http://www.jobster.com/at/person/show/376127?hbxcmp=feed&hbxsrc=rss_user_answers http://www.jobster.com/at/assets/images/jobster/logos/rss_logo.gif http://www.jobster.com/at/person/show/376127?hbxcmp=feed&hbxsrc=rss_user_answers Sun, 01 Apr 2007 18:11:58 GMT Most recently updated answers by Stephen Cheng http://www.jobster.com/at/answer/view/124233?answer_class=AnswerBase I am an online marketing manager at Alibris. I handle our in-house search-related traffic acquisition programs: search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), and shopping comparison datafeeds for a site whose product inventory is in the millions (Alibris sells new & used books, rare & out-of print books through a network of independent booksellers). I'm also the primary lead for web analytics and conversion testing. If this seems like a lot of work, it is. But that's life at a small to mid-size company. :-) Sun, 01 Apr 2007 18:11:58 GMT http://www.jobster.com/at/answer/view/124233?answer_class=AnswerBase http://www.jobster.com/at/answer/view/93636?answer_class=AnswerBase 1) I love books. And we have over 70M new and used books, rare and out-of-print books, etc. Trying to figure out a search engine marketing or conversion strategy for this kind of inventory level is a bit like getting paid to wander through all of imagination and knowledge. 2) Friendly, smart co-workers. They're nice enough that you want them to do well; they're smart enough to force you to improve yourself. They just ask for an honest effort. It's the best sort of peer pressure you could have. 3) We're undermanned and out-gunned...everything is going according to plan. Sorry, we don't have bazillions in venture funding. Books aren't Web 5.8 Service Pack 2. So, you're forced to wear a lot of hats and make up a few of your own. If you don't like to get your hands dirty, this isn't the place for you. Without #2, this would be a grind. With #2, it merely becomes "challenging." Or maybe I'm just a sucker for the underdog. It's not perfect, but if you like to read and learn, you could do far worse. Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:26:33 GMT http://www.jobster.com/at/answer/view/93636?answer_class=AnswerBase http://www.jobster.com/at/answer/view/199179?answer_class=AnswerBase 1) Research the company before your interview. With the Internet, there's really no excuse for not knowing about your target company. How much time you spend on this depends on how badly you want the job. 2) Research your position before your interview. This is particularly important for first time job seekers because they usually don't have the experience or network to know much about the position and what it entails. Again, with the Internet, there's no shortage of content out there. Even if you don't have the practical experience, just showing that you understand the bigger concepts of the role and that you were willing to learn it on your own will be a definite plus. 3) How are *you* going to provide value to the company? If you understand the company's needs and understand the position's needs, then you should be able to follow it up with an action plan of what you would do in the role. Don't say you're smart and creative; prove it by laying out specific actions you would take. It doesn't matter so much if your actions are the "best", but it does show that you're willing to research a problem and how you think. Sat, 12 May 2007 21:45:09 GMT http://www.jobster.com/at/answer/view/199179?answer_class=AnswerBase http://www.jobster.com/at/answer/view/194886?answer_class=AnswerBase I'm more interested in finding a type of company rather than any one particular company. Unfortunately, I consider myself lucky if I can find just a few of these traits in an organization, but c'est la vie. 1) A company that places users first Figure out what drives value for your users and map your business processes around it. So easy to say. Alas, it seems more common to do it the other way around and squeeze users into whatever narrow framework that defines your business. 2) People you can trust to do the best they can as individuals They can be smart, independent, creative, organized, feelers, methodical, etc. They don't have to be all of these things; they can just be some of them. Whatever gets the job done. In fact, some diversity here is desired because I also want... 3) People you can trust to do they best they can as a team Teamwork doesn't mean we all think the same or that we all follow orders blindly. We teach, and we learn. We challenge with peer review and honesty; leave the rank and ego at the door. When we pick a direction, I trust you to cover my weaknesses with your strengths and vice-versa. 4) Digital, scalable business models I always thought the coolest super hero was Green Lantern. He could create whatever he wanted; the only bottleneck was willpower and imagination. That's the beauty of a digital business model. You can create something that's used by 10 users one day and then 1,000,000 users the next...primarily through force of will and imagination. 5) Shaking up the status quo It's fun to make the established players quake in their boots, to be a game changer. Not being encumbered by organizational or industry hang-ups just because they've always been around. But don't give me change or novelty for its own sake. Give me something that makes the struggle interesting and fun, win or lose. Sun, 22 Apr 2007 10:00:35 GMT http://www.jobster.com/at/answer/view/194886?answer_class=AnswerBase