Helen Pollitt joins the SEO Rant Podcast to talk about the problems in the SEO job market:
Why the interview process for SEO jobs is broken
Why there needs to be a better way other than preparing multiple audits to prove your SEO worth to a prospective employer
Why CVs are such a waste of time when trying to judge an SEO for a job
Why The SEO Job Process Is Broken: Podcast Synopsis
Working your way through the hiring process when searching for a new job can be unpleasant, but perhaps more so if you're an SEO. Whereas back in the day the application process for an SEO job was relatively streamlined Helen Pollitt advocates that the process has gotten far messier. Nowadays, SEOs need to jump through all sorts of hoops as they navigate the hiring process.
Part of this process often includes preparing all sorts of reports and conducting audits in order to prove your SEO value during the hiring process. This is a bit unfair as an SEO in the job market isn't applying to just one job, but multiple jobs. Doing all of these free projects just to get an SEO job is a job in and of itself. There has to be a better way to prove you know your stuff to a potential employer.
Take make matters worse, employers tend to over-rely on CVs in order to judge SEO candidates. As a rule, a CV is a horrible way to assess a potential employee as it doesn't give you much insight into the actual person that is the candidate. All the more so in SEO where the results you achieve are so nuanced and complex. Sure, someone can show all of the SEO success they had on their CV - but if you dig into it you may find that success was either not very strategic or was part of a much broader effort (and the opposite). A CV can't give you insight into the intangibles.
The point is, there has to be a better way! Do you know of one?
Resources:
For more of the SEO Rant Podcast check out our previous episode on gender bias in search results.