SEOmoz is hiring! Check out the post on Craigslist:
Do You Use Your Powers for Good... Or for Awesome?
I debated posting this job on the blog, but it wouldn't fit with our open culture to keep it private, and folks already in the search marketing sphere could make excellent candidates.
Do note - it's an entry level position, but we may be hiring higher level folks in the next 3-6 months. I'll also try to blog a bit about the selection process and the interview experience, as it's a subject about which far too little is public.
Gulp. There goes my job security ;)
Don't worry, Rebecca. I'm sure you're a valuable part of the company and Rand wouldn't even thing of ... oh, hey Rand. Why are you standing behind Rebecca like that? What's that in your hand?
I wonder how many people know where the "Do You Use Your Powers for Good... Or for Awesome?" bit comes from ;)
Judging from the CVs we've received to date, very few...
Would you like to join forces?
I would express shock and dismay at this, but I figure it's good for my chances so I'll settle for being puzzled.
There have been at least a few, though, right? I can handle losing out to a more qualified candidate, but I'd be positively burninated were I bested by the culturally unaware.
yeah, Burninated Peasants are such an unknown cultural minority these days it's frightening
TROGDOOOOOOOR!
That's so sad... :( Still, I suppose it'd make a good way to filter out the people without the required sense of humour :p
Hi Rand,
>>> We're really seeking someone who can be part of the team for a long time - someone who can build a reputation inside our company and be part of us for many years to come.
Would love to apply for the job if it was not an on-site-only one. ;)
Well, its GREAT to be back here. Site looks pretty kewl and bloggers are just awesome!!! Cool..
Tempting... :)
How soon until you think about offering something a little more senior?
I think you need more Canadians on staff :)
Can you get a working visa for a Canadian hire?
Ah too bad your not hiring for an online job, well anyways, if you need someone in the middle east, let me know :) And good luck finding someone :)
Hmm...
I just came across this post again and am curious about your last post Jane :)
Are you just trying to boost your Mozpoints by leaving irreverent 'Warner-bros' comments on old posts?
Or were you the entry level hire this post was trying to entice?
If so, why wait so long to add a comment!
Just curious.
Le sigh.
Le happy sigh.
OK Rand, here's the deal: let's merge NVI and SEOMoz, I'll do the dev and generic SEO, you'll do all the magic, I'll take care of East Coast and Europe, you of West Coast and Asia, we'll have 2 offices, and then we can become the next leading multimedia company in the world.
He takes a very deep breath,
Hire me! I WILL WORK FOR $19
hey Rand, I'm graduating in september (2007), and I've been doing actual SEO for my employer this summer so I'm not a total noob, if you want to offer me a job I might consider moving out to seattle, I hear it's nice out there.
It's awsome up there! The wife and I keep talking about relocating. It would be back up there for me... I miss The Mountain. I'm not sure how well she would do with the rain. But the people are great and the creative community is really strong (probably as an outlet because of all the rain!).
I don't know how SEO companies keep their employees around. Once people learn the tricks of the trade, they realize the earning potential if they work for themselves. Employee retention must be a big issue for any major SEM firm.
Man, that is the most awesome job description I ever read in my whole entire life!! Risa
Is there a required location to apply?
We're asking that folks be on-site here in Seattle, WA.
I'm out.
Darn! (Actually, I can live with that - I think its a perfectly reasonable requirement. But I am starting to get really peeved with the number of ads I see where they don't mention if they require 'on-site'. Excuse me while I go stick my head in a pillow and scream! ;))
Hmmm... Seattle eh? Seattle's nice. I'd be willing to move down there! Now, where the hell did I put that sense of humour?
Please don't. Our traffic is bad enough as it is. :P
Hi Rand,
That’s great pay for an entry level position! Why not offer less? ($10.00 per hour sounds about right to me) Maybe move them up to $12.00 after three months.
(IMO) The SEOmoz O.J.T. and other opportunities could be well worth the low starting pay for a talented person who hasn’t exactly made a name for themselves yet.
Why pay more? Are you worried about competing with the big agencies in the area like AA|RF? Or are you more worried that your new people will split as soon as they get good at their job?
(IMO) Many of the most laborious tasks an entry level SEO could perform don’t require a freaking genius, just a highly motivated person who wants to get their foot in the door to a great carrier path.
We're actually competing for a lot of entry-level jobs with marketing firms, pr folks, ad agencies, etc. And, we're not big outside the SEO community, so it would be hard to convince someone that they should accept lower pay for a good work environment :)
This is my honest advice to all the SEO wannabes out there.
Let’s say you just graduated, have high aptitude but no real agency or web development experience, just a lame multimedia portfolio from school.
