Pursuit of Talent Strongest in U.S. in 2013

According to BlueSteps’ 2013 Global Executive Outlook Survey, most executives are neutral or positive towards the current executive job market with 37 percent of survey participants reporting a neutral attitude and 36 percent having an overall positive outlook for the year. What’s more, 42 percent of executives are positive about the general business climate in 2013, 7 percentage points higher than in 2012. The primary concerns reported in the survey include the uncertain global economic climate, fiscal concerns and political stalemating in Washington, D.C., the European financial crisis, and the economic slow down in Asia.

“Economic uncertainty inevitably translates into mixed emotions on the part of senior executives. Our current survey shows clear indications of these sentiments and yet also an increasingly positive view about economic prospects,especially in the United States. Thus at the cutting edge where executive talent is a key resource for all organizations, we are beginning to see a thaw in attitude towards making a career move and a feeling that greater opportunity may exist in the year ahead,” said Peter Felix, President of BlueSteps parent company Association of Executive Search Consultants.

Most survey respondents agreed that the best talent is needed in engineering, general management, and board of director functions. The energy and healthcare/life sciences sectors are expected to experience the most growth in 2013 while half of all executive search firms plan to hire more consultants and 30 percent anticipate hiring more research staff. Worldwide, most executives predict the most pronounced shortages will occur in the United States, with considerable need also found in China and Brazil.