townsend.bunksite.com

Tag: tech careers

42 GIFs: The Answer to Life At Search Influence, the Universe and Everything

If you haven’t noticed already, we really love animated GIFs here at Search Influence. They are sent around in company-wide emails about promotions, they might appear in shared team meeting agenda documents, webinars, and presentations, and sometimes we even debate the proper pronunciation of GIF on our “Question Of The Day” board. I even asked my manager if just for one day I could respond to emails entirely via GIFs and no words. She’s still thinking about it …

All the GIFs got me thinking lately … We’re always hiring, and these newbies might be wondering what it’s like to have a Search Influence job! What would a day in the life of an Influencer look like if depicted entirely via GIFs? Check out the 42 moments below that basically all Influencers have experienced at one point, brought to you by the letters “G,” “I,” and “F!”

When one of your coworkers sends an email about the coffee pot, the dishwasher, too many dishes in the sink, the fact that no one ever cleans the dishes in the sink, or about making coffee …

When you hear “Did you try what Leigh’s mom made? It’s in the kitchen!”

When you are walking out of the kitchen as Lauren walks in with Costco-size bags of candy …

… But then one week later and the only candy left is yellow Laffy Taffy, grape Jolly Ranchers, and 3 Musketeers …

When CEO Will Scott comes running (seriously, running) through your department (for no reason) and scares the shit out of you …

When you’re trying to make an awkward keyword string fit in a resource box …

When someone is 10 minutes late to a 30-minute meeting …

When you pull out your earbuds and you thought your music was off, but it’s not and everyone now knows you listen to “Disney’s Classics” on Pandora …

When Amy sends out an email about the most recent life-changing algorithm update …

When the client doesn’t have any edits to your content …

When a client says “I’m thinking about launching a new site”…

… and then does without telling you.

When you hit send on an email, but you really, really, really shouldn’t have …

When a client asks “Are you planning on buying links on my behalf?” (which is something we will never do …)

When your kudos is called out in a company meeting …

When you get your task list down to zero …

When someone kicks you out of Hootsuite by accident …

When someone sends you a Google Doc and you don’t have access …

When there’s a shared spreadsheet or Google Doc that all employees are frantically adding jokes to (against the will of its creator) as you watch the joy unfold …

When you run out of Copyscape credits …

When you get excited about something then realize everyone around you has their headphones in …

When it starts to rain outside and everyone acts like they’ve never seen rain before …

When your access card doesn’t take and the door won’t open ….

When you prepped for two days for a conference call and you realize the client stood you up after you listened to hold music for 15 minutes …

When somebody else already wrote code to solve the exact problem you spent hours trying to solve on your own …

When your client starts ranking #1 organically for a super-competitive keyword like “personal injury attorney …”

When you totally screw up a project manager task, but it actually ends up working out …

When your client’s organic traffic is up when comparing year over year EVERY. SINGLE. MONTH …

How you feel after you lead your first kickoff call …

When you need to write content for a very technical/niche client and there is no information available on what they do …

When someone brings up that time when you first started and didn’t know all the search engine optimization lingo …

When someone takes forever to respond to your Gchat and you just see the three little dots that say they are typing …

When it’s your birthday and you get a card from everyone …

When you actually have a great answer for the question of the day …

When you figure something out that helps another department …

When a client’s username and password to access their site are the same as their domain name …

When somebody else uses your custom code solution to address the exact problem you spent hours writing a solution for months ago …

When GDocs, project manager, or the ticketing system decides to stop working … at 4 o’clock … on a Friday …

It’s 4:30 p.m. on a Friday and your task list has one item left to do, but YOU GOT THIS …

And finally, when that 5 o’clock Friday song comes on …

July 23, 2015
Search Influence Takes a Shine to New Summer Influencers

Search Influence continues to grow! This June, we’re proud to welcome four new faces to the team.

