Navigating the Challenges of Modern SEO Assessments: A Cautionary Reflection
In today’s competitive digital landscape, landing an SEO role often involves rigorous evaluation processes. Recently, I encountered a particularly unexpected experience during a remote interview for an SEO position—an exercise that highlights the evolving and sometimes perplexing nature of technical assessments.
During the interview, I was asked to share my screen and complete a quiz designed to evaluate my SEO knowledge. What struck me was the approach: rather than discussing strategies like site crawling, indexing issues, canonicalization, or migration plans, I was faced with a series of trivia-style questions. One example that stood out was, “What was Google originally called before Larry Page and Sergey Brin changed its name?”
This question seemed out of place in a technical assessment, especially considering the depth of expertise the role demanded. It felt reminiscent of a pub quiz rather than a technical evaluation—raising questions about the relevance and fairness of such testing methods.
What’s particularly ironic is that I’ve successfully managed complex projects—cleaned up thousands of backlinks, overseen Javascript replatforms, and optimized site architecture—yet here I was, being tested on a historical fact from 1998. Shouldn’t the focus be on practical skills like troubleshooting indexing issues, optimizing crawl budgets, or implementing schema markup?
This experience underscores a broader debate within the SEO community about assessment practices. While verifying foundational knowledge is important, evaluations that rely heavily on trivia can overlook a candidate’s real-world abilities. For example, recent trends suggest that effective assessment methods should prioritize problem-solving scenarios, case studies, or practical exercises over rote memorization.
In conclusion, as remote work and digital recruitment continue to evolve, both candidates and employers should aim for assessment strategies that truly reflect the skills needed to succeed. For aspiring SEOs, it’s helpful to prepare for a range of evaluation formats—from technical challenges to strategic discussions—and to advocate for assessment methods that value practical expertise over trivial knowledge.
Keywords: SEO assessment, technical SEO interview, remote SEO roles, SEO evaluation methods, practical SEO skills, SEO interview tips