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Interviewing In-House SEO Candidates

By Duane Forrester (originally published at SearchEngineLand.com)

With many in-house SEM teams ramping up, and in-house efforts in general growing, I thought it might be useful to scope out the basics for an SEO-centric interview. It's tough enough to find good talent these days, and those with experience are commanding higher and higher salaries, so many companies may be looking to those with fewer years of experience to fill critical in-house roles.

This doesn't mean, however, that you need to skimp on your standards. Sure, the candidate might not have 7+ years of experience, but the newest crop of young SEM folks come armed with sink-or-swim experience, and in many cases, have benefited from some of the great training programs available today. I'll suggest you refrain from listing an MBA as a requirement and start building a suite of interview questions that'll help you determine if the candidate in front of you really has what it takes to snag a second interview.

Here's a long list of questions I tend to pull from when interviewing candidates. Not every question comes into play, and they are grouped into sections by my own tastes, so feel free to rearrange as works best for you. Be sure to allow plenty of time for answers, and don't mind the long silences. Let the candidate think through their responses and make the first move to reply.

NOTE from Josh: Some employers may be looking to jump into the internet marketing realm for the first time.  As a result, you may not have the personal knowledge to know whether or not someone you're interviewing will be able to come in and take your company to the next level.  If you'd like assistance in screening and interviewing your candidates, then please contact me and I'd be more than happy to help you!

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SEM is chewing on other media budgets

from eMarketerDaily...
Even as some marketers rein in spending to hedge against further economic problems, search engine marketing (SEM) is in great shape—at least for the moment.

Search engine advertisers and agencies surveyed for the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO)-sponsored "2007 State of the Market" survey listed multiple reasons for the SEM spending growth, including advertiser demand, rising keyword and pay-per-click campaign costs, small-to-midsized business SEM use and increased behavioral and demographic targeting.

The study was conducted by Radar Research online using an IntelliSurvey panel.

SEMPO now projects that North American search engine marketing (SEM) spending will grow to $25.2 billion in 2011 from $$12.2 billion in 2007.

"However, in light of the concerns about the overall economy, it's important to note some of this spending is the result of shifting marketing dollars from other offline and online marketing endeavors,” said Jeffrey Pruitt, president of SEMPO.

Although SEM has been booming, there may be a spending limit for some marketers.

About three-quarters of respondents worldwide said they could live with further rises in paid placement prices, but three-quarters of that group said they were nearing a spending ceiling. Among those who said they could stand more price increases, more than half wanted those increases to be 30% or less.

New Media Marketing Professional, Entertainment Industry - AVAILABLE CANDIDATE!

PROFILE: With almost ten years of experience working in multiple industries I have acquired skills in varied areas such as entertainment, fashion & beauty, advertising and marketing and accounting. I would like to continue to use my talents to enhance a company's performance by providing effective advertising and marketing solutions resulting in increased sales, market share, and consumer mindshare.

SKILLS

Marketing

Ø Wireless Marketing

Ø Consumer Brand Marketing

Ø Interactive Marketing and Advertising

Ø Internet Business Development

Ø Event Planning

Ø Project Management

Entertainment

Ø Artist Management

Ø Health, Beauty, and Fashion Product Development

Ø Event Planning

Ø Fashion & Trade Show Management

Ø Radio & Print Marketing/Promotions

Software & Technical

Ø Microsoft Office Suite

Ø Ad Relevance

Ø Atlas

Ø @ Plan

Ø DART

Ø Adobe Products (Flash, Dreamweaver, Director)

Ø Photoshop

Ø PHP, HTML, XML, MySQL, CGI, XHTML, DHTML, WML

Freelance  4/06 – Present 

Media/Account Supervisor

Ø Oversaw and negotiated over $40 Million in media spend for clients such as Home Depot, BellSouth (At&T), PCDI, and Texas Instruments.

Ø Managed a media team of six media buyers, and planners and over three dozen vendors.

Ø Managed $15 Million in search engine marketing using SearchCenter.

Ø Performed many of the same duties listed under New Media Marketing Director.

ACCESSconcepts Interactive 8/00 – 4/06 

v New Media Marketing Director  7/04 – 4/06

Entertainment, Lifestyle and Events Management

Ø Developed and managed marketing plans, budgets strategies and campaigns for companies and clients such as MTV, Coca-Cola, Reebok, and Moet.

Ø Produced and promoted over 50 lifestyle and corporate events, trade shows, conferences and concerts for clients like Hidden Beach Recordings, Moet, and Seagram’s Gin maintaining brand identity and quality control.

Ø Also performed many of the same duties listed under Marketing Communications Manager.

Wireless Marketing

Ø Developed, implemented and managed $10 million in wireless marketing strategies and campaigns for clients such as the Comedy Central, Universal Music, Seagram’s Gin, Timberland Boots and more.

Ø Increased wireless traffic and ROI for all campaigns and all clients to an average of fourteen percent.

Ø Oversaw production of global inter-carrier SMS web site for client use which helped bring in over $10 million in revenue.

Ø Helped secure clients for wireless advertising and marketing campaigns resulting in $25,000,000 in revenue.

Internet/Interactive Marketing

Ø Developed multi-million dollar marketing and new media strategies including wireless, podcasting, social networking, and VOD marketing.

Ø Negotiated over $50 million in CPL, CPC, CPM, CPA and other media buys with vendors like AOL, Google, Yahoo, MSN and various networks and created million dollar marketing and media plans.

Ø Implemented $20 million in online advertising, search, and email marketing campaigns, which included SEO, paid search, and affiliate marketing.

Ø Worked closely with advertising agencies, publicity firms and creative departments for the completion of projects and campaigns.

v Marketing Communications Manager 08/03 – 7/04

Print Publication

Ø Sold $500,000 advertising for print magazine for high-profile events.

Ø Managed design, overall production and distribution of magazine.

Ø Acted as Editor and Publisher for all issues of print publication.

Wireless Marketing

Ø Developed $5 million in multi-media (Print, Online, Wireless and TV) integrated campaigns.

Ø Developed mobile originated and terminated campaigns with in-venue displays, retail and event tie-ins, and call-back responses resulting in over $500,000 in text messaging revenues.

History of Recruiting: Part I

Nothing new under the sun, by Raghav Singh; The Electronic Recruiting Exchange

There are lots of jobs to fill; not enough candidates, and many are poorly qualified; arcane laws around hiring; and fierce competition for talent. Sound familiar? You could be a recruiter for the Roman army in the 4th century B.C.

In the collections of the British Museum, there is a decree signed by Julius Caesar in 55 B.C., promising a reward of 300 sestertii to any soldier who brought another to join the Roman army. This is the first known example of an employee-referral program. And, it's a generous one at that: The amount represented a third of a soldier's annual pay. It reflected how serious the Romans were about finding soldiers. They had the first known recruiters and faced many of the same challenges we have today.

Keeping this huge organization staffed up was no small task, since wars were common, turnover was high, and there was a constant need for soldiers and other personnel. In addition to soldiers, the army needed engineers, medical staff, surveyors, carpenters, veterinaries, hunters, and armorers, even soothsayers. As a consequence, the Romans created many of the practices we have today to get the best talent.

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