72% Hold Neutral to Positive Outlook for Job Market During Next Six Months

New York, August 13, 2009 – Results from a recent poll of global senior executive members of BlueSteps.com, conducted from 1 July – 12 August 2009, revealed that 48% expect the economy to rebound in the first half of 2010. Only 25% of those surveyed believe a recovery will occur in the second half of 2009, with 27% not expecting a recovery until the second half of 2010 or later.

72% of BlueSteps members responding to the poll reported having a neutral to positive outlook for the senior executive job market for the next 6 months, which supports a recent survey by The Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) where 64% of executive search consultants reported the same.

“As economists are announcing that the recession might be over, we are already seeing an increased optimism from both senior executives and search consultants worldwide,” said Della Giles, Director of BlueSteps.com, a career management service for senior executives. “At a recent BlueSteps networking event held in New York, our members were actively networking with search consultants, developing their personal marketing materials and finessing their career management plans to take advantage of this predicted market improvement in early 2010.”

This poll of BlueSteps members received 271 respondents; 65% from the Americas, 22% from Europe and Africa, and 13% from Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

About The Association of Executive Search Consultants and BlueSteps.com

The Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) is the worldwide professional association for the retained executive search industry. The AESC promotes the highest professional standards in retained executive search consulting, broadens public understanding of the executive search process, and serves as an advocate for the interests of its member firms. For more information, or to download the AESC Code of Ethics and Professional Practice Guidelines, please visit www.aesc.org.

The AESC also offers www.bluesteps.com, a career management service for senior executives, and www.executivesearchconnect.com, a free service for the HR community offering industry information and tools to assist with senior executive recruiting, including access to the AESC membership directory.