How I Landed My 1st Corporate Office Job (As An SEO Specialist)

It was the Summer of 2011. I was fresh out of college, Rutgers University Business School to be exact.

I was so nervous.

Here I was, this kid desperately wanting an office job, any job, to make my parents proud but also to begin providing some real money to my parents for our mortgage on our house.

So, how did I land my job?

Here are the steps:

1. Bought an old online marketing course called “Google Sniper” by George Montagu Brown.
2. Use the tactics in Google Sniper to build affiliate product review websites while still in college.
3. I earned $300 per month from 3 different affiliate sites on Clickbank.com
4. Turned those websites into a detailed portfolio.
   • Overview: what niche was the site in? World of Warcraft Zigi Review Guide.
   • Objective: what was the goal of the site?
   • Result: #1 ranking on page 1 of Google.
   • Sales: $300 per month from writing product reviews.
5. I reached out to job placement agencies
   • Tek Systems
   • Creative Agency
   • Aerotek
6. Watched “Job Search Minute” videos coaching me on how to land my first corporate office job.
   • Be confident.
   • Give specific examples of how I would solve specific problems.
   • Ask the interviewer questions if I have any questions.

Pre-Interview:

1. Printed out 3 copies of my SEO portfolio and Resume.
2. Wore my best suit.
3. Got a sharp, professional haircut.
4. Got to the interview 30 minutes early.
5. Visualized myself having a great interview

Mindset:

1. Faith. Believe in yourself and that you truly can contribute to their company.
2. Serve. Come from a place of how you can best serve the company you are interviewing for.
3. Think outside the box. What new, exciting, or revenue generating activity can you provide to instantly help their bottom line.
4. Detach. Have a care-free attitude. Yes you want the job but you know the value you possess. And thus, you are the prize. Essentially, they need you more than you need them. They are lucky to have you and in fact, NEED you. And if you don’t get the job, so what, there are plenty of other jobs and even better jobs out there for you. Their loss.
5. Numbers game. Law of averages. Like it or not, you’re in sales. The product is you. You are selling yourself. And who knows yourself better than you? Right, no one. So ease up, relax and ‘sell the sh*t outta yourself’ and let the world know why you are the BEST CANDIDATE for the position.
6. Fun. Weird as it sounds, have some fun while going on interviews. I mean think about it, you get some free coffee, water and you’re literally out there hunting to see who can offer you the best salary for your gifts.
7. Lastly, “if it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.” You possess the power and control in terms of how you prepare, your mindset, your confidence, your speech, your specificity, your desire, your hunger and your showmanship. Apart from that, leave the rest up to God.

The Interview:

1. Smiled, walked confidently.
2. Firm handshake while looking interviewer in the eye.
3. Stayed calm.
4. Spoke confidently, slowly.
5. Gave specific examples to interview questions
   • Your interviewer may ask you, “So please describe for me how you would solve THIS issue?”
   • To which you reply with, “Sure, I would solve this exact issue, for example, by doing step 1, step 2, step 3. In fact, I encountered this exact problem and solved it by doing the exact steps mentioned earlier.
   • The interview wants to see how you think and the logic you would use to solve problems.
   • The more detailed the better as this displays you have actually solved the problem in the past and will be able to do so if you were to work for them.
6. Asked great questions to demonstrate my enthusiasm and curiosity about the company I was interviewing to work for.
   • You can ask “so, if or when I do work with you and your team, what would be expected of me to crush it and do an amazing job?”
   • What are some problems you guys are currently experiencing pertaining to my role?
   • What are some exciting projects you and your team are working on at the moment?
7. Express gratitude:
   • “Mr. or Ms., I wanted to thank you for taking the time of your day to interview me and to even consider me for this position. I am very excited about the possibility of working here and I look forward to hearing from you.”
8. Firm handshake, once again, looking interviewer in the eye.

Post Interview

1. Write a short yet genuine email to express my gratitude for the interviewer taking their time consider me for the position.
2. Chat with your recruiter on how you did, what you could have done better, and specifically ask you recruiter what the best candidates have done to land jobs int he past.

Next steps:

1. While waiting, interview for more positions.
2. Go on more interviews and apply exactly what you learned from your previous interview performance and the advice received from your recruiter.

If you rocked the interview, they wont want to miss the opportunity to snatch you up so you may get a quick email or call back stating,

“Congratulations [human]! We would like to extend an offer to join our company and be a part of this amazing team! blah, blah, blah”.

Congrats, you got the job!

Now…

To succeed on the job check out my next post.

You. Got. This.

God speed.

Sonam