If you’re currently an executive or ready to move up into an executive role, you’re probably wondering how job market trends will affect your job search. While they may have some impact on available jobs, executive-level employment is often in a league of its own. Keep reading to learn more about the current job market for executives and what you can do to improve your chances of obtaining an executive-level position.
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Current Job Market Trends
In the United States, current job market trends are trending upward, showing more available jobs. In fact, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the government entity that provides reports on job market trends, released that between 2022 and 2032, total employment is projected to grow by almost 4.7 million jobs, which is largely due to the growth of the healthcare industry. The good news is that companies are looking for executives specifically to lead them out of times of uncertainty and into prosperity.
What is the executive job market?
When looking at overall job market trends, it is important to acknowledge that the executive job market is a little different than the regular job market because it only includes C-level executive positions. C-level titles are those that begin with Chief. These include, for example, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Information Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. Executive positions, such as executive director, are also considered part of the executive job market. These positions represent people who have achieved the top-level of management, responsibility, and authority within a company or organization. In other words, these positions are the highest level of power in an organization, specific to that role.
Fast-growing Industries for Executives
If you’re looking to make a lateral move (a current executive looking to change companies or even industries but maintain the same position) or you are ready to move up, job market trends show that among some of the fastest growing industries for executives are healthcare, technology, and hospitality.
Healthcare
With an entire generation aging, post-COVID worker shortage, and cultural changes demanding better wellness, preventative care, and access are all leading to exponential growth in every aspect of the healthcare system. Job market trends indicate that the healthcare industry is expected to grow faster than average according to BLS.gov.
Technology
As Artificial Intelligence has begun more mainstream, infiltrating nearly every aspect of our culture, the technology sector has become another hot-spot for executives. Those seeking executive positions in tech will find opportunities in start-ups and established companies as they grapple with changes, data security needs, and more. Additionally, companies outside of the tech industry will likely be seeking tech executives to help lead their company’s technology team.
Hospitality
The hospitality industry, believe it or not, ranks high in job market trends for fast-growing industries, and those industries for executives. Disposable income is on the rise, as are work-from-home positions, which means some employees are taking advantage of the ability to work from anywhere. This increased demand for travel has resulted in a need for more employees — and more executives.
How Prospective Executives Can Stay Ahead
The executive-level job market is competitive, and those vying for the few executive-level jobs should know that they have to be the best of the best in order to get an offer for the coveted executive position they seek. To compete with other executives, you should personally invest in developing your leadership and communication skills, a network, and ensuring your resume is rock-solid. This will help you stay ahead of the crowd no matter what job market trends are saying.
Leadership Skills
Leadership skills encompass more than the ability to tell people what to do and to make the right decisions. Being a leader encompasses a lot of soft skills, including emotional intelligence. By having strong leadership skills, you are able to work with people, have people trust in you, and be confident in your choices and leadership.
Communication Skills
Communication skills, both written and verbal, are absolutely critical when it comes to working well with other people. Executives take meetings with others in similar executive roles, work with staff, write emails, and more, which means that they need to have solid communication skills. Executives are in leadership roles and are expected to be able to communicate respectfully, clearly, and in a way that their peers and their direct reports can understand.
Develop a Network
You’ve likely heard the proverb “it’s not what you know but who you know” or some iteration thereof because it’s practical advice that often rings true for job candidates. Developing a network can help you find out about positions before they are posted. Knowing the hiring manager might mean that your name gets flagged as a must-read in a stack of resumes. Developing personal relationships can only benefit you when it comes to your job search.
Craft an Excellent Resume
It takes more than simply having a resume without typos to gain an executive level job. Job market trends show that those candidates who highlight specific, related qualifications that are relevant to the position they seek will have a better chance of getting hired. By quantifying key achievements, you are providing evidence of your skills, which goes a lot farther than just asking the employer to take your word for it.
Get Help With Your Executive Resume
No matter what job market trends indicate, it is possible to attain an executive level position. Having a second set of eyes can help you identify key areas of opportunity and improvement, and most executives will tell you that they take the time to invest in having someone else review their qualifications to ensure they’ve got a superior resume. Having that second set of eyes be an expert in resumes can help you get ahead much farther than a member of the general population. Reach out to a professional executive-level resume expert today at Capstone Resumes to take your resume from good to hired!
