Link building can be a tough role to fill, especially if you don’t quite understand the position. Last week Rae Hoffman provided us with her guide to
Interviewing a Potential Link Developer. Rae gives some great direction for looking for entry level marketing specialists who will be handling link development. Included in her guide are the qualities she look for in a candidate, the 18 questions she asks every time, as well explanations as to assessing the answers to the questions. Her questions range from basic (What is your favorite search engine and why?) to on-the-spot assessments (Can you find me a Canon Powershot SD850 digital camera I can BUY?). If you are looking to improve your link building and you are unsure of what to look for in a candidate, take a look at Rae’s guide.
Personal branding is one thing that search marketers typically have an advantage at. When going into an interview you can have a leg up on the competition when a Google search for your name delivers the interviewer a selection of links to work and achievements. After returning from SES San Jose, Stoney deGeyter took a look at how
speakers and
search marketers have branded themselves based on searches of their names and company affiliations. Based on his results, Stoney saw an improvement in personal branding among search marketers, from the previous year, with most of his searches resulting in numerous first page listings. The search marketers he looked are all models that up and coming search marketers can base their efforts around when developing their personal brands.
Across the country many industries are feeling the pain of this slow economy. One industry that isn’t showing the same signs of faltering is the information technology industry. In Wisconsin
Info Tech Jobs Lead the State's Labor Outlook. While industries like paper and auto are seeing heavy declines, Wisconsin continues to see heavy demand for computer programmers, software designers, and network engineers. Across the country the Bureau of Labor Statistics is forecasting the creation nearly 150,000 new tech jobs between 2002 and 2012. Unfortunately IT is likely to remain very talent constrained given that only 70,000 students are expected to graduate with college degrees in technology fields in that time frame.
In Minnesota the tremendous growth of IT jobs and the growing shortage of qualified tech professionals is being taken very seriously. A new program supported by state, private and federal grants is offering women in low-to-no income jobs a full year of college credit classes at Inver Hills Community College and
High-Speed Trip to a Career in IT. The program offered, prepares women for two possible certification exams to give them the qualifications they need to land entry level IT jobs. In addition to the college classes, the women must also enroll at WomenVenture, a non-profit which helped develop the program, for classes in financial literacy, job search skills, finding work-life balance, self-awareness and positioning for advancement. Following the completion of the course work, these women will be qualified to work as network administrators, computer systems administrators or IT help desk specialists. This is a great program which will provide woman with an opportunity to develop careers that wouldn’t have been available to them otherwise.
That's it for this week, check back next week for another update.
