We’ve used this blog as a channel for seeking great staff in the past. It’s been pretty effective although we haven’t used it nearly as often as we could have.
But that is about to change.

Quirk is growing fast and we need talented staff with a desire to do great things in eMarketing. But these amazing, one-of-a-kind individuals are incredibly tough to find. More often than not we are disappointed by the applicants we receive. I know that’s a harsh thing to say, but we just don’t want to settle for second best.

Recently we’ve been talking to a bunch of recruitment agents and whilst most of them are actually good at what they do, at the end of the day, they are relying on their network. Unfortunately the availability of truly top-notch online marketing skills is scarce which means that even with their best intentions, agents also struggle to deliver the people we want at Quirk.

Taking all of this into account, we feel that this blog has the potential to be our best recruitment channel. We want like-minded people at Quirk. We live the Internet here and we want people who grok that way of life (or even know what the word grok means ;)).

Because you are reading our blog, we figure you must be something like us. eMarketing must excite you and we figure it’s likely you have friends and associates who think the same way.

So today we launch a weekly competition on GottaQuirk. Every week, we will post a new job ad, and offer a bounty to any person who refers the winning candidate. And if it’s you, and you approach us directly, we’ll give you the cash anyway. It seems silly to hand over the money to recruitment agents when you, our wonderful readers, have the connections.

Here is our first position:

Group Digital Creative Director

BOUNTY: $1 500 (yes, US Dollars, not the Zim ones)

Quirk is seeking the best Digital Creative Director on the market. Period.

We are not just looking for a good “designer”. You must fundamentally understand Internet business and ensure that the Web work Quirk delivers meets the highest standards across the board. For us a website needs to look incredible, but more importantly it needs to attract visitors, primarily via search engines, and convert them into customers. You need to be able to blend all three with magnificent precision.

This passionate person will be based out of our Cape Town headquarters, although will be ultimately responsible for the creative output of all of Quirk’s global work. You'll be leading a very tight creative team and will have full access to our specialist eMarketing teams and strategists so your projects are everything they can be.

We expect you to want to win awards for work that doesn’t just look mind-blowing but also delivers results and a solid ROI.

For those who like lists, you’ll need:

• Extensive experience in the interactive design market
• Strong leadership & interpersonal skills
• Understanding of creative production cycles, strategies and concepts
• The ability to get to the crux of the design brief and offer solutions and input to clients
• Exceptionally strong and fast conceptual skills
• Must have a very clear understanding of Web Standards and Web Accessibility
• Exceptional typography, colour and layout skills
• Finely honed design skills and latest techniques
• Capability to take on campaigns with multi-element tasks
• Meticulous in attention to detail (read anal)
• Responsible, reliable and credible

The big question… salary. We’re not afraid: bring on those big guns. If you truly are the best, we’re prepared to pay you.

If you or any of your friends have what it takes and a portfolio that demonstrates it, please get hold of us right now. It’s going to be incredible.