Elaine Wherry has written a detailed analysis of recruiting in the Valley. If you're based anywhere else, it may be of mostly intellectual interest, but if you're competing for developers there, it seems like a must-read - and highly entertaining, too.
The honeypot idea emerged slowly, "If only I weren't a founder! Which recruiters would have contacted me as an engineer?" I stewed on the idea of posting my resume online with a fictitious name for days and then one sleepless night, without telling anyone, I woke up and posted a small three-page website with an about page, resume, and blog for a supposed Pete London whose interests and engineering persona mirrored my own except he wasn't a founder. I swapped out my post-graduate experience with my husband so it wouldn't be too easy to trace back to me. I returned to bed with a small glimmer of hope - I had been hunting for recruiters for months but now the recruiters would come to me!
Elaine goes on to break down and analyse the data she has gathered, and derive some solid actionable tips for startups who need to hire. Read it here.