SEO and Digital Marketing: Tips When You Don't Get the Job

Today I'll share insights from my interview with Josh Peacock from SEO for Hire and my personal experiences in the SEO job search.

Key Takeaways:

1. Job Search Process

• Define what you want in a role and understand top performers' traits. This helps target positions that align with your strengths.
• Be honest on your resume and be prepared for practical tests to demonstrate your skills.
• Continuously learn and adapt. Embrace opportunities to update your skills and stay current with industry trends.
• Clearly communicate SEO's impact on business goals. Avoid jargon and focus on business outcomes.
• Leverage AI tools and focus on strategy to stay in demand as the SEO landscape evolves.

Personal Experience

•  I applied for an in-house SEO job and received valuable feedback from SEO for Hire and the hiring manager. 
• This helped me understand my strengths and areas for improvement.

SPECIAL OFFER FROM SEO FOR HIRE:
- Use code CRYSTAL50 for 50% off SEO for Hire's leadership playbook to enhance your management skills.

THE SEO SQUAD IS OPEN FOR A LIMITED TIME TO NEW MEMBERS!

Join my SEO Squad for Small Business Owners for $48/month. 

• We meet every Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST to discuss and optimize your website. 
• Access past challenge videos and audios inside the group.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction and Welcome
• 0:29 Key Takeaways from Josh Peacock Interview
• 3:09 Personal Job Application Experience
• 4:26 Feedback and Learning from Rejection
• 6:21 Special Offers and Resources
• 6:57 SEO Squad Invitation and Conclusion

Transcript

Introduction and Welcome

[00:00:00] Crystal Waddell: hey there, welcome back to the simple and smart SEO show podcast. 

[00:00:03] I'm Crystal Waddell and this is follow through Fridays. A little after Friday, but I hope that you are having a wonderful weekend. 

[00:00:11] Today I just wanted to share some reflections, some insights from the recent interview that I had with Josh Peacock from SEO for hire.

[00:00:20] So if you haven't listened to that episode, make sure you go back and listen to it. 

[00:00:23] Josh came to talk about finding a job in SEO. 

[00:00:26] And also some things that we could do to make ourselves more marketable. 

Key Takeaways from Josh Peacock Interview

[00:00:29] Crystal Waddell: So I wanted to just dive into a few takeaways from that interview with Josh.

[00:00:33] The first one was understand your job search process. 

[00:00:37] Josh emphasized this idea of mapping out your job search. 

[00:00:41] So as a job seeker, it's crucial to define like what you want in a role. 

[00:00:46] And then also understand the traits that top performers in that particular role have in common.

[00:00:52] This helps you target positions that align with your strengths and your career goals. 

[00:00:56] The second thing is that you should be honest on your resume or your CV. 

[00:01:02] Josh shared that SEO for Hire has actually developed this vetting process to make sure that candidates can truly perform the tasks that they do.

[00:01:10] I've heard, horror stories from different individuals who talk about how SEOs can look like they have a lot of experience on paper. 

[00:01:17] But they basically did the same thing for 10 years. Rather than new things or. Evolving with SEO over 10 years. 

[00:01:27] Obviously job experience is important. 

[00:01:29] But as a job seeker, you need to be prepared to demonstrate your abilities through practical tests and like real world scenarios.

[00:01:36] So then number three. Josh talked about the importance of growth mindset in SEO roles. What I would love to hear was that successful SEOs often have entrepreneurial spirits and they're, and they're continuously learning and adapting, which really makes sense, right?

[00:01:52] It's great to embrace opportunities to learn new skills. 

[00:01:57] And then stay updated with industry trends and changes. Because they're happening fast and furious, right? 

[00:02:04] Number four Communication skills.

[00:02:07] One of the biggest challenges is effectively communicating with your teammates, whether that's stakeholders or non technical team members. 

[00:02:18] Clear communication about what SEO does and the impact it has like the business impact it has on revenue and business goals is so important.

[00:02:26] People don't want the technical details. They don't want the jargon. 

[00:02:30] And then number five, we talked about the future of SEO roles. And because everything is changing so fast and so much. 

[00:02:37] Especially with the advancements with these large language models and different scripts that are being written.

[00:02:43] SEOs who can leverage these different tools and also focus on strategy are going to be in high demand.

[00:02:50] And if you don't understand, like The ecosystem and the structure of the Internet and the different tools that are being released. 

[00:02:57] You're really going to limit your ability to change as the Internet changes.

[00:03:01] I want to thank Josh For coming on the show and just helping us understand what it will take to be competitive as an SEO in the upcoming years. 

Personal Job Application Experience

[00:03:09] Crystal Waddell: And I wanted to share with you, coincidentally. I applied for an in house SEO job recently. 

