By Jen Hubley Luckwaldt, PayScale.com 
Lots of companies offer referral bonuses for new hires. Most of them, however, restrict their programs to actual employees of the company.
Not EnergySavvy, an energy efficiency software company located in Seattle, which is offering a free Smart Car to anyone who refers a developer or designer. (Provided, of course, that they actually hire your candidate.) The program is open to anyone in the U.S.
Why are they being so generous? I’ll let them explain.
“Why are we giving away cars for tech hires? What is this, 1999 all over again?” reads their site. “If you’re a techie in Seattle, you know the answer. The demand for the best developers and designers in Seattle is huge.”
Previously, the company had tried the usual routes for finding new talent: paying for recruiters, searching LinkedIn, hanging out in the Apple Store and waiting for customers who looked smart. (OK, I made up that last one, but honestly, the competition for tech talent is so fierce, it wouldn’t surprise me if that was the next step for some HR departments.)
The contest applies to three positions: lead designer, senior software engineer, and software engineer. And if you don’t need a car, don’t worry: they’ll give you $14,000 in cash, instead. Details here
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