In his recent post, Dr John Sullivan, an internationally known HR thought-leader from the Silicon Valley, says « It might sound silly on the surface, but fishing and recruiting have a lot in common. Any seasoned fisherman or woman would tell you without hesitation that the same bait that effectively attracts small fish simply would have no impact on attracting the harder-to-land big fish. In recruiting, the need to match your “bait” or attraction features to your target is no different. »

In his article he listed possible excitement factors for top performers in descending order of importance. The two most critical ones are bolded.
Have a look below

1. Doing the best work of my life
2. Doing work that has an impact on the customers and the world
3. Having a great manager
4. An opportunity to innovate and take risks
5. An opportunity to learn rapidly and be challenged
6. The opportunity to implement their ideas
7. A choice of projects and assignments
8. A chance to work with the latest technologies and tools
9. Input into their schedule/ location
10. An opportunity to work with top co-workers
11. The opportunity to make decisions and for fast approvals
12. Working in a performance-driven meritocracy where rewards are based on performance
13. A transparent environment where the needed information and access is readily available
14. Sufficient budget and resources to reach their goals

Want to know more how to attract and find top performers and techies, read the article written by Dr John Sullivan on ere.net  « Unless You Segment Your Recruiting Messaging, You Won’t Attract Top Performers and Techies«