I have to disagree with Juan. Thomas Jefferson said, "If men were angles they would need no government." The employees that Juan is looking for would need no manager. What a good employee must be is managable. What the employer needs is good managers. I think that there is a greater shortage of good managers rather than good employees. In the 70's and 80's a business would invest a great deal of time and training in developing a good manager. Then businesses decided to eliminate middle management and go for a flat organizational structure. After all, if you get the right employees, who needs a good manager? Now they find that there aren't enough "good" employees to go around. A good manager is a force multiplier, making all (or most) of his or her subordinates more productive. But a single employee, no matter how proactive or self-motivated, can only have a limited impact on his or her peers. It's much easier to manage a group that has all self-motivated, proactive employees. I understand the allure for a manager. However, if they're that good they're going to be leaving soon to start their own company (and compete with you in hiring "good" employees). It's much more worthwhile to develop and retain good managers. And to Walt, "Yes." Music majors make the best IT employees.