Best way to recruit quality SEO staff?

[RobertFisher]

Ryan, 
I like the answer, but I also had to smile. I go back and forth with Linked In. I was just in a pissing match over the latest Panda update not saying that you have to do 50% of anchor text using primary keyword and the other half with secondary etc. God, where do they come up with this .....stuff??? I know there are some good SEO's on there, but the couple of groups I was in I baled on as I could not take the BS clowns trying to drum up business and having sites showing AdWords Certified that linked to Google stating they were not. Etc.

Sorry for the rant.

I also like the idea of the local marketing groups. Out of the ones you are aware of which do you find brings the most to you?

Thanks again for great advice.

[RobertFisher]

Stephen,

Well thought out and very much appreciated. My lead web developer was the best hire I have made in 20 years...because I took my time, was methodical, refused to settle for less than the best, etc. He is a 27 year old guru, great attitude, great ethic, loves the work, etc.

I think your idea of reversing the problem shows sound business thinking btw. Luckily, the only client I did not love went and got himself fired by me about two weeks ago. Agreed on the higher rate. One question? would you care to elaborate on scaling linkbuilding vs scaling consultancy?

Thanks again and I will let you know what our answer becomes.

Best,

[TheGrid]

ha"  thanks for trying" if i dont try i cant get 1000 points and an seo moz tshirt. try the obvious places, dice.com,craigslist, and career builder, thats where i foundmy last great in house. just dont be dumb, carefully read resumes and review port folios. it is hard to find good in house seos for the reasons stated above

[Keszi]

Hi Robert,

If it was me, I would be reading through the Q/A. There are some very good SEOs in here, who just started and they just seeking for a job (just ask the question right).

Another place where I would go is LinkedIn (SEOmoz group again).

Great place to find talented people.

Gr.,

Istvan

[firstconversion]

Hi Robert

For most agencies, linkbuilding is a lower level activity that I think can be scaled the most easily

• that everyone in the company can do it,
• new recruits can learn it easily
• new recruits can support established team members to deliver more
• you can outsource parts of it
• generally people who are cheaper to employ will be doing this

I see good consultancy as a higher level activity that is restricted by the available time of your most skillful employees

• not everyone  in the company can do it
• harder to learn in a short time
• hard for a new recruit to support someone effectively
• cant really outsource it
• generally your most expensive (experienced) employees will be doing this

S

[firstconversion]

It's finding and enticing Yodas that are the tough bits

[rhutchings]

Totally agree with the linkedin crap that goes on.  I actually ignore most of the Linkedin online marketing groups for that very same reason.  Dont care much to get involved with a bunch of people that for the most part dont know what they are talking about.

I would just use it soley for the purpose I proposed. Find people that look like they have some good experience, and shoot them a personal email and take it from there.  I have never had success trying to get in the middle of discussions or groups on there.

As for the local groups- really any of them.  You will probably find that a lot of the same companies attend a lot of the same groups (thats how it is here).  We actually started our own online marketing organization here in Utah for networking purposes www.slcsem.org. But other ones that work well are ones like "social media club" (I hate social media, but its hot right now) and some entreprenuer/startup ones always attract young talent, and its easy sometime to offer them a bit more money.

Hope that helps.

[RobertFisher]

Stephen,

Thanks for this, it is actually quite well thought out and makes a lot of sense. I appreciate the time and effort you put into it.

Robert

[rbrianforrester]

Robert, I'm in a similar position and was about to post the same question. My friend in PPC found a great candidate by actually taking out a paid job listing on LinkedIn. He said there was a lot of crap to sift through but after two interviews he found an employee that's been there for the last 7 months and has been great. I'll try that along with some other suggestions but if you find something that woks well, please share! I know there's no special process that works, but any clues to make the path more manageable are welcome! -Brian

[rbrianforrester]

This is really solid advice. I've been doing a combination of turning down smaller projects, leveraging existing relationships, and charging more to get the growth I'm now experiencing. I thought I'd get more no's when I increased fees, but surprisingly I haven't. I'm just starting my search for an employee now--fully understanding that it will take some time to train anyone for the position.