May 31 2017

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TopSpot Team Member Spotlight: Julia Karnezis

At TopSpot, our commitment to our clients starts with our team. We always strive to hire extraordinary people who will bring the passion, confidence, eagerness to learn and a positive attitude that is necessary to set us apart from other companies. That being said, we are pretty fond of our team members and rely on their knowledge, growth & passion to help us be an extension of your company. We highlight different TopSpotters each month so you can see why we believe we have the best team out there.

May Team Member Spotlight: Julia Karnezis, Education Manager


How long have you been working at TopSpot, and what do you do here?

This month, I celebrated my 6th year of being a TopSpotter. When I first started in 2011, I began as an SEO Specialist, then I took on a Sr. SEO role where I led much of SEO training as our team grew. And now, I’m the Education Manager, where I oversee much of the training initiatives for everyone at TopSpot.
 

What is your favorite part of your new role?

Moving into the role of Education Manager was a bit of a pivot from what I was doing before as part of our SEO department. My favorite part has been getting to work more closely with team members that I hadn’t before. Tapping into their knowledge so we can better grow and develop all our team members is a pretty cool job. In fact, in many ways it’s felt like starting a new job where I’ve had to learn to manage a different day-to-day and see things from a broader perspective.

“Six years later and I still feel challenged & am learning so many new things on a daily basis. I am really grateful to work in that sort of environment.”

Before working at TopSpot, what was the most interesting job you’ve ever had?Julia's Marble Slab Photo

When I was about 5 years old, I modeled for Marble Slab Ice Cream (see photo on the right). My modeling career was short-lived, but my love for ice cream lives on. More on that below. Before working at TopSpot, I interned for a global PR agency in Austin where I got to work on some very cool campaigns for well-known brands. I helped land a Food Network feature on the show Unwrapped for one of our accounts and got to attend the filming. Seeing how a Food Network show was filmed was a pretty cool experience.

 

 

What has been your proudest moment working at TopSpot?

Last year, we were selected as a finalist for SEO Agency of the Year at the Landy’s Awards (Search Engine Land Awards). We didn’t end up winning, but finding out we were a finalist was one of the proudest moments I’ve had working here. And not just because the Director of Marketing and I worked really hard on the submission, but because I was proud to see how much the team has grown and achieved since I first started.  When I started in 2011, we had around 5 SEOs and now we have a team of nearly 20. It’s amazing to look back at the progression of the SEO department and TopSpot as a whole since then.

What are some of your hobbies? What do you enjoy doing on your days off?

One of my favorite things to do with my days off is to travel. I’m like a broken record when it comes to raving about TopSpot’s vacation policy. It has allowed me to do a handful of domestic vacations like Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, D.C. and a handful of international trips including England, Norway, Greece (twice!) and Japan.

Julia's husband and dog
Julia’s husband, Pavlos, and dog, Penni

When I’m not using days off for travel, I’m usually relaxing with my husband and my dog, Penni shown above). There are also days off when I still think about my coworkers, and I’ll make homemade ice cream for them to taste test. I’m usually trying out interesting flavors that you can’t find at the grocery store, so I’ve brought in flavors like goat cheese, honey & fig, chocolate Guiness, matcha (green tea), grapefruit and mint and most recently, mango chile.

What drew you to work at TopSpot originally and how has the company changed since?

When I was applying, and interviewing with TopSpot, I was coming from a background of working at Public Relations and Advertising agencies where I spent most of my day writing. Even though my degree was in PR, I quickly learned that I wanted something different in the digital space. SEO seemed like a natural fit. TopSpot stood out as the company to work for based on its awards, culture and mission.

Since then, TopSpot has certainly evolved. When I started in 2011, we had maybe 40 people. We recently hit over 100 team members, which is a huge accomplishment. Because of our growth, we’ve had to move into a new office (which is awesome by the way). We’ve won more awards. And we’ve kept an awesome culture of people who work to get better every day and make a difference in our customer’s businesses. I’d still apply to TopSpot.