A recent report from ExecuNet lists the top 11 executive job functions in most demand now, according to a recent survey of over 250 employer organizations. ExecuNet, a private network linking C-level talent with recruiting firms, gave top honors to business development (14.8 percent), sales (12.9 percent), operations management (12.9 percent), general management (10.3 percent), finance (9.1 percent), engineering (9.1 percent), marketing (8.7 percent), MIS/IT (6.2 percent), consulting (6.1 percent), research and development (5.7 percent) and human resources (3.5 percent).
Amid all of the doom and gloom and hysteria over the recent finance and credit market collapse, it's encouraging to note that the demand for talent in key areas is on the upswing. True, this is for six-figure C-level performers, but the important take away here is that demand for talent is now increasing in companies across the U.S. After hitting bottom in January, a recent survey of 138 executive recruiters indicated that four out of five expected at least a 10 percent increase in search assignments during the second half of 2008. Demand for top talent in the executive suite, therefore, is rising in spite of all the bad economic news. (Source ExecuNet)
What if you're not a C-level player? What does this mean for you?
In all of the areas mentioned above, these movers and shakers will need to build and manage superstar teams to revamp or bolster a new corporate entity that can compete more effectively in the next decade. These are not jobs that will go away or get outsourced.
But it will take a new mindset to compete. To be attractive today you need to think "superstar". Superstars don't just view jobs as paychecks, instead:
1. They think of a job as an opportunity to achieve results that can enhance their company.
2. They view a project as a chance to go the extra mile.
3. They also see a crisis or challenge as an opportunity to innovate and improve on the status quo.
Review your work history. Does your resume have examples that can fit into some of these criteria? If not, why not?
If it does, then congratulations, because your mindset of confident competence is the ingredient that is necessary to carry you through to a successful hire, especially in this struggling economic landscape.
As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers. Author of Job Search Secrets Unlocked and Paycheck 911, Joe has interviewed on radio talk shows and offers free insider job search secrets at: www.jobchangesecrets.com.
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