A few weeks ago I was talking with Akvile, the head of a mega department store, about the perfect employee and how she found her.

When I am interviewing a client, I like to find out not only about the demographics of their superstar employees but about their behaviour as well. Sometimes it is better to ask "how" than "who", since a good targeted resume describes professional details only.

When Akvile heard about my question, she smiled for a moment since she, like all the other clients before, has remembered the most successful recruiting story. Akvile would love to have more such superstar employees and I am here next to her quietly nodding that every employer searches for these superstars no doubt.

So, here is her story. A few years ago she was walking through the shopping mall where her store was located to analyze other competitors' collections and prices. During this monthly "market-research walk" she stepped into one outlet to find out quickly how much a jacket costs which her store also stocked.

Akvile did not spend more than ten seconds in that small outlet when a saleswoman named Oksana came to her to ask how she could help her. Akvile just wanted to check the price of the jacket and didn't want to buy anything, so she turned her help away. But instead of going away, Oksana said, "Prices here are higher than in your shop."

Of course Akvile was slightly surprised because a random sales assistant knew who she was and also knew the prices. After a short talk about who and what, Oksana asked about job opportunities at Akvile's department store.

Every employee in that mall knew that wages in that store were higher. So, it was not the first attempt by other shops' employees to get a job. Akvile told her to send a resume and that's how the conversation ended.

After that Oksana waited for an answer, but Akvile didn't call her back due to a busy week. One week later, Oksana came to the department store to ask politely if anyone checked her resume without becoming too obtrusive. However, she got the usual answer to wait for a call.

Oksana tried to contact the store a few more times and she finally got a negative answer that there were no free positions at that moment. Oksana's resume was professional and completely relevant. Doors are always opened for great employees, however, there was something strange about Oksana. There was some uncomfortable atmosphere around her like when you are surrounded by unfamiliar people and you need to start a random conversation.

Well, the story of an average candidate would end like that, but it's a story of a superstar employee. Guess what Oksana did after several weeks when Akvile walked by her outlet... She quickly left her store, stopped Akvile, and asked for the interview which she never received. Akvile was slightly fascinated that some saleswoman wanted a job so much and she had no other option but to review Oksana's resume and interview her.

In fact, she was such a good fit for a position and had so much customer service experience that it was impossible not to hire her. Plus, one big sales event would happen on the weekend and the company needed to have more hands.

Oksana's first day at work was at a huge sales event that happened every six months and there were more than 50 employees that day. Everyone was selling like mad and was bragging about their record turnovers without noticing the newbie Oksana, but at the end of the day everyone already knew her name.

Oksana made almost twice more sales than the second-best employee of that day and till this day she is the best saleswoman in the store, sometimes making half of all the department store's turnover.

I love listening to stories like that when I ask how and where do clients find their superstar employees because the story is always different. The character is always a bit strange, in both good and bad ways, but the one thing they all have in common is perseverance and that fire inside to do their jobs exceptionally.

No matter how professional a person really is, an employer might not see it from the first look at his/her great resume and it's only the employee's responsibility to pitch and target himself to his dream job at every possible chance.  That's the passion and motivation that only a superstar employee will have.