Job Seekers Who Have a “Learning Attitude” Are More Likely to Succeed
A new study by researchers from Lehigh University and the University of Missouri found one of the attributes in job seekers most likely to lead to success in their search is an attitude focused on learning.
The study found job seekers who have a “natural disposition to learn from every situation in life” are likely to be more successful in getting their dream job and achieving some of their major career goals.
To conduct the study, the researchers focused in on 120 college seniors who were hunting for jobs. Subjects in the study who were identified as having a strong “learning goal orientation” (LGO) reacted to failures in the job hunt by searching much more intensely, whereas people with low LGO decreased their intensity. Interestingly, the same was true even when the job search was going well.
This indicates that people with high LGO respond and deal with stress better than other people, and are more likely to push forward and learn from their experiences in the job search, both positive and negative.
Fortunately, there are ways job seekers can learn to improve their learning attitude. The researchers behind the study say job seekers should spend some time every day reflecting on their successes and failures and what they have learned from the process rather than getting caught up in the emotional highs and lows.
It’s just one more study that shows that while attitude may not be everything when it comes to the job search, it certainly plays a major role!
The Demands on Suppliers – Q & A with Cameron Smith
Wal-Mart Stores, the world’s largest retailer, is known for having a lot of clout with its suppliers, whether it’s dictating products or squeezing costs. That’s why an increasing number, from big names like Kellogg to startups, have set up offices over the past two decades in Northwest Arkansas to be near the discounter. That valuable face time offers a competitive advantage over rivals. On the front lines is Cameron Smith, who runs the leading recruiting firm, bearing his name that hires executives for the vendors. Since opening his firm in 1994 in Rogers, Arkansas, near Wal-Mart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Smith has seen the demands for more analytical skills amid the shift to online shopping. The mix of suppliers, who now number more than 1,500, in the area are more varied too.
How has the community of suppliers changed? So many offices are still opening here because nothing beats the synergy that results when an entire satellite team rallies around one common vision or objective – you are constantly problem-solving with your customer. The companies with the largest teams are P&G, Kraft, Unilever, Kimberly-Clark and Kellogg. But it’s no longer just the big guys who drive office space these days. With pushes like the Made in the U.S.A. campaigns alive and well at Wal-Mart, all supplier team sizes mix together now. An entire tech business park has emerged. Major tech organizations like Salesforce.com, Microsoft, Oracle, IBM etc. have circled their wagons around Wal-Mart.
How has social media affected the type of jobs you recruit for? In order to reach and influence the customer wherever she may be, companies must make sense of vast amounts of data. Our clients require leaders who can tell a story with data and use those insights to create action plans. We still fill many of the same jobs that we have always recruited for, but those roles have changed. It is now customary for people in sales roles to combine sales skills with a strong analytical background. Category management used to be the most analytically demanding role on supplier teams. Now, shopper-insights managers and market-research managers are the next level of category management. We are seeing more shopper-insights managers, where these roles were few and far between five years ago. There is still a talent shortage for these advanced skills.
How should suppliers cater to millennials? Suppliers need to be well-versed in e-commerce and the digital marketplace. Digital cannot be a tacked on strategy. Supplier teams risk becoming dinosaurs if they lean too heavily on packaging and display ads to deliver their message. They need to become skilled at social listening to learn what’s being said about their brand, their product, and their category
Interviewed by Anne D’Innocenzio.
Answers edited for clarity and length.
Tips for Recruiting Millennials to Your Team
With Millennials beginning to flood the job market, it’s become important for employers to know how to attract them to their teams. Millennials as a generation are characterized as being more tech savvy, optimistic, confident and connected than any previous generation. However, for people of older generations, they can be hard to relate to because they aren’t attracted by the same sorts of perks and they communicate in different ways.
So what exactly is it that Millennials are looking for out of an employer? Here are a few examples:
- A work/life balance, which allows them to pursue other interests outside of work. Millennials are not nearly as attached to their work or careers as previous generations. Approximately 50 percent of Millennials believe flexibility is more important than pay (at least to an extent).
- A strong, positive company culture that gives them an opportunity to make a difference with their work. About 88 percent prefer a collaborative workplace culture to a competitive one.
- A strong career path that allows them to constantly be moving forward rather than staying stagnant.
Therefore, employers need to be able to tap into these characteristics if they’re going to want to hire the best up-and-coming employees. To create a strong impression with Millennials, make sure you have an updated website, maintain an engaging online social presence, stay on top of new technologies and do what you can to provide growth opportunities and flexibility in your workplace.
Jim Mikula, Executive Recruiter
Jim Mikula, Executive Recruiter | Talent Blog 