Software Industry Most Popular for Senior-Level Sales

According to TheLadders.com, a company providing the world’s leading online recruiting resource to recruiters and job seekers in the $100k+ employment market, the software industry tops the list for the most popular executive-level sales jobs for the second quarter of 2006 (see Table 1). Moreover, it looks like it will stay that way through the remainder of 2006, says TheLadders.com CEO Marc Cenedella.

"The Internet has changed how every industry, business, and company interacts with customers, so I expect the software industry to continue to play a leading role in how all of us do business in 2006 and beyond," says Cenedella.

Whether or not companies are in the “hot” industry right now, Cenedella says that they still need a qualified sales team to help them grow their business. And finding that competent team is tough. "The top sales executives are pretty savvy at marketing themselves," says Cenedella. "Companies have to continue to innovate and find the best way to market themselves to connect with the best candidates. That means using new tools, like ours, to help them quickly identify and connect with top talent."

Table 1

Most Popular Executive-Level ($100k+) Sales Jobs
1.	Software
2.	Financial Services
3.	Telecom
4.	IT Services
5.	Pharmaceuticals
6.	Consulting
7.	Hardware
8.	Business Services
9.	Medical Devices
10.	Networking

Table 2

Number of Sales Jobs by Industry Sector
Sector	Number of Sales Jobs on TheLadders.com in Q2
Technology/Telecommunication	6,685
Service	3,839
Health/Bio/Pharmaceutical	1,591
Industrial	1,309
Media & Advertising	1,302
Consumer	671

Table 3

Executive Interest In Sales Jobs by Industry Sector
Sector	Number of Sales Executives Who Clicked on Jobs Posted on TheLadders.com in Q2
Technology/Telecommunication	8,076
Service	4,653
Health/Bio/Pharmaceutical	1,924
Industrial	1,636
Media & Advertising	1,603
Consumer	873

While the market for hiring sales reps is extremely tight right now, on the sales senior level it seems as if the opposite is true (see Tables 2 and 3). However, the numbers can be deceiving. "One of the key things to remember about senior-level sales professionals is that they often have the luxury of being selective during their search process," says Cenedella. "More senior candidates may be in the market, but they are deliberately taking their time to evaluate the opportunities before they make their next move."

So what’s a hiring company to do? "Technology is not going to solve recruiting problems, but it can definitely help make the process of finding the best candidates easier," says Cenedella. "The companies who figure out how to effectively use the online, and offline, recruiting tools at their disposal will be the ones who exceed their recruiting – and sales – goals in 2007."

Statistics provided by TheLadders.com, http://www.theladders.com.