Do you dig your employer?
The Shift
Our parents’ generation was different from ours in many respects. The attitude towards employment is a perfect example. How our parents viewed relationships with employers is different than how we view relationships with employers. When our parents were our age, they typically aspired to have a job that they could keep for the rest of their careers. Those were jobs in which professional growth was gradual and from which he or she retired after a large farewell party and a gold watch. 
The 21st century has brought about changes. Keeping the same job for decades is no longer indicative of the reliability of an employee. In our ever-changing, fast-paced economy, diversity of professional experience is highly appreciated. Shifts in employee attitudes and in employer focus have created a different marketplace for jobs. On a typical job interview these days, you will find hiring managers passionately trying to convince applicants to come work for their companies. Their efforts are matched by those of applicants who are trying to sell their skills, knowledge and experience. It is not a one-way street anymore. Recruitment has become a kind of fast lane on a two-way highway.
The 'Why' and The 'How'
With the mind-blowing speed of Globalization, companies are faced with challenges that were not present before. We live in an era when competitive advantages quickly disappear. 
Any unique assets that a company may possess may become commodities overnight. The only true differentiators that companies can rely on are the skill-sets and talents of its workforce. Thus, the most progressive companies have long since recognized the importance of being able to acquire and retain the best people. How do these companies accomplish this? As stated before, hiring is a two-way street, so for a complete picture, we must look at both sides. The main issues we should focus on are what employees are looking for and where employers should focus their attention.
What Do Employees Want:
Appreciation - good people have limitless options in the world where opportunities are not constrained by geographical or other boundaries. Nobody will put up with a hostile or unproductive environment for long.
Network - opportunities to work with other talented people are great motivators in joining a company. Every "star" employee you hire attracts others. Every bad one you choose scares good people away, so - be careful!
Compensation - it has to be appropriate. Yes, money can not be the primary motivator, but don't take your employees for fools. They know what they are worth, and you should pay them that much or else you will only fool yourself in the end.
Incentives - just hiring good people is never enough. Whether your employees do a "good enough" job or their best job, can make a huge difference. If you want a motivated workforce, you must accept the responsibility to properly motivate them. Employee incentives must be tied to company goals. Two popular and common ways of achieving this are to give stock options and to give bonuses, which are tied to company success, as compensation. Bonuses are much simpler to implement than stock options, but their effect is often limited. A bonus can only be so high. Accordingly, there is only so much motivation it can induce in your employees. Stock options, in theory, have no limit - their return only depends on the success of the company. Therefore, the motivational effects of stock options are far greater for high-growth companies.
What Should An Employer Look For:
Personality - even the brightest, most experienced people in the world are not worth a penny, if they cannot fit into your company's culture. Mike Cannon-Brookes of Atlassian calls it a "Do you want him on your team?" test. We take the test a bit further. Would you take this person with you to conquer Everest if you were not too busy cranking out code (or whatever else you may be keeping yourself busy with)?
Proactivity - you should be able to answer two main questions. If this person is stuck with a task, will he or she waste hours of company time trying to stubbornly figure out something that another person on the team already knows, or will he or she have the common sense to just ask questions? If this person finds him or herself idle, will they check Perez Hilton Blog or come to you and ask - "what's next?"
Past - always ask for and check references. You may decide to ignore some of the references, but forgoing them is unacceptable.
Work - scrutinize the past work of the person you are hiring. Do not just scan the first few attention-grabbing sentences on each resume.
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