Questions for the boss

sampunk

sampunk

Banned
Aug 22, 2007
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I just quit my last job working as a sales in a gym. I want to get an office job as inhouse SEO/marketer.

i did tons of SEO work for my own and other WF member here. I got more money than my day job. However, for me job security > money so freelance is not a long term solution.

so here are my questions for those who hired/is hiring SEO ppl:

what are the hottest new skill that you want to see on the resume beside those standard "i build link i write stuff blah blah"

what will make a resume standout for you?

what on a resume turn you off?

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so here is the section description my SEO experience. How can i improve it?

Freelancing 01/05-01/11
Online marketer
built link/created and submitted content for various websites
performed keyword research for Adwords campaign
ran two blogs that average 3000 unique visitor per day via organic search. Monetized through Adsense and affiliate program


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double boobs for the help

nESCx.jpg
 


How about you review/critique the companies website? Write a list and attach it to your CV with a detailed on-site SEO review. Perhaps even do an analysis of their competitors and how they rank against them. Point out weaknesses and how you could fix them.
 
Matagascar said:
How about you review/critique the companies website? Write a list and attach it to your CV with a detailed on-site SEO review. Perhaps even do an analysis of their competitors and how they rank against them. Point out weaknesses and how you could fix them.
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I did that once in an interview and it totally bombed. Didnt get the job and during the presentation realized I was annoying some of the people in the room.

It's like telling people their baby is ugly.

I would also try to deemphasize linking, blogging, and affiliate things. I would move them around and list skills that you have used that a site like theirs would most likely want to use.

Whitehat, keyword research, content tweaking, Adwords management not just keyword research, etc...
 
Well I can tell you this from having interviewed just shy of a hundred candidates at different points for different jobs.

1. Don't make your resume too pushy, it needs to be factual. The cover letter is to tell them how great you are going to be at the job you want.

2. Don't show on your resume any sort of instability. Companies want to imagine that you will be their bitch forever (I mean no offense).

3. Show your key points and make sure they are clear.

4. Use a different design then a regular template. But keep it ordered and easy to follow. I have seen some cool designs but functionally they failed.

5. Freelancing although a common practice as an SEO can also be looked at as if you might want to leave to continue your own work in future.

That's all I got for now, I'm sure there is more but I'm too tired to think straight.
 
thanks for the advises. just got a call for an interview. Eventhough it is just talking to an agent (from the post i guess i will see the head hunter first, then second interview if i pass the first), i got a chance
 
However, for me job security > money so freelance is not a long term solution
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If your looking for security then the last thing you want is a job. Having a job has never in our history been less secure than it is today.

"Self created money = security"


Now I know its really difficult for you to accept this so let it sink in for a minute. The only way to truly be secure is to build yourself a long term business that relies on multiple residual income streams.

No job that you will get in your lifetime will truly be secure ever. So many things can and will happen to even the top employees. The average person now stays in a job for 4.1 years and has 7 to 10 jobs in their lifetime. Ask yourself why is that? Do you think people like changing jobs? The smarter you are and the more you go up the corporate ladder the even less safe and secure your jobs are.
 
The good thing about SEO jobs at most companies is nobody wants to admit they have no idea what they're actually looking for, other than #1 in google, so you can just feng shui the furniture, jabber about meta descriptions and take credit for their site spontaneously moving from #397 to #394 for a valuable search and anybody nontechnical will probably be impressed regardless. The bad thing about SEO jobs is eventually the corporate collective conciousness will realize there's no value proposition (spending the employee costs on advertising instead of link spamming actually has measurable ROI) and 90% of what SEO's spout is ignorant charlatanry so putting "SEO services" on your resume will essentially be telling future employers "I'll piss on your leg and tell you it's raining."
 
Drake said:
I did that once in an interview and it totally bombed. Didnt get the job and during the presentation realized I was annoying some of the people in the room.

It's like telling people their baby is ugly.

I would also try to deemphasize linking, blogging, and affiliate things. I would move them around and list skills that you have used that a site like theirs would most likely want to use.

Whitehat, keyword research, content tweaking, Adwords management not just keyword research, etc...
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Eh... don't be results oriented.

I actually think this is a great approach, as long as you aren't a dick when you point out the website's flaws. Focus less on the negatives of the website and more on the positives of improving the website.

It doesn't matter if you annoy some people in the room, as long as the shot caller likes what you have to say. And if he doesn't, then why would you want to work there anyways? Sounds like they are afraid of change.
 
so two interview so far, no offer yet.

First one told me i won't be consider right at the spot because i didn't have a "real online marketing job" before

the second one went well. Really small less than 10 ppl clothing export company. However their offer on the job posting is really low, so unless they offer me more i will have to say no

anyone got a few second to review my cover letter? Am i telling too much about myself. Should i just stick with the more generic one i found on the web?
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Dear Madam/ Sir,

I am very interested in this Assistant E-marketing Officer position with and believe that my skill set, education and experience are appropriate for the position.

