7 replies to this topic

[fromtherooftops]

I see a lot of jobs in my geographic area for SEO and general web marketing, that also require programming, network admin, SQL - basically things in the IT world. Is this uncommon? Is it fair? Is it desperate companies?

To me, it's like asking for a farmer, a cook, a dishwasher, and a waiter all in one. I don't know database admin, I don't know how to code PHP, I also don't know some of the other languages they ask for. And even if I did, how effective at marketing could I be if I was an IT person as well? How much should a job like this offer?

I hope there's still such a thing as SEO being your main line of work!

[chrishirst]

To me, it's like asking for a farmer, a cook, a dishwasher, and a waiter all in one

You're absolutely right.

Not desperate, just penny-pinching and stupid

The real problem is of course that the potential employer has absolutely no idea what they really need, and will just as likely end up with some numptie chancer who has read a couple of O'Reilly books and "XXX for Dummies", and now knows just enough to be dangerous.

[Jill]

That's funny. As an employer looking to hire someone, I get resumes all the time with all those techie skills that I'm not interested in!

[robchuah]

I think that's typical hiring manager style .. just look for a perfect person that can do everything !

[identity]

I think it represents the "trying to find the perfect candidate" combined with not really understanding what they are asking for.

It is one thing to find a programmer who knows multiple programming languages... once they have the logic down, then it is a matter of learning and keeping the syntaxes and fine points separated, though even they are probably much more proficient in one or two languages.

But start crossing fairly technical or knowledge intensive fields and somethings got to give, or they are running a big risk of getting a good BSer or "just enough to be dangerous," especially when these type of requests never seem to carry a reasonable salary for someone with this kind of experience and knowledge.

Kind of like people shopping for electronics looking for features that they really have no idea what they are or whether they need them, but figure that more most be better.

[Randy]

Tis the nature of the beast I'm afraid.

Most HR folks (as in Human Resources) have no clue what requirements are actually needed for jobs they're tasked to find people to fill, so they list everything under the sun that might be necessary given their limited knowledge, then see what shows up.

I remember once when a Uni was hiring a lead web designer and listed every programming language under the sun as part of the requirements. php, asp, cfm, etc, etc, etc. Heck, the even listed C++ if memory serves correctly!

Come to find out, none of the Uni servers supported any of them because IT thought they were too "risky".

[Nueromancer]

I see a lot of jobs in my geographic area for SEO and general web marketing, that also require programming, network admin, SQL - basically things in the IT world. Is this uncommon? Is it fair? Is it desperate companies?

To me, it's like asking for a farmer, a cook, a dishwasher, and a waiter all in one. I don't know database admin, I don't know how to code PHP, I also don't know some of the other languages they ask for. And even if I did, how effective at marketing could I be if I was an IT person as well? How much should a job like this offer?

I hope there's still such a thing as SEO being your main line of work!

Well a SEO that comes from a developer background rather than one that works just at a copy level you will need to understand programming and SQL as thats what builds most site's - and you have to dig in in the "interesting" sites your clients come up with :-) or "Bag of e" as i sometimes think .

Ok you dont need to be able do debate the finer points of Date and Codd but knowing why selects with 6 select * as the FROM clause is a bad idea is a help and why you should not hard code domins in a site's code!!!!!!! or the database.

Oh I also do the networking for our company - though for SEO being able to subnet ip addresses in ones head is not a core Skill.

[torka]

I interviewed about six months ago with a company that wanted somebody to come up with recommendations to improve their site, work with their graphic person to create a new visual design, code all the pages, write/rewrite all the necessary copy and technical data/product specs, optimize the whole mess for the search engines, maintain the site going forward, take over management of their PPC campaigns and other online advertising initiatives... oh, yeah, and provide network server admin and hardware/software support services for all the PCs in-house.

So basically, they wanted a webmaster, an SEO, a copywriter, a technical writer, an online advertising manager, and a Technical Support guru, all rolled up into one.

And they didn't want to pay even as much as the low end of the market for the webmaster part of it, much less all the other stuff. (I didn't realize they were going to lowball the pay that much, nor the full scope of their expectations for this person, when I agreed to the interview -- or I never would have wasted my time or theirs.)

Interestingly enough, thanks to my Short Attention Span Employment History, I had actually in the past been successful with jobs that encompassed all their requirements. I could have actually done all the stuff they wanted...

... but not at the pittance they were going to pay. A shame, because the company owner and general manager and I all seemed to get along great from a personal standpoint. When I tried to negotiate them up to somewhere within shouting distance of the going rate for at least the major part of what they were looking for, and asked for a delay in the start date so I could qualify for a year-end bonus with my current employer, they balked. Said that due to my request for a delayed start date, they were going to take the opportunity to continue interviewing. Last I heard, they'd decided to go with another candidate, presumably someone with less of an idea of what fair compensation is for these kinds of services.

I just checked this morning -- their website hasn't changed one iota since I interviewed with them six months ago, and when you Google for their company name and location, the first (and only) thing that comes up from their site is a lone PDF file...

Guess you really do get what you pay for...

--Torka