Interviewing Potential Link Builders

Yes, I realize that hiring link builders has been discussed quite a bit, but over the past couple of years I’ve gotten to interview a wide array of inviduals with varying degrees of experience in link building and SEO as a whole. And we all know how to interview link builders who have at least some experience.

But, what about those individuals who don’t have any experience but show promise? The ones that seem excited about link building (and therefore have their sanity questioned by some individuals) and have a lot of questions? What do you ask them?

Personally, I love interviewing people like this. Especially the ones who really want to learn about the industry as a whole and not just link building. The ones who are so excited you’re even talking to them, not because you’re some kind of celebrity, but because they really want to learn about SEO in general. It’s infectious if you want to know the truth. It reminds me why I love my job.

So, how do you know if this newbie will be great for your team or a drag? I ask 5 essential questions to gauge their thinking as it relates to link building as well as life in general to get a feel for where they are and if they’ll fit on my team.

Question #1: Do you prefer researching on your own or educating others?

I ask this question because it tells me whether or not this person prefers to be behind the scenes or on the phone with the client. I also dig in further to find out why they prefer what they prefer. Do they like to work uninterrupted? Then if they join the team, they should get clients that have meetings on the same day. That way, the rest of their week can be focused on tasks at hand. Do they say they like talking with clients but not educating others? Perhaps they need some definitions on what consulting entails. Educating is at least 60% of my job.

Question #2: Are you detail-oriented or big picture focused?

This question tells me whether or not someone actually knows themselves. The answer I hear most often? “I’m both.” When I ask for examples, inevitably, they list 1 big picture item and 2 – 3 detail items. Or, they can rapid fire 3 examples of big picture focus at me but struggle to find one detail item. No one is 50/50 when it comes to big picture vs. detail items. Plus, for link builders, the detail oriented people are going to be best for recording their activities, reporting, and project management while the big picture types will be good for strategy, brainstorming and education-focused items.

Question #3: What do you like to do in your spare time?

Here’s the thing. Whether we like to admit it or not, link building can be extremely stressful. Not only do we deal with mountains of data for link requests and analytics, but we also get faced with rejection and downright angry webmasters on a regular basis (how dare you ask me to change my Web site!). There are days you need to have a stress reliever. If everything this person says revolves around their computer, then I have one of two concerns. Either (a) you’re lying to try and impress me with all the blogging / affiliate marketing / community moderation you do or (b) you have no stress relieving tool in your life. When you’re a link builder, especially when you’re brand new, those rejections can hit you hard. And when you have no outlet, you can start to hate life.

Question #4: Why do you want to learn about link building?

The answer to this question are very telling. Things I watch out for include “I think it would be a great way to break into the SEO industry” (which means they really want to be an SEO strategist, so you’ll end up losing them within a year if they’re really good), “I know that SEO is a hot industry and I want to be a part of it” (this tells me they’re setting up affiliate marketing sites and want to boost their rankings mainly because they used the word “hot”) and “My last job was really stressful and I wanted a  job that was challenging but that wouldn’t make me pull my hair out” (this means they have no idea what they are getting into). Things I like to hear include “I’m looking for a new challenge,” “I did a lot of research on it and I’m totally fascinated by the industry” or “It sounds like something I’d be good at because I love research, repetitive work and doing things the right way.”

Granted, I hear that last answer… well… never, but that’s mainly because these people are new to the industry and have no idea what link building is actually all about. Be sure to ask this question after you have given the job description and you’ve explained what the job fully entails.

Question #5: What questions do you have for me?

I love this question because it tunes me into what’s running through their head after we’ve been chatting for a while. I love insightful responses and I’ve had some doozies. Here’s a list of the best and the worst answers I’ve gotten from people who were new to the industry:

The Worst

• What is your process for link building? (Um, process? You sure you’re new to the industry?)
• What do you think about me?
• Do you insist on being copied on link requests?
• I saw a course for $39.99 last night on how to build links. I bought it, so will I still need to take your training?

The Best

• Since I’m new, can you recommend some resources for me so I can learn even if I don’t get the opportunity to work with you?
• What do you like most about link building? What do you like least? (This one totally caught me off guard and I have to give props to Matt who asked me this one when I interviewed him)
• Can I expect a well distributed workload between repetitive work and in-depth analysis style work? (This tells me they were paying attention)

There are a lot more, but I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.