Posted on 24-11-2009 at 20:30
Executive Recruitment
In the last few months I have noticed a significant “stirring” in the executive recruitment market.
Over the last twelve months recruitment at senior level has mirrored that of the rest of the country and has remained stagnant.
Executives have stayed put in their roles, probably preferring the pay cheque each month to personal development and the risk that a move may bring. The average tenure for a lot of people in Senior Management is around five years, its tough being King of the Castle!
However, I have seen two positive signs in the last month or so.
The first is a rise in the number of CV’s submitted via the website. Not only has it increased but the quality is high and nearly all of the executives are currently working, so this is not a result of redundancy.
Secondly, I have been speaking to a number of companies who are certain that they will be recruiting a senior executive in the New Year. Some are roles that have been held back until the economy grows but others are as a result of planned growth for next year. This is great news for Managers, Executives and business owners.
Managers will gain because they may be promoted to fill vacant positions left by a leaver, or perhaps will be promoted internally as a result of growth. Executives and senior managers will benefit from a wider availability and choice of roles. Business owners will benefit by being the wider availability and willingness to move of executive candidates.
Competition for roles is a good thing and Executive job seekers and Managers are no different from the rest of the workforce, they will have to improve their CV’s, interview and presentation skills.
Most people would be surprised to learn that Senior Managers and Executives are no different from the rest of the workforce. Executive recruitment suffers from the same ills as other levels
· Poor CV’s
· Poor interview skills
· Poor presentation skills
· Poor personal presentation skills
· Poor introductory letters
· Applying for unsuitable roles
However it is often even worse because some of the people involved have very big egos’s and believe the role is theirs by right. Often they neglect their personal development and so are not always as well equipped as they think they are!
In simple terms it seems to me that if the Executive recruitment market is warming up then the other levels should follow.
A change of leadership is usually followed by a change of organisational strategy and so there could be an enormous amount of staff movement next year.
It could be a blip and it could be hot air but hopefully the promised Executive appointments will come and bring with them a fresh and determined drive to put the recession behind them.
