BlueSteps Job Outlook Report - April 2015

The 2015 BlueSteps Job Outlook Report just released by the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants, shows that 72.4 percent of management-level professionals worldwide feel more optimistic about their career opportunities for 2015, an increase of 21.4 percentage points compared to the previous year. 88.2 percent of management-level professionals responded that they are open to new opportunities in 2015.

Based on predictions by management-level professionals worldwide, director-level through C-suite, who are members of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants’ BlueSteps career management service:

The number of management-level jobs will increase in 2015.

72.4 percent of management professionals share a positive outlook on the job market for 2015, meaning they feel confident about the opportunities that would be available to them if they decided to make a career move. This represents a 21.4 percentage point increase in positivity compared to 2014, and a 36.4 percentage point increase compared to 2013. Based on these results, it’s evident from our sample that management professionals feel more positive about their career opportunities as part of the continued recovery from the Global Financial Crisis. In addition to having a positive outlook, 88.2 percent of these management professionals are open to new career opportunities in 2015, representing the increased competition for talent worldwide.

USA and Southeast Asia present increasing opportunities.

In 2015, management professionals expect to see the most growth in the USA, followed by Southeastern Asian countries (responses included Greater China, India and ASEAN). This prediction aligns closely with the sentiment of management-level professionals currently based in the US, 84.3 percent of which share a positive job outlook – 11.9 percentage points more than the global job outlook. The job outlook shared by management-level professionals in the Asia Pacific region and Europe is less positive for 2015, but is by no means disappointing. 67.5 percent of management professionals in the Asia Pacific have a positive outlook, while 68.2 percent of management professionals in Europe also have a positive outlook. South America presents a less optimistic outlook for 2015, with 51.8 percent of management professionals sharing a positive outlook—20.6 percentage points less than the global outlook.

Growing sectors are technology and healthcare/life sciences.

When asked which sectors respondents believe will see the most growth in management-level opportunities, the global top three were technology, healthcare/life sciences, and financial services. In the USA, professional services stood out as a sector with the potential to see improved growth, ranking slightly higher than financial services in the country. The Asia Pacific’s top industries also differed slightly from these global trends, ranking the industrial and consumer/retail sectors as having higher-growth potential above the financial services sector in the region. Access the full report.