I get emailed all the time by people asking for an SEO job in Dubai.
I’m not special though – this is purely a case of basic search and filtering on LinkedIn, then spamming everyone who shows up in results.
These people usually send out blanket emails hoping someone will give them a job.
I don’t know if people even get anywhere with this approach but I certainly wouldn’t hire someone based on this.
This isn’t because I’m not in a hiring capacity.
It’s because these approaches are impersonal, unprofessional and akin to nailing jelly to a wall.
Most people who spam me with job requests share a few things in common:
– spelling mistakes galore
– keyword stuffing
– lack of any demonstrable experience
Firstly, there’s no excuse for spelling mistakes, especially when it comes to applying for a job – SEO or otherwise.
There are plenty of ways to get your content proofread and corrected.
If you’re not willing to pay for that and can’t take care with what you write, you’re not sending the right message to a prospective employer.
You look like a rookie with a poorly drafted CV, LinkedIn profile and website. Don’t make this mistake.
Secondly, anyone can copy and paste SEO jargon and stuff CVs with keywords.
If you even know a smidgen of SEO, you’d know that keyword stuffing is bad, whether on a web page or in your CV.
Instead, show people what you know and what you’ve done. And who you’ve done it for.
Which leads me to my next point: Experience.
Frankly speaking, you can still get a good SEO job in Dubai (or anywhere) by simply working on your own website.
It doesn’t have to be a personal website which serves as a glorified CV.
Have a hobby or passion? Turn it into a website.
SEO has such a low barrier to entry, anyone can do it.
You can use what you learn to improve your own site.
This is especially important when you’re struggling to find work in a business setting.
And for the love all things holy, if you apply for a job in SEO (or in digital marketing) and don’t have a personal website, GO SET ONE UP.
I cannot stress this enough.
HR folks will be Googling your name.
What do you want to appear in Google for your name?
If your own site doesn’t come up, it’ll probably be your social media profiles. But you should aim to get your own site ranking.
It should not be hard.
If it is, then you need to work on your SEO.
Anyway I digress.
People think they need commercial experience in order to get an SEO job.
You don’t.
Not entirely.
You just need to DEMONSTRATE that you not just understand SEO techniques, but can apply them, with results.
I once worked with someone who had no commercial SEO experience at all. He had never worked client side or agency side.
He just ran a bunch of websites where he did reviews of products and he researched SEO tactics in order to grow his sites.
In his situation, he needed SEO in order to make more from affiliate commissions.
In fact, apart from banner ads, he relied on affiliate commissions to pay his bills. SEO was/is the quickest, easiest way to do this.
He admitted to using blackhat techniques and getting penalised.
But he also learnt how to recover from these penalties.
And that’s how he got an SEO job with us.
He showed us what he knew in a real world setting, without ever working in a previous SEO role.
If you can’t show your next boss this, how will you ever get a job?
Now if you’re going to spam me or anyone else for an SEO job in Dubai, at least do your research and make an effort.
You need to stand out from the rest. Not just with your profile, but with your message.
With such a low barrier to entry, the SEO industry is chock full of inexperienced individuals who are unremarkable.
Don’t be that person.
Take the time to learn the craft.
Get your spelling corrected.
Work on your own sites.
Show future employers why they absolutely have to have you on their team.
Otherwise, you’ll look like every other person trying to get an SEO job.
And believe me, there’s plenty of people doing the exact same thing.
Oh and one more thing: do not lie about your language abilities.
You may not need to be bilingual or Arabic speaking to land an SEO job in Dubai, but if a job asks for these skills and you can’t demonstrate it, you’re committing career suicide.
