If you’re a small business owner, onboarding a new employee virtually can be a huge undertaking. Taking a new hire out to lunch, giving them a tour of the office and introducing them to coworkers is often an integral part of the experience, but that might not be possible if you hire remote employees.
We went to the experts on hiring for answers, our sponsor LinkedIn. Read on to learn about hiring virtually and leaving your new team member with a great first impression.
The pros at LinkedIn split successful onboarding into six phases. The first isn’t after your new hire has already come on board but about two weeks before they begin. Here’s what you should do before your new employee’s first day:
Two weeks later, the paperwork is signed and your new employee is ready. Here’s what you should do on their actual first day of work:
Here’s what you should do on your new employee’s second day of work:
Whew, the election’s over. The onslaught of robocalls and texts is over, too … right? Nope.
There are fewer political calls and messages, sure, but there are always scammers and spammers. It may be easier for these creeps to get a hold of us now that our phones aren’t constantly lighting up with election-related notifications.
🖊️ Ever write checks? Use a pen (4-pack for $10) with specially formulated ink that gets trapped in paper, helping to prevent criminal check washing and other document alteration.
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Keep your intimacy wrapped up: The makers of a new app, Camdom, call it a “digital condom” against revenge porn. Camdom blocks all cameras and microphones when two phones are placed together and the app is activated. If one person tries to sneak a pic, an alarm buzzes. Better latex than never.
Amount of supplies Norway recommends its citizens have on hand in case of war with Russia. Imagine getting that in the mail. Norway isn’t alone; check Ready.gov for the U.S. government’s planning guides for everything from a flood to a snowstorm. Nothing sets my doomsday alarm ringing like 10 minutes without the internet.
When it comes to antivirus software, there’s no better choice than our sponsor, TotalAV. For one, it’s available for your phone and computer, so all your devices are protected.
This security suite protects all your devices from the scariest online threats, such as ransomware, spyware, adware and (of course) malware. Its WebShield browser extension provides advanced protection against malicious websites and even blocks bad guys from stealing your data.
If you need help managing your money, you’ve come to the right place. We have tons of financial tips for investors and small business owners. Case in point: Here are 10 free spreadsheet templates to help you get a handle on your money.
ChatGPT, find me customers: Use AI to find out what people are saying online so you can better target your company’s ads. Take a lesson from Shake Shack: They used a bot to scan 80,000 Reddit threads about chicken sandwiches, narrowed it down to the 30 most active and ran ads for their new sandwich. It worked — sales were 31% higher.
Out the door, dinosaur: Microsoft is ending support for its Windows Mail, Calendar and People apps. Starting Dec. 31, 2024, you’ll lose the ability to send and receive emails through Mail. Microsoft wants everyone on its new Outlook app. Here’s the official exporting guide for your Mail emails and contacts. FYI: The Outlook app is slow, so you might want to switch to a different email client altogether. Thunderbird is a good free option.
Microsoft Edge can’t take a hint: The browser is importing your Chrome browsing data and tabs without asking. Luckily, you can stop it. When you see the pop-up from Edge to Enhance your browsing experience with Copilot in Microsoft Edge, click the tiny white X in the upper right corner and close it. (It’s tiny — you might have to squint to see it.)
⏰ Don’t miss out: If you used Cash App between Aug. 23, 2018, and Aug. 20, 2024, you’ve got less than a week to claim your share of a $15 million settlement. You could get up to $2,500. Submit your claim online by Monday, Nov. 18.
When your luggage is MIA at the airport carousel: Apple now lets you share your AirTags’ location with your airline (or anyone else). Open the Find My app, tap on your lost item, then tap Share Item Location > Continue > Share Link. If your bag is found, stop sharing its location anytime; otherwise, the link will expire in seven days.
Test yours at SpeedTest.net to see. If things are slow, it might be time for a full system reboot to clear glitches and restore your speeds. Here’s the right way to do it:
🤖 Have a kid who plays Roblox? Keep them safe from creeps. Go to Account Settings, select the Privacy tab and toggle the voice chat selector to Off. The toggle will go from green to gray, indicating voice chat has been disabled.
iPad keyboard trick: When you need to type with one hand, switch to the floating keyboard. Then, all you have to do is pinch in with two fingers on the onscreen keyboard to shrink it. Move it wherever you want, and type away. To go back to normal, pinch out.
A new credit card fee: Several credit card companies, including Citibank and Synchrony Bank, are charging a $1.99 monthly fee for paper statements. Printing and mailing costs financial institutions $600 million, so they want us to pay for it. Call your card company and ask them to email you the “Schumer box.” It’s an easy-to-read table of all their fees.
🚨 “Are Bengal cats legal in Australia?” Type that into Google Search and you’re in trouble. Hackers are creating fake websites and hijacking real ones to land at the top for popular search terms. No kidding, cat sites are a big target. Once you’re there, the goal is to get you to download a zip file. Safety first: Never download anything from a website you stumbled upon.
🔎 FYI, Google users: Next time you need help, there’s a search box where you can type what you want to do in everyday language. It sure beats digging around in the tool menus. In Sheets, you can type Remove column, or, in a Doc, try Who last edited this? Handy!
Call me, maybe: Delete your outgoing voicemail message if it uses your voice and replace it with the default included with your device. Why? Hackers can copy your voice to access protected financial records — or pose as you to rip off your friends and relatives.
