One of the downsides of the information age is that there is information — way too much of it. Especially when you are trying to follow people on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and oh yeah, newspapers, TV news, and iPhone alerts. My problem is that I look at the subject lines, and see so much interesting stuff that the next thing I know I am further and further behind the tasks that I really ought to be doing. I need to talk to someone who is in the self-discipline business!

Be that as it may, one of the items that recently caught my attention was a link that one of my Facebook and ExecuNet friends (Tom Borger) posted. It was a report published by the Pew Research called: How the Great Recession Has Changed Life in America. While I certainly didn't need a report to tell me how life has changed for all of us as the result of what we have experienced over the past couple of years, I thought it would be interesting to see it from an historical perspective. It was. Not fun for sure, but interesting. Despite not being uplifting or motivational, I think it would be of interest to others as well.

On the other hand, when one reads something like this, it is important to keep in mind that it is written from the macro perspective, and like anything else that impacts the economy, different pictures can start to emerge when more closely examined. Obviously, here at ExecuNet, we have been following the executive marketplace for a long time, and after reading the Pew piece, at least for the market we serve, it is still very comforting to note that while it is by no means a hockey stick, the employment trend for those seeking senior executive jobs continues to move up and remain in positive territory.

Is it moving as fast as any of us would like? Of course not. But it remains in positive territory and has been for the past several months, and we (like the recruiters from whom we gather the data) think that is going to continue as we move into the second half of the year.

Dave Opton
Dave Opton founded ExecuNet in 1988 to provide a trusted environment where senior-level executives could build career opportunities by facilitating connections to other executives, experts and key market insights. Dave has drawn upon his 35 years of experience in human resources to develop and grow what has become the leading business and career membership network for executives and senior managers. A widely recognized executive career management expert, Dave is regularly quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, Fortune, Fast Company, and other leading business publications. Mr. Opton received his BA from Indiana University. Dave blogs at Six Figure Learnings

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