Brittney Schering – Junior Internet Marketing Associate

Originally from a small town just south of Detroit, Mich., Brittney first ventured over to Grand Valley State University, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in professional writing in April 2011. The following month, she moved to New York City and then to Los Angeles one year later. Last October, she moved to New Orleans on a whim with her boyfriend and their crazy pup, Frida, who just turned a year old on Cinco de Mayo. Prior to working at Search Influence, Brittney worked as a full-time nanny and freelance writer/editor. She loves to spend her free time enjoying live music everywhere.

Jensen Quadros – Junior Account Associate

Jensen is from New Orleans, La. She is a recent graduate of Loyola University New Orleans. She has a degree in marketing (one of her favorite topics) as well as a minor in accounting. In her free time, she loves driving and going on road trips, especially trips to the beach. Jensen is excited to join the Search Influence team!

Jordan Smith – Junior Account Associate

Jordan is from Mandeville, La. She recently graduated from the Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches with a degree in communications and liberal arts. At NSU, Jordan was a member of Phi Mu Fraternity and the editor of the Potpourri yearbook. She is excited to get started at Search Influence!

Rebecca Cutler – Junior Account Assistant

Rebecca is from New Jersey, and she is about to start her senior year at Tulane University. She is pursuing a dual degree with a B.S.M. in marketing and a B.A. in economics. In the past, she has interned at advertising agencies in New York and in New Orleans. She absolutely loves New Orleans, but she especially loves the amazing food and trying new places to eat.

Welcome to SI, Brittney, Jensen, Jordan and Rebecca! We’re excited to see all the great things you will accomplish!

June 29, 2015
A Dream Job is Still Within Reach! Here Are 3 Ways to Find it

We’ve all been asked at one time in our young lives: What do you want to be when you grow up? For most of us, the dream of being a cowboy or an astronaut (or for me, a taxi driver) are long gone, but the essence of the question still applies and is an important one. It’s also empowering. It implies that the decision is up to you, and all you need to do is pick something and go after it.

Although it might not be as simple as that, you do have this kind of power when choosing the company that is right for you.

As a new college graduate or a young adult looking for a job change, there are a lot of possibilities, and the job search might even seem overwhelming. Where do you begin? I am neither a young adult looking for a job change nor a new college graduate, but there are a lot of things I wish someone had told me when I was one. Primarily, that if you break down your interests and work habits, you’ll be much more equipped to recognize your dream job when you see the description.

Hopefully you’ll find these tips helpful during your job search.

Tip #1: Figure out what you’re actually interested in.

You have probably thought about what you should do or the most popular jobs for your major or even what your family thinks you should do, but have you really thought about what you want to spend your time doing?

For me, I’ve always been interested in tech. My favorite college class was “Communication in Technology.” I love being online and reading updates about best practices for online marketing, and I can set up a complex entertainment system like nobody’s business. When I was fresh out of college, I didn’t realize jobs existed where I could indulge these interests.

So ask yourself: What classes did you enjoy in college? What articles attract you when you’re browsing the news? What online newsletters do you subscribe to? What kind of catalogs do you look forward to browsing? What magazines do you read?

Let’s say you’re crazy about travel. You save all of your money for your next adventure, you have Wandertab installed on Chrome, your DVR is packed with Travel Channel shows, and your inbox is full of flight deals. You might want to start your job hunt with industries that incorporate travel, like a cruise line, travel agency, or tourism board.

Tip #2: Play to your strengths.

Now that you have an idea of the kind of work you want to do, it’s also important to consider the work environment and your own strengths. Think about previous projects where you’ve had success and were proud of the end product. Were you working in a group? Which skills were key to the result—organization, creativity, subject knowledge? By digging into your own skill set, you can be more particular about the types of jobs for which you apply.

Company culture is important as well. You spend a lot of time at work, and by extension, with your coworkers. How you feel at the company and in the presence of your coworkers will affect your job satisfaction and ultimately your performance. Consider guidelines like dress code, benefits, time off, and willingness to train new employees. Would you mind being the youngest amongst future coworkers, or is it important that you work with peers? The answers to these questions can play a big role in shaping your job search.

