Summary There was a 15% uptick in search volume as capacity frees upIt’s a good time to be a sales leader in terms of comp and search volumeEfficiencies were found in closing candidates while time to identify candidates is still lengthy Download Thrive’s Q1 2022 Executive Compensation & Talent Benchmarks Report. Key Takeaway #1: An Uptick in Open Searches The early stage of 2022 has put larger economic factors and geopolitical conflicts in the spotlight, raising a big question mark around the overall impact on valuations, growth, and leadership hiring. Our data shows, in fact, that instead of a possible dip in executive search volume this quarter — Q1 2022 saw a 15% lift in open searches for executive roles while median compensation remained the same. This was likely the result of a domino effect: the strong backlog in closed searches from Q4 of last year impacted capacity, which then propelled search velocity and bumped the uptick in closed searches by 4.5%. Key Takeaway #2: It’s a Great Time to be a Sales Leader In terms of both compensation and open search volume, Q1 or 2022 indicates that executive sales leaders are in an elevated position. Compared to other roles, base compensation for sales leaders saw a 20% increase YoY and was leading other roles in terms of greatest YoY growth. Looking more closely at open searches by quarter and by function, we’re seeing search volume aligning closely with a similar uptick of 18% growth in search volume YoY. In fact, sales roles took first place when looking at opened searches by quarter, compared to any other roles featured in this report (finance came in second, and marketing came in third). Key Takeaway #3: The Race is Still on to Close Candidates FAST Breaking down the search cycle into two parts — time to identify a placement and time to close the candidate — Q2 proved found efficiencies in closing candidates while time to identify the right candidates took longer. In fact, sourcing the right candidate took 19% longer in Q1 of this year compared to Q4 or last year. Recent conversations with our executive talent partner community revealed that while they are seeing the macroeconomic caution signs — they’re not seeing search volume slowing down and the supply and demand issues persist. Samantha Price, Talent Partner at Audacious Ventures, sums this up nicely: “While the sands are shifting in the capital markets, there is an increased emphasis on making sure you don’t overhire too soon but as we well know, the best competition for the best talent is as fierce as ever. More companies have been funded in the last 2-3 years than ever before and they’re all looking to grow. But top talent remains scarce and the CEOs who out recruit are the ones who win big. So it’s very much still a candidate’s market.” In our latest report, the Q1 2022 Executive Compensation & Talent Benchmarks Report, we analyzed all of this and more… Top trends across in-house, venture capital, private equity, and executive search firms. Top trends across in-house, venture capital (broken out by early and late stages), private equity, and executive search firmsHow macroeconomics factors are coming to a crossroads and the impact on overall outlook[New to this report] How median years of experience across different executive levels have changed over time Get access to all of our benchmark data and the full overview of Q1 2022 by downloading our report.