Okay, to get this out of the way first: I completely agree with Jeff that hiring programmers is hard and that the way a lot of companies go about doing it is ab

Okay, to get this out of the way first: I completely agree with Jeff that hiring programmers is hard and that the way a lot of companies go about doing it is about as effective as Russian Roulette. I've seen it and felt some of the dismal consequences. As a matter of fact, I still have to work with lots of those people that should have been filtered out in step 1. So yeah, I agree with the idea. Having said that, his process, taken together, is ridiculously one-sided. The message it sends comes across as "Of course you want to work for us, regardless of all the hassle we're putting you through, who wouldn't? Only someone out of their mind, that's who! And we don't want people like that here." Think about it, Jeff. You are asking for someone who: 1) is highly skilled 2) has an attractive portfolio 3) is mature enough to communicate well A lot of people like that already have jobs. If you want them to do #5 -- which might be something they're forbidden by their current employment contract, by the way -- and you also want them to prepare a presentation for #6, you must be the sexiest employer on the Earth. In short, what do you propose to balance things out?