Thank you so much for your comments! You bring up a great point!

The 8 qualities that make a star come from Lisa Haneberg who I interviewed and referenced in the short blog post. Her comment on searching for jobs is ‘bonus’ statement and I believe she’s right on target. Lisa H.’s thinking aligns very well with BlessingWhite’s research on engaged and productive employees. BlessingWhite found that fully engaged employees who are productive and positive (and most likely people we think of as A players) are fully committed to their organization and not seeking other employment opportunites. When the recruiter calls, they don’t even take the call.

The next level of engaged and productive employee, according to BlessingWhite’s research, is the ‘almost engaged’ employee. They are productive, but keeping their options open. They are not fully committed to the organization and as such, they may not viewed as an ‘A player’ by the employer, since organizations frequently look at level of commitment as a part of their evaluation of talent. According to BlessingWhite’s research, when the recruiter calls an ‘alomst engaged’ employee, they take the call and investigate the opportunity.

Most organizations are looking for people who will be productive and fully committed/fully engaged, therefore these are most sought-after types of A players.

Having owned a business, I know first-hand that I value the highly productive and committed individual over the one who might productive but always keeping their feelers out there.

Take a look at the full article, Recruiting Stars: Does it really pay-off? that comes out in September’s Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership. In this article I demonstrate a method to answer that question.

Meantime, you can check out the research I mentioned at: http://www.BlessingWhite.com.

Thanks again for your comments, Jacqueline!