Last night I was searching for a used car on Craigslist. When I was done, I decided to see what type of SEO jobs were being advertised. As usual it was a depressing collection, but one help wanted ad in particular caught my attention.
…a web professional to handle our new website and other tasks. The individual we hire will be in charge of all things web related including, managing the CMS, inventory, data entry into shopping cart, social media campaigns, web marketing, SEO, and more. Experience is necessary but we do not want an over qualified candidate. Starting salary will be somewhere in the $30,000 range with opportunity for frequent raises and bonus potential. Again, candidate must be proficient and experienced in shopping carts, SEO, CMS systems and social media and have the ambition and desire to be a part of a fast growing company
So what depressed me most about the ad was the idea that they wanted to hire a single, very inexpensive person to handle 3 very important jobs. Here’s my take…
First off they ask for a web professional, yet make no effort to offer a salary that a true web professional would consider working for.
They then explain that the person will be in charge of all things web related, yet I doubt they’ll be “in charge” of anything. I would imagine if they wanted to start changing copy and colors they would have to get it ok’d from someone else.
I’m not sure what data entry into shopping cart means, but I would guess that means they’ll be hand entering products into the CMS. Who hand enters data anymore? Certainly not web professionals. Have they checked into the Mechanical Turk?
They are also looking for someone to handle their social media campaigns. People right out of college taking a position as ONLY a social media strategist make over $30,ooo/year. Yet this would be just one of their jobs.
They would also be expected to run down web marketing and SEO as well. Again, just hiring a full-time search marketing person would run you much more than $30,000/year.
Then comes the part where I cried a little, “Experience is necessary but we do not want an over qualified candidate.” My first thought was, “who could possible be over qualified for a position where it normally takes 3 or 4 people?”, my second thought was, “why wouldn’t you want that over qualified person?”
My advice for this company would be to focus. I wouldn’t hire an accountant and also expect them to fix the leaky roof. Do they want a web developer, a marketer or a search engineer? If they want one person to do all three, they need to increase the salary offer by about 300%.
If all you can afford is $30,000. Don’t try to hire just one person, because you’ll be disappointed that they’re unable to do 3 jobs.
Spread out the money and buy expertise in the short run so that next year you can hire the right team.
Spend 1/3 of it on a kick-ass SEO audit from a respected search engine genius like SixTurnSeven. The reason I suggest this one first is that the finding can influence the next two.
Spend another 1/3 of it hiring a social media/pr ninja like Gwynne Murphy before she gets snapped up as a full-timer by Bandwidth. Gwynne is a workhorse, and gets passionately involved in her projects. That’s the kind of passion you don’t get when you stretch someone too thin.
Use the last 1/3 to hire a web development contractor to work with you to add value to your current CMS. Try reaching out to Ara Yapejian, one of the smartest developers in the Triangle. One of the best parts of working with Ara is he’s happy to point out the problem roads you’ve already started down so that you can turn back and get to profitablity faster.
That’s my advice for this company. They really don’t need a full-time person, what they need is some problems solved.
Photo by: Darwin Bell
@Phil: Great “I wouldn’t hire an accountant and also expect them to fix the leaky roof” analogy.
I used to be surprised when people didn’t want to invest in getting up-front advice before starting a huge project they knew nothing about. Hiring an expert for even a few hours can save tens of thousands of dollars later (and they can help business owners triage your problems, so the company doesn’t try to tackle everything poorly at once).
@karl – agreed. I think there are small businesses who sort of understand that search and social are important, but have no idea how to actually take that feeling and make something happen. So they run an ad like the one I saw.
It’s kind of like doing web development back in the old days, when people would get their nephew to make them a 1 page site – because they had that same feeling that the web was important.
Speak truth to power, Phil. “Everybody’s doing it” gets confused with “anybody can do it”. Businesses need to value people’s time, knowledge and experience and stop thinking that the poor economy is a way to hire experienced people at rip-off wages. Did you send your bog post to the company that posted?
@Janet – I actually sent them an email last night that was kind of a condensed version of this, but more helpful and less snarky.
I really hope they respond, because I would like to help them find a better way.
I agree, it’s a shame how many people out there look for a”Jack of all trades” and expects them to be a “Master of all” as well, while offering next to nothing for compensation( comparatively speaking that is ). If a company is lucky enough to snag a person like that it certainly wouldn’t be for around the price offered in that ad. The thing they need to realize is they may not need a full-time hire for all the work. Why not hire someone to ‘teach them how to fish’ for the simpler things( such as the shopping cart data entry ) or better yet, hire someone to automate what can be automated and contract out the rest.
I think people will catch on eventually, it’s just slow going…especially on CraigsList.
@Ara – I’m not as confident as you. I don’t think most will eventually catch on. I do believe the smart ones have already caught on and you have to make sure that you’re aligned with them.
Phil good post. I think the real challenge is how much can you expect one person to know and master? I’ve been in marketing communications for the past 20 years and there has been more change in that time than the prior 80 years in terms of new channels being created, technology shifting in-house and the breadth of marketing expertise we expect marketing professionals to understand. I agree with you in that it is 3 jobs trying to be mashed into one. Even better can I find a recent college grad that would have all the skills and accept a lower paying job than say IBM or Quintiles?
@Brian – I agree that marketing is going through a tremendous upheaval right now, like many old-school professions, and only the strongest will survive. In this new marketplace, the winner will be the person who can make themselves a connector and bring the best out of everyone. Why do data entry when there are people willing to do it for pennies an hour. Better to be the person that knows how to bring together the cheap labor with the great ideas.
Phil,
Americans are notoriously fat, stupid, and lazy. Compared to the rest of the world, we are overpaid, and we do less. As the economy re-orients itself, these will be the types of jobs that people will find available and eventually end up doing. The days of working few hours, making lots of money, and being inefficient and lazy are going to come to and end. Years and years of people living above their means, now means that people are going to have to get used to working for below their means… You may not like it or agree with it, but that is the way things are trending. If it comes down to either having a job and having to do the work of 4 people, or being unemployed and wishing you had a job, I think most people are going to do what it takes…
You are singing my song, Phil! As a person who has been on the job hunt for over a year, who consistently gets fed up with “we need a jane of all trades” job descriptions, or even worse, those LONG ridiculous online applications for nearly every single position that’s hiring, I could not agree more with your blog post. These are the types of companies that need those “problems” solved more so than a quick hire at $30K a year who can do everything. Just once would I like to see a company or organization show evidence of serious research and reflection before posting such job descriptions. Perhaps, they would end up not posting it (as we currently read it) in favor of a more targeted version…OR perhaps I’m just wishing away!
Anyway, thanks for singing my song. I appreciate the back up! 🙂
Phil,
My other favorite part of job descriptions these days are wanting Superman (or woman) but with only 3-5 years of experience! Yeah right, good luck. In years 1-3 most people are just getting their feet wet and learning the tricks of their trade, much less being a strategic planner!
@Phil: Did the jewelry company ever respond to your feedback about their faulty ad?
Adam Vincenzini in London has a great article about the challenge of finding someone with a broad skillset (in social media, in particular): http://thecommscorner.blogspot.com/2010/05/most-important-person-in-social-media.html
@Karl – No response
Define Web Professional even. 🙂
You are right on the money! There seem to be all too many companies right now insisting that one person manage and be an expert in multiple disparate areas. Or downsizing can turn the job you signed up for into a one-man-band department. Unfortunately it may not get better until the economy improves enough for companies to really invest in the long term.
@Mandy – I’m not even so opposed to a one-man-band, but you have to offer a real salary for that person.