TheLadders.com Executive Employment Outlook

67% Say Now is Better Time than Last Year to be in the Job Market

New York, NY ñ With 337,000 jobs added to American payrolls during the month of October, economists are seeing a turn-around in the health of the economy. How are workers at the higher end of the pay scale interpreting the current job market? According to a survey conducted by executive job search service TheLadders.com, job seekers in the $100k market have become increasingly optimistic, with many saying it will only take them one to three months to land their next positions.

Of the 3,225 executives surveyed, 32% say they expect their current job hunt to last between one and three months. This number is up slightly from 30% when TheLadders.com quarterly Executive Employment Outlook survey was last conducted in August 2004. An equal amount (32%), anticipate a three-to-six month search, down from 35% in August. Among the less optimistic executives, 22% expect a six-to-twelve month job search and 13% are preparing themselves for twelve months or more in the job market.

The survey of registered $100k executives was conducted on TheLadders.com Web site from October 8, 2004 through November 3, 2004. The margin of error is 1.71%.

In a related survey of 1,657 executives, 67% of respondents said, ìnow is a better time to be in the job market than this time last year.î This survey was also conducted online at TheLadders.com between October 8, 2004 and November 3, 2004. The margin of error is 2.4%.

ìLast week we posted over 3,000 $100k jobs on our Web site and newsletter,î explained TheLadders.com founder and president, Marc Cenedella. ìWeíre seeing steady growth in this market and, though they certainly expect to spend a sizable chunk of time looking, our readers are telling us they are upbeat on their job prospects.î
Now reaching over 170,000 readers, TheLadders.com has succeeded in this exclusive slice of the market by turning the traditional recruitment business model upside down: it does not accept money from hiring firms, recruiters, or recruitment advertising agencies. Instead, it generates revenues by offering a premium service to job seekers, which includes a greater number of job listings, more detail on each job, early delivery, and more features for $50 per month. In addition, the company offers a free, basic service to job seekers.

Marc Cenedella founded TheLadders.com in July 2003 after a tenure as Senior Vice President, Finance & Operations, at HotJobs.com, ultimately shepherding that companyís sale to Yahoo, Inc. (NASD: YHOO) in 2002. In May 2004 he was named Entrepreneur of the Year by award-winning marketing newsletter, MarketingSherpa, which cited TheLadders.comís unique business model as a key to its sustained growth.