How the Economy Impacts C-Suite Opportunities
Inflation … Stagflation …. Recession is clearly on everyone’s minds these days and everyone is trying to make sense of how it impacts her/himself directly. Over the past few weeks and on countless occasions, I have been asked how the economy impacts C-Suite opportunities. Executive candidates are concerned whether the window of great opportunity has suddenly shut the door.
My answer is simple – there is no impact. Given over twenty years in the field of executive recruiting and the nearly thirteen years of serving as an agent to C-Suite executives and managing their careers, I am very confident in my statement. There is no impact. Back on April 13th, I reposted a blog post I had written during the height of the pandemic – “Keeping the Faith in Your Search”. The issues may be vastly different, but the principles of driving your search remain unchanged.
The History
Perhaps with years of practice I am fortunate to have gained a bit of wisdom or perhaps exposure to how the economy impacts executive leadership opportunities.. I had the great fortune of entering into executive search with one of the big four firms at the height of the .com boom. It was exciting, energizing and exhausting. We had more search work than we new what do with. Newly minted executive recruiters were thrown into the deep end of the pool – literally sink or swim. There were more opportunities than qualified candidates. It was exhilarating. Then, 9/11 happened and the world came to a halt. Suddenly there was no work, layoffs across search firms were endless and everyone was trying to survive. But, just a couple of years later, we came out of it. It was different but we were back on track.
Then, there was 2008. The subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010 that contributed to the 2007 to 2008 global financial crisis. It was painful at first, but again we came out of it. It was different but we were back on track.
The Justification
And now, here we are again with incredible inflation and the threat of a recession. People are starting to feel the pain that comes with global unrest and high inflation. There is no impact on the number or quality of C-Suite opportunities. Whether 2001, 2008 or 2022 – highly qualified and skilled C-Suite executives and corporate board members are needed in many organizations. That has not changed and in my opinion, never will.
When we see jobs reports they are not indicative of the C-Suite opportunities. Yes, we see technology companies cutting jobs – but that is not at the C-Suite level. So, again there should be no concern about the impact to the volume of C-Suite opportunities.
Stay the Course
Keep the faith in your search, stick with it and keep moving forward. I suggest taking another look at the posting from December 27, 2022 – there are links that are very helpful tools regarding driving your search, network and interviewing. If nothing else, just remember how competitive it is out there. There is no under estimating that.
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