As much as I have a burning hatred for interviewing for jobs, I've had to do so lately. I'm a creature of habit and comfort. I like working with and getting to know a core group of people. People are important like that. People are, absolutely, what make the job.
More so than anything, I've realized over the last week of interviews (I limit it to exactly one week of interviews) that a little extra money, the promise of equity in a company, even the business the company is in; all a far distant second to the people. Smart, talented, interested, people.
Almost unbelievably, I found two companies that seem to be full of people that are exactly what I would look for (well, at least the ones I met). For the record, I'm not sucking up; I've already received the offers and I don't think they know about or care about this blog. There shouldn't be anything remarkable about this, but there is. No pinball machine, free bagels, or company sponsored potato sack race can possibly come close to what I get out of picking the brains of smart coworkers.
That's all. Nothing notable, per se, just a realization about what's really important to me.