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Benefits October 15, 2002
Managerial Job Search Duration at 16-year High
October 15, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The economy and
much more thorough background investigations are leading to
longer job search periods for executives, according to
Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Reported by Eric Hazard
For executives and managers the job search time is now at 3.83 months, the longest in the 16 years the firm has tracked this. This is an increase of 26% from the same period in 2001. Much of this increased job search time is due to recent high-profile unethical actions taken by corporate executives.
Potential employers are now checking and re-checking references and conducting much more extensive background checks to try and screen out potential problems and falsified resumes.
Also contributing is the sluggish economy, which has produced a larger available labor pool and fewer available jobs. According to a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey, there are 8.6 million unemployed vying for only 3.46 million job openings.
Add to this the number of retirees now re-entering the workforce because of dwindling savings. Employers are willing to hire the older segment because they bring with them a steady work ethic, the need for little or no training because of invaluable job experience, and excitement to be part of a team again.
Seniors (those 65 and over) now represent 4.5 million of those looking for work. This total is up from 3.4 million in 1992.