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Wanted: Software Engineers. Reward: $12,000
- webwright 16y agoThis is a smart idea. A lot of the best startups are using recruiters (who can get $30k or more per hire). The noise level will be a LOT higher than a recruiter, but it might be worth it. Hopefully Rand will write a post-mortem on this.
- randfish 16y agoI can definitely do that. As of 2 hours after the post, we've had a good number of referrals and 3 applicants. Jobvite's system does a good job of storing lots of interesting data, so hopefully I can share metrics in a follow-up. That might go on our dev blog (rather than the main blog) - http://devblog.seomoz.org/ http://devblog.seomoz.org/
- qeorge 16y agoWow, didn't know you guys had a dev blog. Awesome!
- boctor 16y agoGenerates buzz for your startup, costs less and doesn't involve recruiters. Sounds like a lot of positive. I'd also like to hear about SEOmoz's experience after they fill the positions. I don't claim to fully understand the challenges of a startup hiring the right folks, but recruiters just leave a bad taste in my mouth. Often they use questionable tactics and you know they are costing the startup a lot of money. In a vacum ignorant of the realities of the real world, I wish there was a way to rate engineers and startups on all the key factors. For a startup: compensation, prestige, work environment, meeting/working with great people and for engineers: quality of work, ability to get things done, working well with others, etc. The problem of course is that getting a truthful and accurate value for each these factors is almost impossible.
- boctor 16y agoIn related news, checkout Hackruiter (YC S10): http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2248362 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2248362
- spydez 16y agoRecruiters raise signal to noise ratio? All I ever hear is how they horribly fudge resumes and job posts in order to make applicant and company interested in each other and get their fee.
- shor 16y agoAt Fairfax Digital we frequently use bounties for positions like search marketers, UX people or mobile app devs. $5K + an iPad works really well. We've had tremendous success from internal referrals via this method. It makes most sense when hiring in industries with a low average tenure but trying to fill more esoteric roles.
- InfinityX0 16y agoDear Rand, if you get a software engineer from this submission, I expect a check for $12k at my doorstep. Your friend, Ross. Seriously, though, good luck. The SEO (and hopefully Hacker News) community wishes you success in this recruitment.
- randfish 16y agoIf you made the link from the http://www.seomoz.org/refer-an-engineer http://www.seomoz.org/refer-an-engineer page using your email address, we actually would track it back to you (cool feature of Jobvite - you can set it up to tweet/FB share/email links w/ your tracking code). But, of course, much appreciated. :-)
- netmau5 16y agoPretty tempting offer even for the happily employed. Can I refer myself to the job and get both sides?
- ig1 16y agoThat would create a disincentive for people to correctly report referrers.
- pedrokost 16y agoAsk a close friend to do it and get both 12k minus a bonus for your friend.
- webwright 16y agoPart of the post-mortem that I'd love to read about this is whether ANYONE comes in without a referral. It's kinda dishonest for someone to "invent" a referral when the person didn't actually refer them, but $12k is a big incentive.
- danshapiro 16y agoFrom the post, it looks like the candidate gets $12k too.
- ojbyrne 16y agoI think they're talking about ways to get both $12k amounts (for the referral and the candidate).
- krakensden 16y agoHere's a link to the actual posting: http://hire.jobvite.com/CompanyJobs/Careers.aspx?c=qw49Vfwo&page=Job%20Description&j=oBXDVfwQ http://hire.jobvite.com/CompanyJobs/Careers.aspx?c=qw49Vfwo&... And on a related note, their job requirements are refreshing. They tell you what they're using, and that they want some related experience, but don't make a huge deal of 'AT LEAST 5 years in our language and framework combination'.
- mhartl 16y agoI love that they list participation in 4chan as a plus, under "participation in the social web" (http://hire.jobvite.com/CompanyJobs/Careers.aspx?c=qw49Vfwo&page=Job%20Description&j=oBXDVfwQ http://hire.jobvite.com/CompanyJobs/Careers.aspx?c=qw49Vfwo&...).
- baltcode 16y agoNo H1-Bs?
- potatolicious 16y agoNo TNs?
- ojbyrne 16y agoThey do say "One more note: Candidates must be eligible to work in the US (citizenship, green card, visa, etc)" "visa" does seem to suggest some possibility.
- baltcode 16y agoI don't know if that means they are open to H1B sponsorship or they mean you somehow already have a visa that makes you eligible to work without them sponsoring it. (I don't what that could be). That's why I asked, may be they would like to respond.
- metachris 16y agoWith all the treats they surely have enough money to sponsor a lawyer for it. The problem could be the time, as H1-B's often take several months to get through (mine took about 3 and required lots of documentation). The post looks like they are looking for someone _now_.
- allwein 16y agoI think I'm going to fund my next startup on seomoz referrals!
- dark_c 16y agoGood luck with this. I am especially interested in the noise ratio. Reminds me of a great "about hiring" article from Joel Spolsky: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/FindingGreatDevelopers.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/FindingGreatDeveloper...
- absconditus 16y agoI will never refer a friend to an SEO company. Not even for $12,000.
- pufuwozu 16y agoHere at Atlassian, we have a refer-a-mate scheme. If you refer someone, you get a free flight to Sydney, Amsterdam or San Fransisco (or $2000): http://www.atlassian.com/about/careers/refer-a-mate.jsp http://www.atlassian.com/about/careers/refer-a-mate.jsp You can also refer someone for a graduate position for $750: http://www.atlassian.com/about/careers/refer-a-grad.jsp http://www.atlassian.com/about/careers/refer-a-grad.jsp