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Comment by edw519 | Hacker News Reader

20. Have something cool to work on. Top talent doesn't want to rewrite your java accounting system (again).

I feel you on that and actually had it on the list on my draft version of the post. However, in the final version I decided to limit my tips to things the manager likely had some control over.

What applications the team is going to work on is definitely a factor for how attractive a job is, but it really isn't something you can easily change just to get new people in.

If you're starting a new company, though, you might actually want to consider solving a problem that good hackers would find interesting, in order to better recruit them.

Maybe if they get to use the tools they think are best for the job. But then you have a maintenance nightmare finding someone who can think at the same high level.

a maintenance nightmare finding someone who can think at the same high level.

Bring someone in to mentor 2 or 3 others. Have them act as a software toolsmith for the others. Also have in the plan the transition to the rest of the group.

Software tool-smithing is often very interesting work, which lets your uber-programmer stay an arms length away from the boring corporate programming. However, you still get to benefit from his high-level skill. Also, the transition to others, if done right, focus his intellect in the direction of "how to make things understandable."

If I get to rewrite it in Clojure, I would.

http://www.paulgraham.com/pypar.html

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