Headhunters seek hearts, minds

Have a heart: Richard Harris, president of Sales Recruiters International in Bedford Hills, N.Y., says he has “no qualms” about being called by the much-used term “headhunter” – despite the fact that sometimes that term isnt very friendly. But Harris adds this: “We may be characterized as headhunters, but were really recruiting hearts.”

Joyce Gioia, president of The Herman Group, an employee retention consulting firm based in Greensboro, N.C., agrees wholeheartedly, saying that Harris “is right on the money. The key (to retention of employees) is to win the hearts, as well as the minds, of the people who work with you.”

What the two experts are talking about is a kinder, gentler way of doing executive recruiting. Which I agree sometimes is needed – with all my heart.

Absolutely, positively: If you have the kind of personality that consistently accentuates the positive, you “are less likely to burn out on the job or to be looking for a new one.”

Thats the finding of researchers at Tulane University in New Orleans, who did an analysis of 205 studies on workers attitudes toward their jobs. The studies represented 62,527 employees nationwide and the results were published in Psychological Bulletin.

At the same time, another conclusion of the research, whose prime author was Carl Thoresen of Tulane, was that workers with negative attitudes are “likely to feel burned out, distance themselves from co-workers and think about finding a new job.”

Does this mean its not always your boss fault if youre unhappy at work, that its your basic personality that determines your reaction to the daily grind? Whatever the reason for negative attitudes by workers, being dissatisfied about the work you do and where you do it seems to be on the rise.

“Americans are growing increasingly unhappy with their jobs,” according to a report by The Conference Board, a nonprofit business membership organization based in New York. ” The decline in job satisfaction is widespread among workers of all ages and across all income brackets.”

The report, based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households, shows that today 50 percent of employees indeed are content – but that number is down from 60 percent in 1995. And the largest decline in job satisfaction was reported by workers ages 35 to 44 years.

Another finding: “Approximately one-quarter of the American work force is simply showing up to collect a paycheck.”

Resume rules: As the Internet continues to expand its job boards and Web sites of employers seeking workers, the requirement to post resumes expands. Its a fairly new way for job seekers to apply for work, so the questions continue.

One common concern is the pragmatic one of how to e-mail your resume and cover letter once you complete them. Some good advice comes from Kevin Donlin, a resume writer and contributor to CollegeRecruiter.com. “Attach your resume to the e-mail, sending it as an attached file, ” advises Donlin, author of the self-published book, “The Last Guide to Cover Letter & Resume Writing Youll Ever Need” ($17).

But thats not enough: “Send your resume in the e-mail, too,” he urges. “Attachments can and do get scrambled during transmission, making them impossible to open. … So copy and paste the material into the body of your e-mail.”

And that covers all cyberspace possibilities.

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