Editor’s note: This article was first published in March 2011, during the economic crisis in Spain. The figure of 36,000 unemployed executives, typically over 45 with more than 15 years in management, and the profile companies were seeking reflect that moment.
According to official figures from Spain’s State Public Employment Service, the number of executives with experience in business management who are currently out of work stands at 36,000. They are typically over 45 and have more than 15 years of experience in management.
The problem for these people, besides having already adjusted to a standard of living in line with their salary, is that this spell on the unemployment rolls may well mean they never return to their former roles. In short, for many of them the game in the top division is over: in the middle of this crisis, business models are changing, and the requirements for tomorrow’s company managers will be very different.
The company director profile in demand today is a young person with a university degree, master’s and postgraduate qualifications, a perfect command of computer tools and, above all, as many languages as possible.
This profile rules out the “old” executives, a high percentage of whom have not retrained properly to step into this new era. Add to that the fact that until now they have commanded very high salaries, and their job prospects don’t look good, at least in the short and medium term.
Right now, the fear among executives who are still employed is noticeable. Some of them admit that they don’t make decisions for fear of getting it wrong and being fired.
At the same time, there is a debate about which type of executive is more valuable to a company: on one side we have experience, and on the other “high qualifications” but no experience on the battlefield.
If we look at Spain, the most important companies are run by old-school executives who, although they may not be “up to speed” on new technologies and languages, know how to surround themselves with people who understand what they lack. That is what makes an executive a leader.
Even so, a new opportunity is opening up for young executives, and I would give them one piece of advice: never forget that the résumé is the bodywork and experience is the driver of the car. We are already seeing the first cases of young executives whose egos are bigger than the positive value they can bring to a company.
Only the future will decide which kind of executive is better suited to this new era of technology and international markets.
Further reading
- Hiring a leader for your business: the qualities of a good boss
- Common mistakes made by Spanish business owners
- How to become a successful entrepreneur
- The entrepreneur’s mindset, according to Donald Trump
Featured image: Bill McChesney, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
