Shift in Demand for Top Management Talent Puts Executives Atop Seller's Market; Slayton Search Partners ''point of view'' shares insights on what's driving market for C-level executives

CHICAGO--Sept. 5, 2006--Rising demand for top-paid executives is giving top candidates opportunities to write their own tickets to the C-suite, while leading them in many cases to decline attractive opportunities that may have been more appealing in leaner times.

A new "point of view" essay from Chicago-based Slayton Search Partners examines the factors that have created a sellers' market in the executive search game. To download a free copy, visit https://www.slaytonsearchpartners.com/docs/slaytonpovsept06.pdf.

In the point of view, executive recruiter Rick Slayton analyzes both sides of the recruiting equation and offers insights into strategies that are working for both companies and on-the-move executives. Slayton's firm has a 20-year track record of helping companies in a variety of key industries fill crucial, C-level positions across all management disciplines.

"The supply and demand dynamics have given high performing executives more career options than they've had in years, and from that perspective, it's beginning to smack of 1999 all over again," Slayton adds. "The A Players are much more selective about pursuing transition options, but they're also pouncing on the opportunity to get what they want."

Slayton also points to a spate of recent studies that document an increase in executive job transitions and a move by employers to change their pay practices to match a tightening and more competitive job market. For example, a study from Liberum Research documents a nearly 60 percent jump this year in executive churn. ExecuNet reports a surge in hiring at executive search firms, and a Mercer Human Resources Consulting report reveals companies' plans to boost executive compensation. These reports all provide evidence of an accelerating war for executive talent.

"Candidates, as a general rule, have more power today," Slayton says. "For much of the past five years, employers were holding the cards in the executive employment market, because new opportunities were scarce. But today, it's clear that the pendulum of the executive employment market has moved way over to the candidate or seller side. The bargaining advantage has shifted substantially beyond equilibrium in favor of the top candidates."

This year's fall recruiting season will keep corporate recruiters and executive search firms extremely busy trying to market compelling career opportunities to top management talent. It will also have a large number of executives spending more time interviewing to assess more job opportunities, Slayton predicts.

"I think we're looking at a pretty high level of executive-level recruiting activity now, but it will increase this fall," Slayton predicts. "I don't see any downturn in the near future."

Slayton expects corporate employers will continue to place a premium on A Players who have the right mix of professional experience, advanced education, a track record of consistent performance and successive promotions, and the intangibles that he describes as "executive presence." Slayton also believes leading employers will continue to create more opportunities for women and minority executives.

Slayton notes an increasing number of executive job candidates are turning their noses at new job opportunities with any company rumored to have a tyrannical CEO, high executive turnover, and/or business practices that might remotely evolve into corporate scandal. Slayton advises corporate employers not to underestimate the importance of their reputation, their brand, and their overall workplace experience and corporate mission, because top caliber management candidates are usually motivated by the challenge of a new job with a growth-oriented employer.

"Any company that can't effectively articulate its vision for the future and a compelling employment proposition for world-class management executives will find its ability to recruit diminished or hampered until that changes," Slayton says.

Slayton also advises executives to nurture relationships with recruiters. "Even A Players need to have relationships with search firms," Slayton says. "Your best option may still be at your current employer, but developing relationships with the best search consultants - that's just good career management."

About Slayton Search Partners

Slayton Search Partners, Inc. is a top retained executive search firm, serving some of America's most recognized companies in the following industries: Consumer & Retail, Financial Services, Industrial and Life Sciences. Slayton professionals also possess expertise in several functional areas including: Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Marketing, Supply Chain and Technology. Headquartered in Chicago, Slayton serves its clients nationwide with offices in major U.S. markets including Atlanta, Denver, Stamford and Washington, DC.