During this blog series, we talk to accomplished digital marketing professionals from a variety of backgrounds about their career journeys with the aim of inspiring job seekers, aspiring freelancers and the trailblazing entrepreneurs amongst you!
In this blog, we’re celebrating the career of Roxana Stingu!
Roxana is the Head of Search and SEO at Alamy and a popular industry speaker! Conferences that you may have seen her at include BrightonSEO, WTSFest and DMLA, and she often covers her favourite topics, page speed and image search. Roxana loves getting into the nitty-gritty of SEO and her favourite pastime is automating anything repetitive that she encounters at work, or in life.
Over to you, Roxana…
What did you want to be when you grew up?
It varied from year to year but I do remember going through doctor, lawyer and stewardess.
What was your very first job?
My very first job was as a link builder for TextLinkBrokers but my very first *official* job was as a junior SEO Specialist for Webfusion LTD.
How did you first discover digital marketing / your specific industry sector?
.I was in Romania at the time, in university. A friend said he was working with an American company and that he was looking for more people with very good written English, who know how to use the internet, to join him. I had a Cambridge Assessment of English certificate that was never put to good use so thought I’d give it a go.
Share a mistake you made or an event you regret from your career:
I tend not to regret anything as all mistakes turn out to be lessons and contribute to my growth. If I were to go back in time, I would do some things differently though. I’d build myself a website from day one, nothing makes you learn faster than being able to break your own website. I would maybe even consider jumping on the affiliate craze while it was still working wonders.
Jumping in a time machine, what advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
Stop worrying about the amount of information that is out there, no one is actually on top of everything, the speakers you admire are amazing at some things and disastrous at others, you will learn this from your own experience later on.
What industry skills do you wish you’d learned sooner and why?
I wish I jumped onto data science early on. I’ve been working on some AI projects and I wish I also had the coding skills to help me try out different things and not have a dependency on someone else.
Who are you inspired by in the digital marketing industry?
I’ll try to limit my answer to only the top 3 people that come to mind now:
– Areej AbuAli for changing the world of SEO forever. I truly believe we wouldn’t have had such community and collaboration if she didn’t start Women in Tech SEO and didn’t teach us all that we work better together.
– Chima Mmeje and Aleyda Solis for the amazing work they’ve been doing with The Freelance Coalition for Developing Countries (@TheFCDC) and the new generation of Tech SEOs that they’re shaping.
– Myriam Jessier who I have been getting to know a bit better lately and I believe is one of the most upbeat and helpful humans you can meet, besides being a brilliant SEO.
If you were to publish an autobiography in 20 years time, what would it be titled?
Automation: The story of a lazy girl who hated repetitive work
What’s the one thing you want to be remembered for from your career, and why?
That Regex is your friend and you shouldn’t fear it! I’m half-joking there. I’m not keen on people remembering me but I would be happy if more SEOs embrace the technical side and have great working relationships with their developers due to any of my presentations on the matter.
What subjects were you best at in school?
I used to really enjoy maths up until I got a teacher who just ruined it for me. Then I got good at skipping classes. Now I sit with all sorts of maths-related books, catching up on what I missed. I highly recommend “How not to be wrong – The power of mathematical thinking” by Jordan Ellenberg.
Thanks, Roxana! Keep an eye out for more of the MOAM series as I regularly publish new editions from other inspiring digital experts.
Could your career story inspire others to further their digital marketing careers? Or, do you know someone whose story needs to be told? Feel free to get in touch with us here. Alternatively, if you’re looking to explore your career options in digital marketing, visit our job board or upload your CV.
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