At the recent SMX East conference in New York City, Onward Search VP Josh Gampel discussed finding SEO talent to staff your organization. The SMX Theater presentation was well-attended and those who stopped by to listen also had many questions for Josh after his talk. Below is a summary of Josh’s advice.
Five tips to help you find an SEO Rockstar:
- Re-write your job description – Does your job posting get the candidate excited about the job or does it read like a standardized job description? Your job posting is often the first impression your candidates have of your company and the job. Make sure it sizzles.
- Sell the position – Show the candidate what your team is doing that’s exciting or cutting edge. Your job needs to appeal to the career-oriented search marketer. The reasons people change jobs are usually: increased visibility, new challenge, money, a new environment, greater growth opportunity. Sell your position as a solution to one or all of these.
- Use the phone – Talk to people and tell your story. You can’t get the best candidates from social media alone, you need to talk to people.
- Learn how to interview – Interview questions must change based on the role. Are you asking the right questions? Some useful questions to consider asking: What are some techniques used to __ ? How do you track results? How do you prove success? Have you ever had to present in front of clients or internal stakeholders?
- Learn to close – Once you’ve found the right person for your job, learn how to get that person to actually accept your job. Hiring managers may assume that the candidate will want to work for their company but that’s not always the case. You may need to sell your company a bit and convince the candidate that your organization is the right fit.
Josh was also interviewed on Webmaster Radio about this topic.
For assistance with finding top SEO talent that’s right for your job openings, please contact Onward Search via www.onwardsearch.com.
Onward Search offers jobs in SEO, SEM, and related Internet Marketing specialties. Staffing and recruitment services are also available for employers.