I have been doing many freelance online marketing jobs on the side. However, i would like to have a oppoturnity to enter the industry in a more formal way. I was amazed by the potential and opportunity of online advertising when i got my first paycheck from Google Adsense. Since then i have been following this ever growing marketing industry and enjoy how it change and grow everyday.

Eventhough i wasn't officially in the online marketing industry in my previous job, i bought my knowledge of online market to help my company grow. I found new leads around the web for Fitness First. Also i took advantage of social media by creating facebook page, forum post and other means to promote Fitness First online.

I believe that my experiences in marketing and lauguage skill make me a prime candidate for this position. I will be able to contribue to your company right away and keep on growing to become a valuable asset to your company.

Thank your for reviewing my application.Hopefully we can set up an interview time so i can furtur explain how i can benefit your company in a long run.


Best Regards

Sau Kay Pun
 
sampunk said:
so two interview so far, no offer yet.

First one told me i won't be consider right at the spot because i didn't have a "real online marketing job" before

the second one went well. Really small less than 10 ppl clothing export company. However their offer on the job posting is really low, so unless they offer me more i will have to say no

anyone got a few second to review my cover letter? Am i telling too much about myself. Should i just stick with the more generic one i found on the web?
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Dear Madam/ Sir,

I am very interested in this Assistant E-marketing Officer position with and believe that my skill set, education and experience are appropriate for the position.

I have been doing many freelance online marketing jobs on the side. However, i would like to have a oppoturnity to enter the industry in a more formal way. I was amazed by the potential and opportunity of online advertising when i got my first paycheck from Google Adsense. Since then i have been following this ever growing marketing industry and enjoy how it change and grow everyday.

Eventhough i wasn't officially in the online marketing industry in my previous job, i bought my knowledge of online market to help my company grow. I found new leads around the web for Fitness First. Also i took advantage of social media by creating facebook page, forum post and other means to promote Fitness First online.

I believe that my experiences in marketing and lauguage skill make me a prime candidate for this position. I will be able to contribue to your company right away and keep on growing to become a valuable asset to your company.

Thank your for reviewing my application.Hopefully we can set up an interview time so i can furtur explain how i can benefit your company in a long run.


Best Regards

Sau Kay Pun
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You have numerous typos and punctuation errors, but as far as what you're writing, that above in red doesn't play very well. Sounds like you're offering yourself as a consolation, as opposed to the candidate they really wanted.
 
Online marketer
built link/created and submitted content for various websites
performed keyword research for Adwords campaign
ran two blogs that average 3000 unique visitor per day via organic search. Monetized through Adsense and affiliate program
Click to expand...

Don't tell them what you did - tell them what results came of your actions. The 3000 uniques/day thing is good, but did you make the blogs from scratch? If they were already there before you started, how much did you improve them, and over how much time? Do you know where you ranked on relevant keywords, and where you ranked before your involvement? Are there any notable sites you outranked on competitive keywords?

Did your AdWords keyword research lead to lower cost per conversion or higher volume of engaged users? When you monetized sites through AdSense and affiliate programs, what were your earnings per thousand visitors? Do you have any idea how it compares to other sites in your niche?

Think features vs. benefits. What you have now is a list of features/things you've done, and that's not nearly as exciting or impressive. The nice thing is that there's ALWAYS something you can selectively pull from the data to make yourself sound good.

And yeah, dmnEPC is totally right. Self employment lets you diversify your income streams and minimize exposure to risk (like a stock portfolio). Day job = one very vulnerable income stream (assuming you don't have a good set of investments on the side).
 
sampunk said:
Dear Madam/ Sir,

I am interested in the Assistant E-marketing Officer position as it takes advantage of my skill set, education and experience.

Having spent quite a bit of time freelancing, time has come for me to move into a formal position. It is my desire to join a growing company, where I can contribute to the growth of XYZ Corp.

Although my position with my previous employer wasn't 'officially' online marketing, I was given the task to find new customers online, which pointed me in the direction of social media, seo, link building, ultimately making me fall in love with Online Marketing. I can truly say that Online Marketing is my #1 passion!

Thank your for reviewing my application. I look forward to hearing back from you and setting up an Interview.

Best Regards

Sau Kay Pun
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That's a rough draft. Listen man, don't say I, I, I in the interview either. Nothing wrong with telling them about yourself, but you can read what I wrote and see that all the I did this and I did that have been reduced considerably.

Anyway good luck.
 
thank you guys for taking time to help, lot to work on tonight! got another interview set tomorrow.
 
Whenever I review the applications for my outsourcing jobs, I will automatically reject those with a ton typos and punctuation errors like the one above, it drives me nuts. Am I a jackass?
 
prince said:
Whenever I review the applications for my outsourcing jobs, I will automatically reject those with a ton typos and punctuation errors like the one above, it drives me nuts. Am I a jackass?
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Only if your a war room member
 
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