Shortage of executives in a rapidly growing market

The recruitment market continues its growth for the 4th consecutive year and displays a situation of almost full employment for executives. Hesitating over quality candidates has become a luxury that companies can no longer afford, under penalty of seeing the best talents slip through their fingers.

According to the study “Executive Employment Outlook 2018” conducted by APEC, the net balance of executive job creation in 2017 (which amounts to 53,800) recorded a significant increase of +7% due to the effect of recruitment dynamics combined with internal promotions. In the end, the executive population increased by +1.5% in 2017.

And the outlook is even better for 2018. Companies announce recruitment needs between 248,000 and 271,000 executives, which represents an increase that could reach +13% compared to 2017. The continuation of corporate investments and their needs for supervision and expertise to support the acceleration of digital transformation, energy transition, as well as the evolution of organizations and their management methods, are the main drivers of this dynamic.

Source: APEC, Executive Employment Outlook 2018, February 2018

Another indicator of the executive employment market dynamics: nearly 80% of executive job offers generated fewer than 50 applications.

The time when recruiters were overwhelmed with applications is over. More than 20% of offers attracted interest from fewer than 10 candidates. This is even more notable in IT functions (40%), health-social-culture (33%) and studies-R&D (26%).

It is therefore more necessary than ever for recruiters to be attractive, to know how to adapt to make a difference with over-solicited candidates and, above all, to gain in operational mobility. Faced with quality candidates, it is necessary to act quickly, within shortened decision-making processes, in which expert Executive Search recruitment firms are a precious help.

The professional union Syntec Conseil en Recrutement confirms the upward trend of the market. According to the latest figures from its monthly barometer, the first four months of 2018 show a cumulative growth of +15.2% compared to the first four months of 2017. Syntec Conseil en Recrutement publishes every month a barometer of its members’ turnover, an advanced indicator of executive employment in France. The Syntec barometer is established with the executives of recruitment firms, main partners of executive employment in the different sectors of the French economy.

Syntec figures of annual executive employment market growth since 2012:

2012/2011: -15%
2013/2012: -16%
2014/2013: +0.3%
2015/2014: +4.4%
2016/2015: +12.9%
2017/2016: +11.3%