My First Month at QueryClick
I’ve just finished my first month at QueryClick as a Technical Search Analyst and it’s been fantastic. The work has been engaging, enjoyable and satisfying. When I applied for the job of a Technical Search Analyst I really didn’t know what to expect as “analyst” type jobs have previously always sounded a little inscrutable; what am I analysing? How am I analysing? Is this kind of work gratifying? For me it’s certainly rewarding work, questioning things always and keeping your brain active and working throughout the day.
Application Process
Getting here was fairly daunting. After finishing all my university work, I immediately began job hunting in order to snap up a great job before any other graduates. Shortly after I handed in my CV, QueryClick reached out to me. Interview round 1 with Glorious Leader Chris grabbed my attention instantly, with the interesting role and chance to get myself more familiar with web technologies. I was offered round 2 with the task of carrying out my first Technical SEO audit. Conducting a technical SEO audit with no previous experience was incredibly challenging, with so much material to research and then apply correctly. The information out there is overwhelming. Key advice when looking at SEO is to read QueryClick’s SEO 101 to understand the fundamentals of the subject. Round 2 went round down relatively well, with Chris and line manager Haitham. Despite some brutal questioning to understand my knowledge and gauge my reactions ,I made it out ok, if a little bit drained. A week later I successfully got the job and started work on June 30th.
First Month
The first month has been an incredibly steep learning curve, having to absorb vast quantities of information daily: learning company best practices, tools to use, everyone’s names, how and why everything is done. Making sense of it all is still an ongoing battle, but I find the work very gratifying, and it's spurring me on to learn more.
What I love
The two things I relish the most about the job are the people and the technology. Everyone at QueryClick is great fun to hang out with. Everyone has a passion for technology, the web and they're generally just nice folks. They’re a great bunch of people willing to help with any problem and are meticulous in detail. The software tools used all have their uses and interesting quirks which I find very fun to tinker with to analyse sites. One program I’m delighted to be using so much is Microsoft Excel. My Dad always claimed that Excel, and previously IBM’s Lotus 1-2-3, are the key reasons for his success as a sales manager. So naturally, I've always looked down on Excel and spreadsheet software for managing finances and sales data. Now that I’ve been using it more for a vast range of SEO site issues, it’s become an invaluable tool that I couldn’t work without.
Other than Excel, I’ve been getting my hands dirty with Linux in the Debian variety, running off some Raspberry Pis. I admit that I was lazy in the last few years at university, as I had been using the Windows labs far more often than the Linux ones. Using the command line again has rekindled my love of Linux.
Future Plans
With the first month over, what's next on the cards? Choosing where to go next with my training with my line manager, bettering my skills, and of course, having some fun. I plan to make a small Linux home server to mess around with to familiarise myself more with web server features, the command line and applying SEO best practices to a website.
