One Year at ROAR Digital Marketing – Joshua Lee

It feels a bit surreal writing this post as I don’t feel like I’ve been here very long, let alone a full year!

My journey to starting at ROAR began three years into my Digital Marketing career. I was looking for something new, and as fate would have it, ROAR was hiring. Prior to the interview, just a quick swoop through the ROAR site made it clear to me that this was a unique opportunity and one that I couldn’t pass on.

Out of all the companies I interviewed with at the time, none were comparable to ROAR. Michael Knowles, our MD, first and foremost, seemed interested in me as a person.

During the first five minutes of the second stage interview, I could tell ROAR was a cut above the rest, a true specialist in SEO and PPC with its finger on the pulse and breadth of knowledge agencies in our region were and are still lacking.

It was also clear to me that ROAR was a genuine company, somewhere that actually gave a shit about the person they were employing with very rare and admirable values and culture.

When I was asked to step out of the room towards the end of the second stage interview, I was a bit worried, to be honest.  My worry changed to amazement and shock when I was offered the job on the spot! That was a year ago this month, and it’s been one hell of a rollercoaster since.

I started my career at ROAR as a Digital Marketing Executive, but I’m very proud to say that  I am now a Senior SEO Executive. Due in large part to the skills, knowledge and experience I gained in just the first six months.

Coming from an in-house marketing role to an agency was a huge step, but ROAR had the necessary systems, techniques and knowledge in place to prepare me sufficiently. When you work for somewhere like ROAR, taking on new responsibilities and stepping up feels easier, due largely to the environment, support and culture.

I’ve developed not only my technical ability, critical thinking, problem-solving and confidence in my professional life, but it has also poured over positively into my personal life. All in all, I’m a more competent worker, an experienced team member and a happier person.

As a Digital Marketing Executive, I have worn a few hats in the past, but as a Senior, my day-to-day revolves around my specialism in search engine optimisation. Most of my time is spent managing our SEO clients with technical and manual actions and in-depth auditing and research to help keep our clients on top of SERPs and their competition.

I also help our clients with their analytics and tracking, write content for ROAR and contribute to the onboarding and management of our DIY SEO Platform. When I’ve got the time, there’s always an opportunity to start or continue a training course to further my development, knowledge and skills for our clients and ROAR.

My favourite thing about working at ROAR is the people; we have a great team of eager marketers, and watching them grow and develop has been and continues to be a privilege. The knowledge they have now compared to when they started is incomparable, much like myself before ROAR.

On top of that, they’re a bunch of legends in their own right. Whether talking all things TV, films, and travel with Csaba, trying not to sound so out of touch with Georgia, giving expert bus travel advice to Cora, or expert NFL tutelage from Michael is a treat.

If I had to describe ROAR Digital Marketing in one word, it would be ‘ambition’. Michael has some very ambitious plans for our future, and I feel incredibly privileged to be part of the team who will spearhead these plans. Here’s to many more years!