EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP. TRANSFORMATION. PEOPLE. ORGANIZATION.

PEOPLE LEADERSHIP │ VALUES │ EDUCATION

 

JOB SEARCHING AS AN EXECUTIVE HAS BECOME UNDIGNIFIED.

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In 2025, around 49,000 executives in Germany were registered as unemployed or seeking work—the highest number in almost a decade. Following the loss of 177,000 industrial jobs and the continuing economic slowdown, that number is likely to have grown even further in 2026.

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But behind every number is a human being.

Today, I want to talk about one particular observation: how experienced leaders are being treated.

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There was a time when leadership responsibility came with respect.

Today, I often feel that respect has been lost.

And yet, we should acknowledge what it takes to get there. Anyone who has spent years or decades leading people, building organizations, making difficult decisions and carrying accountability has achieved something exceptional. Executive compensation doesn't simply fall into your lap.

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Yet executives also find themselves looking for a new role. Contrary to popular belief, they are not automatically financially secure. They have families to support and careers to rebuild.

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So what does the market feel like today?

There is an invisible job market, one that seems inaccessible to most.

There are networks that generate attention but rarely create real opportunities.

Career consultants explain how private equity investors want your CV to look. Personal branding agencies offer to manage your LinkedIn presence for thousands of euros a month. Reverse recruiters charge five-figure fees to introduce your profile to the "right" decision-makers.

Job postings disappear within hours.

Automated rejections arrive in the middle of the night.

Headhunters simply stop calling after several conversations.

Urgent vacancies suddenly turn into internal hires.

Requirements change overnight.

And your CV is always wrong; too long, too short, too modern, too traditional, too many keywords or too few.

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A difficult job market is one thing.

How we treat people is another.

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We expect executives to demonstrate resilience, integrity, professionalism and accountability.

Why don't we expect the same from companies, recruiters, headhunters and the systems they use?

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At a time when organizations are struggling with unprecedented complexity, experienced leaders are too often treated like interchangeable data records.

They are not.

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Many have invested years in higher education, professional development, leadership responsibility and the willingness to make difficult decisions.

That doesn't entitle them to special treatment.

But it does entitle them to respect.

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And perhaps we should ask ourselves one more question:

If this is how we treat people who choose to take responsibility, who will still want to become a leader tomorrow?

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That's what I talk about in my latest video.