Archives for June 2013

Qualities And Credentials To Look For When Hiring An Engineer

Checking on the applicant’s credentials is important to see if he or she will best fit the job description. However, even if the engineer applicant has listed a lot of “skills” on their resume, you should first and foremost determine how they have acquired that kind of technical skill as well as the applications they have used it for. Recruitment is no easy job and no company has perfected this process, though you can always apply a few simple tricks to make the hunt a little less hard for you.

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Most companies always check if the applicant has acquired related certifications and licenses, most of the time, an applicant will be put above the rest if the recruiter finds these on the resume. Matching or at least closely relative technical skills to the nature of the work is an added plus. For example, for a robotics company, an applicant who has an experience with the said field is a priority. Referrals from your employees could be a good start, this way you can ask and learn more about the candidate through your employee. For newly graduated engineers, see if they have had class work relating to the nature of your company’s work. Also, it is better if he or she has done service projects even as students.

Article submitted by Sasha Bakhru. Sasha Bakhru is an engineering science graduate from the Columbia University. He has studied Biomedical Engineering (undergraduate major), mechanical Engineering (undergraduate minor) and Materials Science and Engineering (graduate major).

How To Become An EMT

Becoming an EMT has two ways: the hard, expensive and time consuming way, and the easy and affordable way. You are probably now wondering how to become an EMT the easy way, right? The answer is fairly simple: Online education. All thanks to the continuous advancement of the Internet, people can now learn to be an EMT at the comfort of their own home. Online education has numerous benefits which is why many people choose this as an option.

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Online schools require less expenses, you don’t have to allot money for travel, educational materials and the overall classroom expenses. Many people feel more confident in learning online as they do not have to face the embarrassment and scrutiny from other people. Also, studies have shown that there are a lot of people who learn more effectively through reading instead of listening to a typical classroom lecture, this is due to boredom, tiredness and various distractions. Also, these courses can easily be accessed as long as you have a computer and an Internet connection, you do not need to go or drive to school. Schedule flexibility is important especially if you are a busy person, you can choose your training schedule that will match your current situation.

Article submitted by Training Division. Training Division offers courses on how to become a firefighter as well as an EMT certification program. They have become the number one online education provider in the United States as well as in Canada.

Yelp Denies Manipulating Reviews

Article submitted by: Reputation Stars

In response to ongoing accusations that it manipulates reviews in favor of advertisers, Yelp published a blog post denying the claim. Although small business owners have been upset at Yelp for a while, recent stories in The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post prompted the social review site to defend itself once again.

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“Let me be clear: This claim is not — and has never been – true,” wrote Vince Sollitto, vice president of communications and public affairs at Yelp.

The issue is still the same. Many small business owners claim that Yelp’s automatic review filter catches legitimate reviews while posting illegitimate negative reviews. Some small business owners — who have filed lawsuits against Yelp – also say that Yelp will only fix this problem if they agree to purchase advertising on the site.

However, in the company blog post, Sollitto not only denies these claims, but challenges the public to consider the facts behind the allegations. According to Sollitto, independent research by Harvard Business School and Yale professors has debunked the claims. He added that although some business owners have taken these claims to court, the courts continue to dismiss the lawsuits for “lack of any fact-based evidence.”

Finally, Sollitto encourages the public to conduct their own Google search, which, according to him, reveals that there are thousands of companies that do not advertise on Yelp yet still have high ratings.

It’s hard to say which side will win this war. But one thing is for sure: Yelp has the power to either improve or destroy the success and reputation of a business. A 2011 study conducted by Harvard Business School on the impact of consumer reviews on the restaurant industry found that, a “one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9 percent increase in revenue.” The study also found that consumers are more likely to pay more attention to reviews if they are written by “elite” reviewers, and if the business has a large number of reviews posted on the site.