Personally, I loathe pantsuits. In previous positions, I was the youngest person in the room, and I prefer working with peers. I’m proud of my organizational skills, and I thrive in a collaborative, busy environment where there’s always something more to do; boredom is not my friend. When I started working at Search Influence, something just clicked. I loved learning from my intelligent, peer coworkers, and account management suits my skill set.

You don’t always hit the jackpot while starting your career, but taking a critical look at your fit with a potential employer is a very important step to take before sending in your resume.

Tip #3: Talk to people who do what you think you want to do.

This was hands-down one of the biggest missed opportunities for me when I was looking for my first job. I was so nervous! I didn’t want to bother anyone, and I thought everyone would flat-out deny me if I asked to talk to them. Being on the other side of this now, it is so incredibly not true. It’s even the exact opposite—I love telling people about my job at Search Influence. Especially younger people who think they might want to work in my field of online marketing.

A current employee of a company you’re interested in or someone who holds a job title you aspire to hold one day is an invaluable resource if you’re willing to ask. They can tell you so much more than a job description: day-to-day tasks, work environment, team structure, key skills, and even tips for getting hired.

If you don’t know someone who works in your field of interest, use your alumni group and/or any connections you might have. You’d be surprised who knows someone you might want to speak with. And when you do find the person to talk to, come to the meeting prepared with questions to discover information that would be most valuable to you.

By taking the time to think about your interests and strengths, and by taking proactive steps to talk to someone in the field, you’ll be much better equipped for your job hunt. You’ll likely send out fewer resumes, but they’ll be for positions that are a home run for you instead of hoping something sticks, making them much more beneficial in the long term.

If you’re like me and enjoy tech, search engine optimization, and online marketing, find out more information about open positions at Search Influence on our Careers page.

June 17, 2015
Started From The Bottom Now You’re Hired: Tips For The Tech Job Interview

In the ever-growing tech industry, more and more jobs are becoming available. Sadly, this also means a lot of positions aren’t being filled due to bad interviews. Having interviewed hundreds of prospective employees in the past few months, I’ve learned that many people seem to struggle when considering what employers are looking for in candidates. You practice and prepare for interviews in advance thinking, “How can I show them how great I am?” when you really should be practicing to fulfill the question, “How can I show them I’m what they want?”

So here are some tips for acing the interview! A lot of these can apply to more than the tech world, so read on and take mental notes for your future!

Do: Talk About What You Have To Offer A Company
If you’re applying for a position that requires any sort of client-facing or largely communicative capacities, talk about ways in which you’ve exhibited those abilities in the past. If you’re applying to work in a fast-paced, growing industry, talk about how you’ve been adaptive and proactive with change in your past experiences. Also, make it clear that the industry they’re in is the industry you want to work for. You should ALWAYS research what a company does before you attend an interview with them. Being completely clueless about the work they do shows a lack of sincere interest in the job.

Basically, find any way to show your interviewer that you have what they need and want to be there.

Don’t: Talk About What A Company Has To Offer You
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in an interview is saying something like, “I want to work here because I don’t know about insert industry here and want to learn everything I can from working here.” You’d be surprised how often we hear that people want to start their own online marketing companies and just want to work for us to learn how to do what we do. That kind of response is a huge red flag for companies.

Talking about your capacity and willingness to learn is a GREAT idea, but it needs to be done tastefully. A better way to express that would be something like, “I’d enjoy working in an environment where I’m constantly learning something new and improving.”

Do: Talk About Any Relevant Online / Tech Experience
If you’re applying for a job in the tech industry, talk about any and all tech experience you have. Even if the job you’re applying for doesn’t require HTML experience, letting your interviewer know that you’ve got that experience shows that you’re well rounded and will be able to communicate effectively in that subject area if you need to (which can be helpful for interdepartmental work within a company). If you’ve got a professional website or blog for yourself, don’t be afraid to share it!

