2018 bluesteps executive career outlook...6 - 2018 bluesteps executive career outlook report chart...

2018 BlueSteps Executive Career Outlook

Exclusive insights on global executive-level career trends.

2 - 2018 BlueSteps Executive Career Outlook Report

Senior executives are feeling more positive about the job market compared to recent years.

Based on a global survey of 834 senior-level management professionals, Director-level through C-Suite, who are members of BlueSteps, the career management service of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), executives are more optimistic about the state of the global executive job market compared to previous years.

When asked about the executive job market, fifty-four percent of executives responded they are more optimistic about this year’s than 2017’s job market. The number of global executives who are feeling less optimistic is at its lowest level since BlueSteps began its survey, at thirteen percent. The high levels of optimism indicate, after years of global economic and political uncertainty, executives are now more encouraged by improved economic conditions and a robust business climate.

Chart 1: Optimism about the executive job market among global executives for 2018.

Chart 2: BlueSteps management-level respondents predict volume of executive opportunities in 2018.

Executive Optimism Levels are Highest in Recent Years

2018 BlueSteps Executive Career OutlookExclusive insights on global executive-level career trends

Not only are global executives more optimistic about the job market, but they are also hopeful about the number of executive positions that will be available

worldwide in 2018. Over eighty-five percent believe that the volume of senior-level executive roles will increase or at least stay the same compared to last year.

Executives are Expecting More Senior Management-Level Jobs in 2018

2018 BlueSteps Executive Career Outlook Report - 3

“Economy is growing. Stock market is increasing in value. Executives with stock options are more likely to cash in and

retire. Growing companies need additional senior management

leadership.”

“Need for experienced executives in an increasingly

complicated business environment.”

“Competition globally requires innovation and continuous business transformation.”

“More economic activity and companies willing to start business plans oriented to

growth.”

“The tax reform puts money to work in budgets that may have been constrained. More talent

will be looked for.”

“Most major domestic and global indicators are positive

and growing in both consumer as well as industrial and service

industry spending.“

“Government policies, significant corporate tax cuts, significant corporate investments in US,

booming markets.”

“Positive economic growth, lower risk of EU implosion, start of reforms in France,

strong momentum continuing in Germany despite political

blockages.”

“Digital economy driving economic growth more and

more—strong leadership required.”

Chart 3: Global executives share why they are feeling more optimistic about the executive job market.

Executives cite an improved global economy and its positive impact on business as a reason for their more optimistic outlook. Over sixty-four percent attribute their optimism to a renewed economy and/or fiscal policies that have been put into place to support larger corporations. More opportunities are also expected to be created by organizations taking on new challenges to compete globally and the Baby Boomer generation retiring, allowing younger executive leaders to move up the corporate ladder.

Why Executive are More Optimistic About the Executive Job Market


Chart 4: Global executives share why they are feeling less optimistic about the executive job market

“I don’t believe the economy is strong and therefore people will stay in their roles and not take the risk of moving companies.”

“Global recovery has still not picked up as desired; geopolitical tensions; and in extreme view, people in power with growing protectionism across the globe.”

“Consolidation in many industries is going to be an issue and I am also concerned about the health of the US economy and political system in 2018.”

“M&A will be big in 2018. M&A reduces the number of C-level jobs. We’re also in for a stock market correction that that scares CEOs from hiring.”

“Companies are consolidating and cost saving.”

“There is a certain sense of insecurity in the market. So companies are staying more conservative and driving less change.”

“Increasingly difficult marketplace to operate in globally. Less jobs around with more job seekers. Given the number of organizations cost cutting and managing an increasingly stringent regulatory environment.”

“Build great teams, set clear and realistic objectives, and then delegate to them.”

The primary reason for lower optimism by executives is also the economy. These respondents generally agree while the economy overall is stronger, it is not stable enough to maintain the gains made in 2017.

Why Executives Are Less Optimistic About the Executive Job Market


Executive Leadership

Executives believe in order to be an effective leader, they need to be: strategic thinkers, inspiring, emotionally intelligent and adaptable. The most commonly named attribute was strategic thinking with almost seventy percent of respondents choosing it as a critical leadership trait. This aligns with observations being seen by

AESC member search consultants. AESC executive search consultants believe the transforming business climate is demanding executives who are constantly evolving to keep up with the ever-changing global marketplace. Compassionate leaders who can inspire a team to rally around a common goal are also in high demand.

Executives Believe Change Management Skills Differentiate Strong Leaders

“Strategic thinking is an integral part of any

leadership role. The ability to see beyond the short

term goals and expectations to the long term vision is what sets leaders apart

from managers. Finding the balance between tactics

and strategy is a key skill for leaders.

