Head Hunters: Tacky Tactic or Flatteringly Fantastic?

This week I was looking through my usual bombardment of Monday morning emails, when I came across an email that looked like it belonged in the Spam category.  My first instinct was to "Report as Spam" and then delete, thus restoring my inbox to emails that actually pertain to my life.  But as I quickly glanced at the subject matter, I was surprised to see my full name staring back at me.  Hmm....Interesting...

Generally, most spam emails start off with: 

"Candice - grow your chest size in only 12 days!!!" 

OR 

"Candice, did you know that cell phones are giving you a brain tumour?"

A) I don't need anymore chest.  B) I'm never giving away my cell phone, tumour or no tumour. C) Take the time to address the email to me directly and maybe I will humour whatever you're sending me.

I opened the suspicious, spam-resembling email to find out that I was being head hunted by another retail company, for a position within their management team. 

Really? 

ME?! 

I kept reading and was half expecting to see at the bottom: 

"Sincerely, Generic Head Hunting Corporation of I'm totally a spammer and you fell for it, Sucker" 

But it didn't say that.  It said that I was wanted, and that made me feel warm and mushy inside.  The manager inside me had a different opinion, because some of us in the business world have the impression that trying to "steal" someone from their current position is downright unethical.  

When I was discussing the email with a friend of mine, she mentioned how flattering and amazing it was to not have to put forth the effort in furthering my career.  It was basically being done for me, all I had to do was decide if I wanted to pursue the opportunity.  Here I was being handed a job offer, when my poor friend had been relentlessly looking across Canada for an exciting new career - unfortunately with no success.  

This got me thinking about what it would be like if I was the one out searching for new employment opportunities.  Would I utilize the social media sites to source out connections? Would I get a newspaper and circle what looked appealing?  Do they even make newspapers anymore? Nowadays, the 'Classifieds Section' sounds like something cavemen drew on their walls.

With todays ability to go online and post just about anything  (ex. "Cat for sale", "Looking to buy cat", Cat in need of a job"..)  - how does one even know where to begin?

After investigating further into the job search options available online - they seem to be, for the sake of convenience and easy access to hoards of information, the best way to go.  With a quick click over to Job Search Canada, you are transported to an effective way of exploring many different areas of gainful employment.  You don't even have to get up from your chair/bed/couch - you just have to have a functioning resume and the motivation to fill in a few boxes of information.  It just doesn't get much more convenient then that. 

I suppose being head hunted is flattering - but when it comes down to it, shouldn't I be the one who gets to decide what my future career path will be? Because of this reason, I appreciate the fact that a website exists that make it simple to browse many opportunities all in one place (without having to go out in the snow to buy a newspaper).

I have no plans to leave my current position, but if the thought ever did cross my mind - I would rather it be something I went for vs. something handed to me.