Now that the economy is slowly bouncing back, people are experiencing a heightened amount of job offers. This is especially the case for executives who, just a year ago, were holding onto their position for dear life. Today, recruiters are seeking many of these high-level candidates and employees. The difference is they now have at least one other, if not multiple, job offers in hand. As The Wall Street Journal mentioned, "According to a January survey of 380 recruiters by ExecuNet Inc., an online networking site and job board, about 51% of search firms agreed that the high-level candidates they work with often receive more than one job offer. That is up from 2010, when only 35% of search firms said they encountered candidates with multiple offers." Statistics like these emphasize the growing competition between employers for candidates in various industries.

The Growing Competition for High Level Executives

Although the economy is not booming, great strides are being made in order to create more jobs and this is quickly leading to a greater demand for top executives. Many companies are also finding that they have a higher success rate when they use recruiting firms to try and employ the best talent in the workforce. Although the job market seems to be picking up, not all firms are seeing this increase in job offers and opportunities. Much of this depends on which industries are doing well and which are struggling.

Industries with Opportunities

2011 brings promising signs of a recovering economy. More job offers have been surfacing recently than at this time last year. The industries showing most signs of improvement include the business, healthcare, social service, and technology fields. Business is such a promising field currently because of its vast diversity. Professions in accounting, sales, and public relations are just a few of the business-related sectors that are currently seeing an increase in employment. Recruiting firms are also reporting a higher than average increase in sales and management positions available.

Many of the candidates, especially at the executive levels, are seeing a jump in the number of offers they have in hand at one time. Last year many of these professionals were digging for jobs or doing everything in their power to hold onto their positions, but now they are shocked with how much attention they are receiving from recruiters and various companies. The healthcare industry with careers in athletic training, physician assistants, registered nurses, psychologists, and veterinarians are also in need of more potential employees. People in the social service and technology fields are also experiencing a slight hiring spree. Jobs like therapists, special-education teachers, social workers, engineers and technicians are also seeing an increase in the number of job openings.

Overall, most of the jobs in demand are technical and highly skilled. As The Wall Street Journal reported, "some jobs that require technical or scientific skill sets have a lot of competition for candidates, but traditional sectors, such as entertainment and autos, still have the upper hand on candidates." This demand may change later on, but it will be a slow rise to get where the economy was even ten years ago.