Beg Rand for a job. Offer to work dirt cheap. If that doesn’t work offer to work for free and tell him that you’ll even supply your own computer. Do what ever it takes to get your foot in the door even if it means a pay cut. Then stay there for a while and learn some marketable skills.
Here’s why… It places you in a much, much better position to negotiate your next move from.
Compare these two situations.
1) I just graduated, Right now I work for Kinkos and am looking for an entry level job. 2) I work for SEOmoz, but I’m still open to other offers.
What a difference. (Night & Day) It’s a completely different place to negotiating from.
I have a friend who did just that. He took a pay cut to get his first SEO job at $10.00 per hour. A year later & he’s bought a house and makes more than I do.
Actors do this stuff all the time. Landing the right role can launch a carrier. It doesn’t matter how much you got paid for the role if it wins you an Oscar nomination, versus getting paid more money as a supporting actor in a lame soap opera which might actually ruin your carrier.
(IMHO) Getting a job at SEOmoz is a big step in the right direction regardless of the pay.
Whoa... Wait a sec. We're really seeking someone who can be part of the team for a long time - someone who can build a reputation inside our company and be part of us for many years to come.
Please - if you're just looking for a launching board to help boost the salary for your next position, don't apply. We have 6 people in-house and seriously could not survive people who used the company as a way to pack their resume.
Thanks for the kind words, though, Dave. I know they are very well-intentioned and I certainly appreciate that.
Sorry about that Rand… That came out wrong. I should have given more emphasis to the part about sticking around for a while and less to moving on.
The best situation as an employee is to plant your self somewhere and grow with the company for several years. Job hopping will only make you look like an unreliable flake and a bad risk.
The main point that I was trying to make is how critical it is to get yourself on the right path with your carrier at first, regardless of pay. (IMO) Working as an unpaid intern at SEOmoz for a year would be a great carrier move.
(IMO) Working at a place with a great reputation like SEOmoz, even at lower pay would be smarter in the long run than working at a place that doesn’t have the same status. You’re also more likely to enjoy the experience of working with passionate people than folks who are not as talented or excited.
(IMO)… There is no direct relationship between salary & job satisfaction. If you need the job to have a happy life, you’ll stay. If the job makes you miserable, you’ll leave, regardless of pay.
That's exactly what I did with SEOmoz. I persuaded Rand to give me an internship and told him I'd do the most mundane tasks for free. Once I was there, I grew on the employees like a fungus and they offered me a job.
Wow! Are you serious? That’s great!
I think that’s the way to do it. An apprenticeship is one of the most valuable forms of education you can get. (Depending who you’re working with)
I believe the key to my success was to do whatever it takes to build a reputation as a hard worker that produces great quality work. Work that I had done for free, lead to low paying jobs that lead to good paying jobs and then to high paying jobs. I don’t believe that I could have skipped a step because each move was designed to help me get to the next level.
I still do this. I get paid for eight hours of work but I usually put in about twelve plus several hours on the weekends. The extra hours will eventually get me to the next level.
I like to think of this progression like qualifying rounds in a tournament. (These are your job qualifications.) Competition is eliminated as you qualify to advance to the next level of your carrier.
There aren’t very many shortcuts in this elimination process but studying under one of the grand champions (Like Rand) certainly helps.
Sarah did the same here at NVI... Too hilarious to comment :D
The payscale is in line with what I'm earning at a marketing firm, doing some SEO as well as other marketing projects (designing collateral, presentations, etc).
Do you enjoy the Daily Show with Jon Stewart?
Nice! Very very nice!
Great ad Rand:
If I was coming out of college, looking for work, lived in the area, and knew something about seo I'd be psyched. So much better opportunity than so many run of the mill positions and in an area where you have an opportunity to stay at a cutting edge position within the industry.
Dave
as noted, it is a competitive job market. If you have any seo experience, then you're probably in the driver's seat. so, Rand, what is your philosophy on interns? You could recruit a couple of able bodies from SPU, UW, etc... As long as they have good acct management and people skills, then you could train them in the fine art of search
I'm missing out living on the east coast. I could use a few extra bucks right about now :)
I would have loved to apply, as said by others working with seomoz is enough, but I am located in Jordan and it would be pretty hard for me to come to the US, but I do know Arabic and I've been in the SEO field for ~3 years with some pretty good results, Rand, if your looking for someone to work online (less salary) let me know!
I do enjoy the daily show btw, lol.
Sorry gang, it's an on-site only position. But, we'll certainly drop you a line if we have outsourcing needs - thanks! :)
here you showed the right "opening" for me...
but may I ask.... that "on-site" meant to be a body which is already there.. or can get imported from outside.. if eligible...
""
By on-site only, does that mean that you need to currently reside in Seattle - or just that once you get the job you'll need to be on-site?
I'm in Canada (near Ottawa) so it would be a bit of a chore to apply but I'd likely be willing to move if it came to that.