Despite reported job losses, recruiters believe the demand for executive talent will increase during the next two quarters. According to a study by ExecuNet, a private recruitment network for executives, nearly 56 percent of 165 executive recruiters surveyed are confident or very confident the executive employment market will improve during the next six months. This number is up from 49 percent in August.
“There’s a consensus among the nation’s top recruiters that the worst is over for the executive employment market,” says Mark Anderson, president and chief economist of ExecuNet. “We’re already seeing an uptick in hiring, as companies look to improve their management teams with a quality of talent that wasn’t readily available in recent years.”
In the short-term, recruiters reached a 12-month high as 27 percent expect that the executive employment market will improve during the next three months, up from 24 percent in August.
“Any increase in six-figure job growth is good news for executives, but clearly, finding these opportunities will be more challenging than it was before the recession,” added Anderson. “Companies are less likely to advertise openings in this environment given the sheer volume of talent in the market and their focus on improving existing leadership teams. This means infiltrating the hidden job market will be more important than ever before.”