All of you out there that think you have experience with SEO please raise your hand.  Now the ones that think SEO is or includes pay per click campaigns put your hands down.  Who thinks SEO is making sure that Meta information is filled out for each of the web pages?  You can put your hands down as well.  Those of you who believe SEO is only about optimization of the content on the page, hands down.  The select few of you that are left with your hands up now make up the amazing talent puddle, not to be confused with a talent pool, of candidates available to SEO shops in the marketplace looking for talented help.  Note: I know that isn’t an exhaustive list of SEO practices, but for the purpose of the exercise it will do for now.

I am often asked by recruiters, “What should I look for in an SEO candidate?” to which I reply, “Someone who knows what SEO is and has experience doing it.”  I define knowledge in this case as someone who has at least read SEO for Dummies, reads the forums and articles at Search Engine Land or Search Engine Watch, or follows the blogs and writings of Matt Cutts or one of the other SEO glitterati.  Seems like a pretty simple prerequisite for entering a job related to search engine optimization.  For experience, I am only hoping, and sometimes praying, that they have actually optimized a web site with some success.  Whether it is their own personal web site, or a previous client, all we are looking for is some examples of actually implementing what you have learned; again, not asking for too much here.  For this simple request my recruiting team provides me with a stack of resumes from individuals who know how to spell SEO and have been doing pay per click campaigns.  And this is for entry level positions – if we need to fill a more senior level role, the pickings are even slimmer and the puddle even shallower.

The Resume

Many resumes we review, and we do see a lot of them, look like they just put SEO on there because they want a job in SEO and know what it stands for (most of the time).  The first thing I look for is the number of instances of SEO on a resume; are they spamming the job market?  This is sometimes a good sign because at least they know that much.  The most common confusion we see on a resume is that SEO and PPC are not the same thing.  Too often these terms/acronyms are used interchangeably on a resume.  Another claim on a resume that always gives me a chuckle is the candidate’s ability or achievement in taking a client to the number one ranking in a mere week.  Getting a client to rank for their brand name does not make you an SEO expert.  .  “Wrote SEO friendly copy” is another bullet point that we often see on resumes.   What does “SEO friendly” mean anyway?  Does it introduce itself to the search engine spider and add them to its LinkedIn network or MySpace page?  Unfortunately, it is never preceded by the phrase, “Did extensive keyword research”.  If they are a developer by trade copy is replaced with   “Developed SEO friendly web sites” which generally means they put a page title on it and added irrelevant ALT text to the images.

The Interview

If you are going to lie or embellish your resume at least do a little research first.  Then, practice that lie until you can say it with confidence and cite a reference or two to back it up.  Too often a candidate with a good looking resume comes in for the interview and, when asked about the SEO work they did at a particular job, they stumble, bumble and fumble with an answer that makes little sense, if any at all.  There is also the disconnect between having worked with the SEO vendor for their previous company and having actually done the SEO work for that company.  Managing an SEO agency can help improve your overall knowledge base if it is a good agency and you know enough to pay attention to what they are saying and recommending, but it does not translate to having done SEO.  

Interviewees should be prepared to discuss sites that they have worked on and the specific tactics they employed to optimize the site.  At the very least they should pick a site and talk about exactly what tactics they would employ if they had the chance to optimize the site.  This will at least demonstrate whether or not they have a solid grasp of the principles of SEO, and whether they are smart enough to articulate that theory into actionable tactics.

So what do you do in the meantime?

As the discipline of SEO matures we should hope to see a pool of qualified candidates  growing at about the same pace as the demand for those candidates, so don’t hold your breath if you think this is going to get easy.  There has got to be another way to build out and scale an SEO department.  I believe there is, have seen it work, and will continue to work in this manner: Development.  Establish a solid core of senior level SEO experts, which may take a few years, and have them mentor, teach, and impart their knowledge by paying an inordinate amount of attention to bright, intelligent copywriters and developers with an interest in SEO.  SEO is not magic, it is a talent and skill to be learned like any other, and investing in the development of bright individuals with a passion for SEO will pay off huge dividends down the road.  I have seen this work successfully across other disciplines during my tenure at agencies, and have seen it work successfully in our very own SEO practice.