A leader’s ability to inspire and engage is crucial. It is

sometimes said that the sign of a great leader is not

the number of followers they have but the number of

leaders they have created”.

- Kathy Simmons, Executive Director of BlueSteps Executive

Career ServicesChart 6: Global executives share what qualities they need to be effective leaders.

Respondents believe strong leadership skills and being comfortable in an ever-changing business environment are key to succeeding as a leader. With how transformative today’s

business climate is, executives believe it is important to have a vision of where the organization needs to be and the technological understanding to take it there.

Top 5 Qualities That Help Global Executives Be Successful

Chart 5: Global executives rank what leadership attributes are most helpful to differentiate an executive.

“Vision for where and how you are leading your

business.”

“Understand digitalization and how it changes the

business.”

“High emotional intelligence to inspire and guide an

organization.”

“Improve soft skills to increase employee

engagement and retention.”

“Spend as much time as possible, on and off the job,

with amazing people.”

“Ability to adapt to an ever changing environment in a

multicultural, global business world.”


Chart 7: Global executives forecast how long it will take to secure a new executive job in 2018.

Finding New Opportunities

Of those planning to make an executive career change in 2018, the overwhelming majority expect the search for a new position to take them three to twelve months, with forty percent believing it will take them three to six months and another forty percent believing it will take them six to twelve months.

When asked why they are looking to make a change in their careers, forty-six percent of respondents are leaving because their current organization does not provide the growth opportunities they need to reach their career ambitions. Another twenty-two percent are choosing to leave due to their current organization’s corporate culture. Others attribute it to a company leader or their direct boss. Only sixteen percent of respondents are looking to leave because of their salary. These factors indicate that it is important as ever for organizations to create an environment that fosters continual growth and for executives to ensure that the corporate culture aligns with their personal executive brand and goals when assessing and ultimately accepting a new executive role.

Expected Length of an Executive Job Search

Chart 8: Global executives reveal why they are looking to make a career move in 2018.

Why Executives Are Planning to Leave Their Current Roles

To learn more about BlueSteps and to sign up visit:bluesteps.com

Are You Ready to Take the Next Step in Your Executive Career?

Get Started With BlueSteps BlueSteps helps busy executives manage their careers, track their goals

and stay visible to the right recruiters.

We are able to deliver relevant, timely and insider career intelligence to our over 100,000 executive level members because BlueSteps is owned and operated by the Association of

Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), the global professional association for the world’s top executive search firms.

Develop a Career PlanPreparing a career strategy can be daunting. Our archive of targeted webinars and team of Executive Career Service advisors will help you determine where you are and how to get to where you want to be.

Find New OpportunitiesSearch open positions around the world on our Opportunities board. Explore the list of 400-600 executive jobs, updated daily, then narrow it down by industry, function or geography to match your goals.

Continue GrowingFeatures like our MyGoals achievement tracker and content like our Executive Search Insights reports ensure you continue to improve as an executive and prepare you for whatever opportunities lie ahead.

BlueSteps Can Help You

Increase Your VisibilityA BlueSteps profile makes you visible to over 9,000 AESC executive recruiters. You can also build career-long relationships with the right recruiters for you using our AESC Member Directory.


Chart 9: Global executives forecast top sectors for strongest growth in 2018.

Outlook by Sector

The Technology sector is expected to have the strongest growth at the executive level in 2018 with seventy-five percent of respondents believing there will be robust growth in the industry. The

next most commonly named sector by our survey respondents was the Healthcare & Life Sciences, followed by Financial Services, Professional Services and the Consumer & Retail sector.

Chart 10: Global executives and AESC member search consultants predict the volume of executive job opportunities in 2018 by sector.

AESC member executive search consultants are also most optimistic about the Technology sector according to those who were surveyed for the 2018 AESC Talent Outlook Report. The viewpoints of AESC member search consultants and global executives align on the success of various sectors

in 2018 with the exception of the Industrial sector. Only twenty-six percent of global executives believe the Industrial sector will have strong growth versus forty-six percent of AESC member search consultants, showing there may be more executive job opportunities there than executives expect.

The Technology Sector is Overwhelmingly Forecast to Have the Most Growth

A Comparison of Executive and AESC Member Outlooks


Executives in the Consumer Goods sector and Professional Services sector are most likely to believe that the number of executive level roles will increase compared to last year, at fifty-two percent and fifty percent respectively. The Consumer Goods sector had

the most improvement in their outlook for executive roles with sixty-seven percent more believing there will be more roles than last year. For the second year in a row, the Non-Profit section was least optimistic.

The Expected Volume of Executive Roles by Global Leaders in Different Sectors

Chart 11: Global executives predict the volume of executive job opportunities in 2018 by sector.


