If you made the link from the 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).
This 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.
I 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.
Generates 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.
Recruiters 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.
At 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.
Part 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.
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'.
I 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.
With 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_.
Seriously, though, good luck. The SEO (and hopefully Hacker News) community wishes you success in this recruitment.