SEO Job Opportunity -- Needham, MA

[Advisor]

I got a call from this staffing company looking for an experienced professional SEO. Please contact Mr. Chesky directly if you fit the description and are interested in applying for the position:

Job description - Search engine marketing expert
Needham, MA

We are looking for an experienced search engine marketing expert. This individual will lead the search engine marketing and optimization efforts, including website optimizations and keyword purchases.

This job includes keyword/phrase research, recommending site/design changes, implementation of those changes and ROI analysis for keyword purchases.

Candidates are required to list web sites that they have successfully optimized when applying for this position.

Requirements:
- A college degree, preferably with a major in the sciences or economics.
- HTML programming experience required. XML experience preferred.
- Specific knowledge on how to achieve top placement in Google, Inktomi, FAST and Altavista is required.
- Experience optimizing a large web site preferred.
- 2 years SEO experience absolutely required.
- Strong analytical background required.
- Sense of humor preferred.
Salary commensurate with experience, ranging from 50k - 100k.

For consideration please contact:
Vito Chesky
Icon Search & Staffing
25 Railroad Square, Suite 406
Haverhill, MA 01832
978-521-9190
978-521-9207 fax
888-676-4266 toll free
www.iconstaff.com
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Jill

[excell]

hehehe.. I don't know if it might be a *cultural* thing but.. errm.. a *college degree*???????

hello.. the educational system just doesn't spit gems ;)

[Advisor]

I can understand why you'd request someone with a degree. It shows that they have the intelligence to get into a college and then make it out with a degree. It's true that there are probably lots of people that could do the job without it, but it's also a good indicator of a person who's at least got some initiative.

Jill

[excell]

Have you looked at what formal education is turning out lately? Especialy in the IT field.

Never the less good luck to the company on landing a good SEO!

[ihelpyou]

I lack one year from a college degree. I never finished so I guess this company would not wish to hire me. :D

Having a college degree means very little on the internet. In 3 years of college in business management, I have yet to use anything I learned in the real life experiences on the internet. I learned MUCH more in 20 years of real life work experience than I ever could in college.

If that company was serious about finding a good seo, they would drop the degree requirement in a heartbeat.

[Advisor]

From my conversation with the guy, they're kinda looking for someone who can "reverse engineer" the algorithms, so they probably wouldn't want you, Doug!

Of course, they would be looking for the wrong thing, if that's what they're looking for, but just thought I'd mention it.

Jill

[ihelpyou]

That's what we all do anyway with this stuff, right? Knowing how the se's work and being able to rank high has nothing to do with 'reverse engineer'.

Besides, those types of seo's simply want to make sites believe this stuff is tough. LOL

[Advisor]

Shhhh!!! We all know SEO is akin to rocket science. Now be quiet and stand in the corner!

J

[Jodi]

You guys crack me up.

;)

--Jodi

[Advisor]

I imagine that any smart and professional SEO that applies for the position, will be able to explain to the company what it is they really need.

For instance, when they called me, they were originally hoping I might be interested. If I was, I would have explained the whole thing about reverse engineering and how unnecessary it was. But since I wasn't interested anyway, I saw no need.

I'm sure they'll find someone good who will give them what they need.

Robert's posted it at SEG also.

Jill

[Matt B]

$50K - $100K based on that experience!?! :eek:

Holy Sh**! Now I know what to ask for.

Considering their requirements that salary range seems like a lot just to handle their SEO. Funny though, they prefer a sense of humor in the candidate, but not their ad . . . :D

[Advisor]

Matt, wouldn't you like to move to Boston? Why don't you apply? We could have lunch and stuff! There's a nice John Harvard's Brew House that's about halfway between Needham and where I live.

Jill

Oh, and around the Boston area, that salary is not surprising. I would expect at least that much.

[Matt B]

Hmmm, tempting.

But honestly, it's the lunch that's tempting, not the job.

If I weren't so happy where I am at, I would seriously consider it. I would only be 2 hours away from my relatives and I love that part of the country. Of course, lunching with you is not a bad prospect either. ;)

I've done this sort of work for larger companies and hated it. Mainly because of the corporate atmosphere and the expectations. Working for a web company with hundreds of clients suits me fine. Plus, I am pretty much managing myself, with beer included - can't beat that. :D

[Blue]

Big diff between $50k and $100k!

[Jodi]

And they need someone who's actually living in Boston? ;)

Seems to me that's the sort of work that can be done from anywhere in the world.

Ahem.

(No, I'm not seriously considering it. I really *like* being my own boss. ;) )

--Jodi

[Advisor]

Who knows? Maybe they're open to a telecommuter. As most of us know, and as Jodi said, this stuff can definitely be done from anywhere. But many companies do feel like they need face time. Or perhaps they need to watch what you do?

I don't think I could ever go back to a real job! I like the odd hours of my job.

And Matt...I'll even BUY the lunch!

J

[Jodi]

I worked for two companies over a period of three years that were both located in the States (one of my employers was actually located in Germany at the time, though his partner was in California). I worked from my home in Toronto and saw them on occasional business trips about 2-4 times per year. It worked out just fine. :)

Of course, the employer needs to be willing to use either the phone or email as a point of communication on a regular basis. If they're not comfortable using either of those methods, it makes things difficult. But really, it's quite simple to keep in touch with an employee if you really want to. No matter where they happen to be living.

--Jodi

[scottiecl]

Most big companies have a college education requirement rule as a matter of course- doesn't matter if it is landscape design or rocket science. It also doesn't always mean the successful candidate will meet all the requirements... they are typically just a wish list. The Perfect Candidate almost never applies- imagine that!

I remember back when I was studying for my MCSE a kid joined our class- 18 years old, he had been working for Sprint for 2 years and had been laid off. The MCSE class was in his outplacement package. After 2 days he declared the class "too basic" and went on his way. I ran into him months later- he landed a job with a local software dev company and was making (he claims) about $75K. They probably "required" a college degree and hired a kid who hadn't even finished high school!

(PS- I never took the MSCE exams- turned out to not be my cup of tea! :) I learned enough to understand when something very bad was happening to the office network... not that I could fix it, I would just agree that it was pretty bad)

[sytemaker]

Do they require the candidate to work in Needham, MA ?...

[Advisor]

Don't know, give them a call!

[Kal]

Given the type of role it is and the salary, I would think a College Degree would be justifiable. We're about to advertise for an Assistant SEO / Office Manager for half that salary and we are going to be seeking a degree candidate. But then again, the employment situation in New Zealand is very different to the U.S.

[ihelpyou]

Say you have the choice between a 21yr. old right out of college with a degree, and a 25yr. old with NO college degree but has 7 yrs worth of real world work experience in the field you are looking for.

Which one would you hire?

[Kal]

Is that question for me Doug? If so, probably the latter, but it all depends. We'd prefer someone with both a degree and a couple of year's real world experience. I just find that tertiary graduates tend to be more organized, multi-task well and have better research skills. But this is just my own experience of supervising junior staff. I do agree that those with more on-the-job experience make better Managers in the long term.