company’s roster may be grandfathered into the system without needing an educational background check. Again, information might be challenging to find and may open the department up to discrimination allegations if done improperly.

How Long Does It Take To Verify a Degree?

It doesn’t take too much time to perform a background check for a college degree. A general rule of thumb is that it takes up to three business days for a clearinghouse to respond to a query. If the HR department is conducting the verification themselves, there might be a much longer time before they have results in hand. 

Colleges and universities have a much faster turnaround time than high schools or GED-granting institutions. It’s also important to remember that the time of your request to a school may impact how fast they get back to you. Staff is at a minimum during school holidays, and the school will take longer to get back to you. They may also be running at reduced hours during this period.

What Verifying a Degree Tells Us About a Candidate

With all the time and effort to verify a degree, the result must tell us something about the candidate. What we learn as professionals is whether the candidate’s degree comes from a reputable institution and whether they have the knowledge level necessary to perform the job. 

If the institution granting the degree is not accredited or turns out to be a diploma mill, we also learn that the candidate is unscrupulous and dishonest. In either case, it helps us to advance the candidate to the next stage of interviews or remove them from the pool of shortlisted applicants. Verification is a valuable tool because it allows us to further pare down applicants to those we prefer in the position we’re trying to fill.

Many people who have retired want to return to work. It is entirely possible. If you are one of them, you should know that even if you feel disconnected from the working world for a long time, there is still a good chance that you will find a job that suits you. We will help you with these few lines in the writing of your retired resume.

Finding a job after retirement (Yes it is possible!)

Returning to work for some people over the age of 60 is quite difficult. But it is possible. You just need to follow a few rules. First of all, it requires pure reflection on your part to determine what you really want to do at this time. Only then can you put in place the right strategies to have a satisfying return to work.

The retired resume is a way for you to build a new way of defining yourself as a worker and allow you to present yourself to potential employers looking for interesting candidates. Yes, you could be the ideal candidate for a given position even if you are already retired. If you were an accountant in the past, you may want to check out some sample accounting resumes for retirees online.

The secret to finding a job at this age is not to abolish your experiences according to dates but rather to highlight those that are directly related to your career objective. If these are extremely relevant to the position you are applying for, there should be no problem mentioning them.

In this case, you must be able to target your expectations and determine which positions are suitable for you and which companies can hire you. There are companies that prefer retired people because they are experienced in certain fields such as management or sales director positions. The idea is to highlight your know-how and key skills. You can try out editable resume templates to showcase your skills.

How to write your CV when you are retired?

Being of a certain age, our main challenge in writing a successful retirement resume is how to write it. You have to be competent enough to know how to determine all the important information to include. You need to be able to put your work experience and skills in the context of your current job search. In any case, the recruiter must realize that you are in no way obliged to remember everything you have done during your professional career.

To write a senior CV, consider a chronological order, contrary to the structure of a classic CV. You should start by listing your experiences and skills at the end of your career and work backwards. You should not go back more than 15 years.

For the sections to insert in your CV, there are :

• Your activities since you retired: insist on what you did during your retirement years and even if these activities have nothing to do with the job you are applying for. You must be able to prove to your recruiter that you are still active despite your retirement and that you are driven by your passions and occupations;
• Your job history: here, you must indicate all the positions you have held without going into too much detail. Just include descriptions of these former jobs. These are details that prove that you are a motivated person who is ready to take on challenges despite your retirement, and that you deserve to be considered for the position you are seeking;
• A summary detailing your professional qualities and skills: you have undoubtedly acquired personal and professional skills during your career. Don’t hesitate to mention them as they can be an asset to help you stand out from the crowd;
• And your education: list your diplomas, starting with the most recent to the oldest. There is no need to mention your training and certificates that have nothing to do with the job you are applying for.

In short, the key to a successful retirement resume is to focus on your soft skills that can give you a competitive edge in the position you are seeking. And above all, do not lose confidence in yourself.

For your information, given their age, most retirees who wish to return to work hope to :

• Working part-time;
• Find a position with less responsibility;
• And work in a completely different field than they did during their career.

In order not to distort the recruiter’s idea about you, it is very important to mention this information either in your retired resume or in your cover letter. This way, the recruiter will take the appropriate measures before hiring you.

By the way in the guide: “Add a resume to LinkedIn” learn how to add and share you resume on LinkedIn.

The difference between the classic CV and the retired CV

As mentioned above, the classic resume is generally chronological and includes several sections including the description of jobs held in anti-chronological order, professional achievements, degrees obtained, training taken during your career, and specific knowledge developed.

If you want to continue in the same industry as before, this type of resume is very suitable for you. The standard format is not suitable for most retirees who really want to work part-time. However, this type of resume does not make your application more attractive as a retiree looking for a new job. That’s where you need to turn to the retiree resume.

Tips for writing a retired resume

To be successful with your retired resume, don’t be exhaustive. You must personalize your resume even if you are retired. And most importantly, you are free to exceed one page for your resume. There is no problem. Your recruiter must understand this since you are at the end of your career and have therefore held several positions and acquired several experiences.