Chart 12: Optimism about the executive job market among global executives for 2018 by function.

Board Directors and Chief Finance Officers are the most hopeful about the 2018 job market. Seventy-two percent of Board Directors and sixty-seven percent of CFOs believe this year’s job market will be better than the prior’s. CIOs and CTOs had a ninety-seven percent increase in the percentage of executives who are more optimistic about

2018 than 2017, bringing it to fifty-eight percent.

The number of executive-level respondents who said they are less optimistic about the current year’s executive job market than the previous year’s market decreased across every functional role, showing overall, executives believe the executive job market is strong.

Outlook by Function

Board Directors, CFOs and CHROs Are Most Optimistic About the Executive Job Market

CFOs are bullish about the executive job market in 2018. Sixty-seven percent believe there will be an increase in the number of executive level positions and none expect a decrease. COOs are also very hopeful, with fifty-two percent stating there will be an increase in the number of executive level positions.

Only forty-seven percent of CIOs and CTOs believe there will be more opportunities in

2018. They are also the only member of the C-Suite to have a decrease in the percentage of people expecting an increase in the amount of executive positions, with a twenty four percent decrease. This is in contrast to the outlook of AESC executive search consultants who believe CIOs and CTOs will have the second most growth in the number of roles in 2018, just behind CEOs at forty-six percent.


Chart 13: Global executives predict the volume of

executive job opportunities in 2018 by function

The Expected Volume of

Executive Roles by Global Leaders

in Different Functions

Chart 14: Optimism about the executive job market among AESC member search consultants for 2018 for functional roles.

Functions That AESC Executive Search Consultants Expect to Have the Most Growth


Chart 15: Optimism about the executive job market among global executives for 2018 by geographic region.

The Americas are the most optimistic with sixty-six percent of respondents in Latin America and fifty-seven percent in the United States and Canada believing the executive job market will grow in 2018. The Middle Eastern region is considerably less positive than the other regions

globally. Only thirty-three percent of respondents from the area are more optimistic for this year and twenty-eight percent are less optimistic. Most Middle Eastern respondents who are less optimistic attribute it to a slower local economy and the regional business and political climate.

Outlook by Country

Executive Optimism About the Executive Job Market by Global Regions


Chart 15: Optimism about the executive job market among global executives for 2018 by geographic region.

Executive Optimism About the Executive Job Market by Global Regions

While overall the European market is comparatively less optimistic than other regions, certain areas are much higher than the global average of fifty-four percent. Eighty-three percent of French and seventy-five percent of Nordic respondents expressed increased levels of optimism. Eighty percent of Brazilian executives expressed optimism, making them the second most positive

geographic market after France.Management-level professionals in

Greater China have the lowest level of optimism globally. Only twenty percent of respondents are more optimistic that the 2018 executive-level job market will perform better than it did the previous year; the majority, sixty-seven percent, expect no change in the job market.

Chart 16: Optimism about the executive job

market among global executives for 2018 by

country.

Executives from Countries Around

the World Share Their

Optimism on Executive Hiring


Chart 17: Global executives and AESC member search consultants predict which country will have the most growth in their 2018 job market.

Despite the lack of optimism by business leaders in Greater China, both AESC executive search consultants and executives worldwide believe the executive job market in Greater China will have some of the strongest growth in 2018. When asked which three markets they

expect to have the most growth in 2018, both groups responded the United States, Greater China, and India, which can be attributed to the markets’ strong economic performances and positive business climates in 2017.

A Comparison of Predictions on the 2018 Executive Job Market by Global Executives and AESC Members

“The demand for top talent in Asia remains driven by strong macroeconomic fundamentals particularly in markets such as China, Indonesia, and Singapore. Multinational companies that were once leveraging expatriate talent are now localizing their top teams. The region is at the forefront of adopting new technologies

and business models, particularly in the area of mobile commerce and this creates new demand for innovative talent.”

- Fabrice Desmarescaux, AESC ASEAN Chair & Managing Partner,

Eric Salmon Partners, Singapore


A Comparison of Predictions on the 2018 Executive Job Market by Global Executives and AESC Members

Chart 18: Optimism about the executive job market among Global executives for 2018 by country compared to 2017.

France, Brazil and India Have Large Increases In Their Optimism Levels for the Executive Job Market

AESC is the voice of excellence for the executive search and leadership

consulting profession worldwide. Its rigorous Code of Professional Practice

guides members in nearly 1,300 offices in 74 countries and beyond to serve

as strategic advisors on behalf of their clients. In turn, AESC members are

best positioned to provide companies with a competitive advantage—the

ability to find, attract and develop the best talent in the world and ensure

that executives are successfully integrated.

www.aesc.org

Copyright © 2018 AESC. All Rights Reserved.

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