In the face of lingering economic uncertainty, most executive search firms are working toward full utilization of their existing research and consulting teams before pursuing new hires.

In August, ExecuNet's benchmark Search Firm Hiring Index revealed that 20 percent of 126 responding executive recruiters indicated they would be adding new professional research and consulting staff over the next three months, down just one point from July.



The notion that one-in-five search firms plan to be hiring is actually very positive news against the backdrop of economic uncertainty and a recent decline in recruiter confidence in the executive employment market. Like many other employers, executive search firm owners are waiting for clarity on the short-term direction of the economy and consumer confidence.

Joseph Daniel McCool
Joseph Daniel McCool is senior contributing editor with ExecuNet and principal of management recruiting/succession advisory firm The McCool Group. He is also the author of Deciding Who Leads: How Executive Recruiters Drive, Direct & Disrupt the Global Search for Leadership Talent, recognized widely as "one of the best business books of 2008," and its Brazilian Portuguese translation, Escolhendo Líderes, published in June 2010.

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