Even for the most ambitious executive, the summer has traditionally been "down time" when it comes to job hunting. But not any more.
According to a new poll by online recruitment firm TheLadders.com the summer "slow season" for executive job-seekers is becoming a thing of the past, with the summer months now viewed as hot period for snapping up top-level talent.
More than 62 per cent of job seekers believed now was a better time to be in the job market compared with this time last year.
The survey also revealed that 71 per cent were actively looking for new employment opportunities.
The second quarter sector-specific hiring trends uncovered by the survey revealed an increase in openings in services as well as healthcare, in contrast to fewer jobs in the industrial and technology sectors.
"The temperature is rising and so is the activity in the job market. We've seen huge leaps in the number of candidates and recruiter memberships on our site," said Marc Cenedella, founder and chief executive of TheLadders.com.
"Vacation season is here, but executives are staying tuned in to their job searches and taking advantage of the warming trend in the market to find the right positions," he added.
The poll of 1,032 executives carried out in the second quarter of this year found that the majority of job seekers had a positive outlook on the market.
A majority also expected to apply to fewer than 50 job listings before receiving an offer (31 per cent said between 20-50 listings and 29 per cent fewer than 20).
But 39 per cent of those surveyed expected to apply to at least 50 to 100 or more jobs before getting an offer.
Reflecting the overall optimism of the survey, 27 per cent of executive job seekers believed their search would take only one to three months.
Another 35 per cent predicted a three to six month timeframe for their job search.
New York was the most desirable city in which to work, according to the poll, followed by Boston, San Francisco, Washington, and Seattle, but Detroit fared the worst on the list of 20 cities.