A one-page CV forces you to sort out too much information. In short, you need to give importance to a well thought out selection of information, skills and references in order to be totally in line with the job offer you have found.

There is no denying that entrepreneurs have to learn many critical skills while launching a business and winning new clients. Writing a compelling and market-moving business proposal is one of the biggest skills!

Decoding Business Proposal:

A business proposal can easily make or break your chances of winning a client. It is a pitch that an individual or organization creates to target a specific project or job. Mostly used in a B2B sales setting, companies send out business proposals to prospective clients, highlighting their offerings and describing why they might be the most suitable for the job. It is an ideal business proposal that successfully persuades a prospective buyer into availing your services.

Entrepreneurs and brands can leverage a business proposal as the ultimate sales document or a condensed version of their unique solutions and offerings. Now, creating a winning business proposal warrants thoughtful planning. Not only must a business proposal cover all the details clearly, but it should also encompass an eye-catching design to get hold of audiences’ attention.

Before we jump to creating our first business proposal, let’s explore some of the most popular business proposals to understand what it takes to woo your audience!

Adidas:

Adidas came up with an amazing corporate strategy proposal that perfectly outlines the challenges, designates the action for its brands, and inspires the audience. The proposal showcases the company’s core values while injecting passion & confidence into each slide through distinctive branding & design aesthetics.

McDonald’s:

Have you ever seen a company’s products deeply blended into their business slides or templates? McDonald’s corporate relations template encapsulates bright, iconic red & yellow imagery that people can almost instantly relate with their products and the brand as a whole.

Airbnb:

Airbnb’s business pitch deck is one of the most popular references for entrepreneurs worldwide. Published in 2008, the slide deck has forever been communicating Airbnb’s culture, current brand style and elevating internal & external communications, successfully.

Now, what is common in all these proposals? They are all ubiquitously minimalistic! These proposals helped the brands win their audience without overwhelming them in any sorts. 

Without further ado, let’s move ahead and talk about four out-of-the-box tips on how you can create captivating business proposals and ace more opportunities than ever:

Gather Essential Intel:

Often entrepreneurs bombard the client with business proposals without actually delving deep into their business and needs. One of the primary steps of creating a business proposal is to gather all the information on the client, including their objectives, budget estimates & other business information. Now, gathering the information is as simple as reaching the client directly or doing some market research.

Once you’ve all the information you’d need, then you may move ahead and identify the problem’s context, present the scope of work and provide accurate, feasible estimates. One should understand that a business proposal that doesn’t align with the client’s goals or present any discrepancy between their expectations and your offerings isn’t going to do any good. Hence, understand and gather info on the overall task, objectives, scope, potential budget & then pitch like a boss.

Use Professional Templates:

Once you’ve all the information ready, it is time we dive into an actual proposal document. One should understand that a business proposal must encompass a constant appeal and structure. Not only does it make it easy for stakeholders to locate critical elements quickly, but the uniformity of data engages clients as well. You may boost the engagement of your business proposals manifolds with the help of state-of-the-art PowerPoint themes and templates.

There is no denying that creating a highly interactive and great-looking business proposal or deck is a hassle for many. A ready-to-use business proposal template can provide you with added flexibility, ensure design consistency & uniformity, significantly reduce the rework and let you focus on content rather than design or layout. You can charm and inspire the audience with captivating design and initiate a call-to-action, all thanks to corporate-grade, meticulously designed templates.

Define The Timeline:

A business proposal is just a wish-list if it doesn’t provide a transparent picture of what is to happen by what time. Including a timeline in your business proposal is the best way to ensure the proposal’s success. The timeline breaks down the big tasks into bite-sized chunks, reassures the client of your accountability, and helps everybody achieve the desired goal in a step-by-step fashion. 

While creating your online or offline business proposals, you can consider using reflective, well-crafted Google Slides templates for timeline needs. The timeline will help you showcase a firm image of the project’s goal, plot down critical elements of the project, determine big milestones, allocate resources & ensure delivery. A well-defined timeline aids the client to understand what is to be done on both sides to get the project kicked off.

Choose Visuals Over Text:

Do you know a human brain can easily recall over 65% of the information it sees even after three days? Visuals are one of the best ways to liven up the content. There is no denying that content makes the base of your pitch and is an equally essential part of the proposal. However, successful business proposals have a thoughtful mixture of minimalistic written content and data-driven visuals. 

Visuals not only stick in the long-term memory of clients but also motivate learners and trigger emotions. You can consider using data-oriented charts, 3D diagrams, innovative shapes & infographics. Rather than overwhelming your client or audience with random words and numbers, you must transform the data into a meaningful form. A data dashboard is another popular visual that you may deploy in your proposal. These kinds of visuals help the clients understand the data, generate inferences and make a decision.

Wrapping It Up:

A well-thought and comprehensive business proposal can draw a line between a closed deal or a missed opportunity. Before you jump out to writing the proposal, put yourself in the client’s shoes, think about what makes you the best choice for the job while anticipating the questions that may arise.