A recent survey by insurance company MetLife found that 45% of Americans surveyed believed they could not pay their bills for more than one month if they faced redundancy, while 65% said they could not last three months. These results come as no surprise as many of us have become comfortable with living in debt and planning to save tomorrow. Complete job security has always been a myth - only now job insecurity seems to be dominating public mentality.

Executive job search – Prepare for the long-term

When conducting a job search at the executive level, finding your next position can take up to 12 months and beyond. Therefore, you must bear in mind the possibility of unemployment in your career and ensure you are able to take your time to find your next executive job, and not compromise your career. Taking a job that is not a progressive step for your career, will be like taking one step forward, two steps back.

• Manage your career and build your network during employment - this will shorten your time to locating your next executive job if unemployment strikes unexpectedly. 
• Put money aside. Think carefully about what would happen if you lost your job? Especially if you have a family, could you continue to support them?
• When in transition between executive jobs, ensure you manage your finances carefully and prepare for the long-run.

The final question you should ask yourself as you plan for the 'what-if' scenario - how long could you last if you were made unemployed today?
 

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This article was written by Christian Pielow from the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC).

BlueSteps is the exclusive service of the AESC that puts senior executives on the radar screen of over 6,000 executive search professionals in over 70 countries.Be visible, and be considered for up to 50,000 opportunities handled by AESC search firms every year. Find out more at www.BlueSteps.com.