Don’t: Talk About Your Tumblr
Unless you’ve got a blog or website suitable for the eyes of an employer, refrain from specifics when talking about any blogging, HTML experience, or other relevant experience. Most people who know what Tumblr is know that it is rarely used in a professional capacity, and the last thing you want to do in an interview is to get your employer imagining your possibly-emotional, probably-personal presence. You can still talk about how having a Tumblr or any other non-professional online experience plays into your abilities, but approach it carefully. Instead of “I use Tumblr a lot, so I get HTML,” say something like “Through a few blogging platforms, I’ve had some experience with basic HTML.”

Do: Talk About Your Interests Outside Of Work
Usually, mentioning that you’ve balanced side projects in life while still working or going to school full time is an indication to future employers that you’re capable of balancing multiple tasks and prioritizing what needs to be done. It also helps to show you’re well-rounded and provides something unique that could make you stand out in the interviewer’s memory. If an employer is trying to weed out top candidates from a recent round of interviews, the good interviewee who played guitar in some band might stand out more than just the good interviewee.

Don’t: Talk About Starting Your Own Business, Going Back To School, Or Trying To Become An Actor
Unless you’re applying for a temporary position, most companies are looking for someone who’s in it for the long haul and wants to grow with the company. If you’re indicating to your interviewer that your main interests don’t align with being dedicated to your job, they might not consider you to be an ideal candidate for the position.

Do: Elaborate And Give Examples
Even when given a general question, never give a general answer. Often, employers ask something about discussing a time when you exhibited a certain characteristic. For example, an employer might ask, “Can you tell us about a time when you had to deliver great customer service?” If you’ve had any service industry experience (which so many of us have), your initial thought is probably, “ALL. THE. TIME.” While it’s great that you’ve got a lot of experience with this, you want to give clear examples that exhibit it. So saying something more explicit gives the employer a clearer picture of what you define as “good customer service.”

Don’t: EVER Give A Yes Or No Answer
Along the lines of the suggestion above, even when you’re asked a “yes or no” or “either/or” question, make sure to explain the reasoning behind your answer and never ride the fence. The most common example of this that I see is when candidates are asked if they prefer working individually or on a team, as people often respond that they’re comfortable doing both. While this is seemingly an admirable trait, realistically everyone has a preference, and neither answer is wrong. If an employer chooses to hire you, they’ll want to know if you’re predisposed to work in the type of environment that their company has and be ready to work with you on it if you aren’t.

Do: Prepare Your Online Presence Accordingly
According to a June 2014 study by CareerBuilder, 43 percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, and 51 percent of employers researching candidates online found content that caused them to not hire the candidate. Even at a laid-back, young office like ours, a profile picture of you doing a shirtless keg stand is probably not going to get you invited to an interview. One safe move you should probably make is to switch your Facebook profile features to private when applying for jobs.

You should also have a well-built-out LinkedIn profile with references. Though most employers will do reference checks as you move along in the later stages of the hiring process, having good, easy-to-access references from the get-go could improve your chances of moving forward.

Don’t: Delete Your Entire Online Presence
Having profiles online, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or your own site, puts you in control of what future employers see when they look for you. Also, if you’re trying to remove incriminating photos of yourself, deleting your profiles will only delete pictures you posted (not ones your friends posted of you). So you’re better off changing your privacy settings and managing your online presence. There are also sites like SimpleWash that connect to your Facebook and Twitter accounts in order to help you identify possibly inappropriate statuses, likes, and pictures.

Another reason why you should be keeping your social profiles around is that, in the tech industry in particular, employers are typically looking for people with a proclivity for all things techy, and having an online presence is another opportunity to exhibit that inclination.

Use these tips, and good luck in your job searching! Feel free to share your interview experiences below. We’re often looking to fill positions here at Search Influence, so if you’re interested in working with a hard-working, fun bunch, check out our various tech industry job postings.

March 24, 2015