[00:03:15] One day when I was on LinkedIn, I saw a job post. And it was like, Oh my gosh, they're talking to me, which is crazy, because they're probably talking to everybody. 

[00:03:26] But the thing that caught my eye first of all, the company was just fantastic.

[00:03:30] I've been following the company for a while. They celebrate their employees. They do a lot of like really cool stuff, team building, even though they're like completely virtual. 

[00:03:37] Which to me is just amazing. Yeah. But they value that entrepreneurial spirit. 

[00:03:44] And they value people who think about how things might be versus, a workplace where it's this is how it's always been done.

[00:03:52] So this is how we're always going to do it. In fact, they're on the cutting edge of changing how SEO is done, especially for big enterprise companies. 

[00:04:02] As I thought about it, and they're looking for somebody who, basically has a growth mindset, who, loves to learn, all that type of stuff.

[00:04:07] I'm like, oh, that is so me. So I didn't know what the job was necessarily, but I applied for it. 

[00:04:13] Josh and I had recorded this episode months ago. So it was very, it was such a coincidence that I applied for this job. 

[00:04:21] And Josh, Josh's episode was released at the same time, right?

[00:04:24] So I thought, you know what? 

Feedback and Learning from Rejection

[00:04:26] Crystal Waddell: Once I applied for the job and didn't get it. 

[00:04:29] I was like, I should maybe reach out to Josh and see if I can find out what I could do better. 

[00:04:34] Or what is missing. Because I'm not your traditional SEO, right? 

[00:04:38] I contacted SEO for hire. 

[00:04:40] And spoke to Daris, one of Josh's recruiters, and they gave me or he gave me such great feedback on my resume.

[00:04:48] I made those changes almost immediately. I still have one more change to make. But just some really great feedback on my skill set. 

[00:04:56] And then also some insight on what type of job I might be qualified for. 

[00:05:01] Or even, enjoy doing as an in house SEO. 

[00:05:05] So, thank you, SEO for hire for that. 

[00:05:07] Because it really gave me like some sort of reference point to where I fit in this whole search engine optimization ecosystem. 

[00:05:16] The other thing that was really helpful was talking to the hiring manager. 

[00:05:20] So the standard email came through that, we're, considering other candidates or whatever. 

[00:05:25] But it said, if you have any questions about how we came to this decision, please reach out.

[00:05:29] And I was like, Oh, don't tell me to reach out and ask questions. 

[00:05:32] So of course I did and spoke to an amazing hiring manager. 

[00:05:38] And, I just said, Hey, look, I have, no in house SEO experience. Obviously, But I just wonder, what you think I might be qualified for. 

[00:05:46] Or what you think I need to improve or what I would need on my resume to be able to apply for a job like this in the future.

[00:05:52] And he gave me some amazing feedback. And it aligned so much with what Daris told me from SEO for Hire. 

[00:05:57] So that was, one of those things where it's yeah, your ego gets a little. bruised when, you don't win, right? But at the end of the day, I still feel like I've won. 

[00:06:07] Because now I, again, I like to know where I stand.

[00:06:10] I like to know where I fit into an ecosystem. And that whole experience just gave me a clear vision of the industry that I've entered. As a second career. 

Special Offers and Resources

[00:06:21] Crystal Waddell: I wanted to again say thank you to SEO4Hire for all of the great tips and insights that they've provided. 

[00:06:27] And if you're an SEO manager, and you would like some help with that, Leadership and management.

[00:06:34] Josh extended it an amazing offer for us. If you go, if you use the link in the show notes for their leadership playbook. You can save 50 percent off of it by using code crystal 50 and that's not an affiliate link. That's just A special gift that they've extended to the listeners of the show.

[00:06:50] So if that is you, definitely check that out so that you can be an even better leader as you're promoted within SEO. 

SEO Squad Invitation and Conclusion

[00:06:57] Crystal Waddell: The last thing that happened this last week is we had our three day challenge Supercharge Your SEO! 

[00:07:03] And so before we wrap up I just want to extend an invitation to you to join the SEO squad.

[00:07:09] The three day challenge was awesome. The feedback was great. 

[00:07:12] And for just 48 a month, you can be a part of this dynamic group as well. And if you didn't get a chance to take the challenge, you can do so inside the group because all of the challenge videos and audios are going to be moved inside of our members area. 

[00:07:27] And we meet every Wednesday at 10 a. m. Eastern and we just spend an hour discussing your website issues and implementing optimization strategies that are tailored to your needs as a small business owner. 

[00:07:38] So. It's a fantastic opportunity to enhance your SEO skills and see real results.

[00:07:44] Thank you for tuning in today for follow through Fridays. I hope you found these insights and my personal experiences helpful. 

[00:07:51] If you have any questions about the SEO squad, please feel free to reach out to me at hello at simple and smart seo. com. And until then, keep moving forward. 

[00:08:00] ​