Executive Job Market Forecast to be Stronger Throughout 2017, According to New Report by BlueSteps Global Executive Career Service

BlueSteps, the executive career management service by the worldwide Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), released today their 2017 Executive Career Outlook. The new report collects insights from more than 1,200 management-level professionals around the world, from Director-level through C-suite, on their outlook for executive job opportunities across industries, functions and geographies in the year ahead.

While the management-level professionals surveyed do understand there is fierce competition for top executive-level jobs, the mood among global management professionals is more optimistic about the global executive job market in 2017 compared to the same time last year. Findings from the report include:

• Of management-level professionals feeling more optimistic, the highest percentage cited a more positive economic climate in 2017 was contributing to a stronger job market
   
• Management-level professionals in Latin America are feeling the most optimistic, with 55% casting an optimistic outlook for the executive job market in 2017 compared to only 24% last year
   
• CFOs are the most confident about their job prospects this year, with 48% predicting increased job opportunities in 2017 compared to only 22% in 2016
   
• Of management-level professionals planning to actively look for new opportunities in 2017, the greatest percentage expect it will take six to twelve months to land a new executive-level job
   
• 52% of management-level professionals cited executive coaching, followed by 49% who expressed further digital training as professional development that could help candidates be more competitive in the job market

AESC President and CEO, Karen Greenbaum, commented, “This year’s BlueSteps report echoes the sentiment we are hearing from AESC member executive search and leadership consultants. Across the board, AESC members are more optimistic this year, and this positive climate should prove more favorable for many executive-level candidates seeking new opportunities in 2017.”

Managing Director of BlueSteps, Glenda K. Brown, commented, “With BlueSteps, our mission is to help busy executives manage their careers, track their goals and stay visible to the right recruiters. Insights from our Executive Career Outlook can help executives assess the current landscape by sector, function and geography as they plan their career management strategy for the year ahead. BlueSteps also offers bespoke coaching services to help executive candidates reach their goals this year and beyond, be it landing a first board seat or a new C-level position.”

A summary report of the findings is available on the BlueSteps website. The full report is available to BlueSteps members and members of AESC. For commentary, please contact Joe Chappell at jchappell@aesc.org.

About BlueSteps

BlueSteps is a global career management service for executives, from Director-level through C-suite. As an exclusive service of the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), BlueSteps empowers senior executives to effectively manage their careers, track their goals and stay visible to the more than 9,000 AESC member executive search professionals who use BlueSteps as a tool to identify candidates matching their more than 60,000 executive search assignments each year. For more information on how BlueSteps can help you manage your career, visit the BlueSteps website.