The skills hardest to find in the global job market

What would an ambitious and tactically minded executive write in an application letter to secure a position with a global company?

According to PwC's 11th Annual Global CEO Survey they should write:

'I am an experienced professional with extensive technical and business expertise. I have valuable global experience, strong leadership capabilities, am innovative, creative and able to manage risk. I have the courage to challenge and am able to quickly adjust to internal and external change.'

Why? Because, according to the 1150 CEOs polled, people with these qualities are most difficult to find. However, the survey also uncovered that you are most likely to find these individuals in the US and western economies.

In Asia Pacific, creativity and innovation, combined technical and business experience, the ability to change and the courage to challenge are the most sought after skills. In Latin America, CEOs hanker after employees with global experience. The ability to manage and anticipate risk is most sought after by bosses in Central and Eastern Europe.

Respondents from the UK are more likely to agree that competitive advantage will come from improved customer service (84%), the ability to change (83%) and access and retention of key talent (81%).

There is mixed news for people managers. 89% of CEOs globally say that people management issues are one of their top priorities, 67% believe their time is best spent on the people agenda but only 43% believe their HR department is equipped to deal with changes needed to compete for talent – this is as low as 34% in the UK.

Michael Rendell, partner and leader of Human Resource Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, said:

"Many of the world's rapidly emerging markets are coming out of a manufacturing based model into one where services are more prominent. This will mean a higher demand for management skills common in the mature economies of Western Europe and the US. Executives here will have multiple employment options internationally and their current employers may find they have to work increasingly hard to retain them.

"Right now, this situation is being compounded by volatile stock market performance which will lead some executives in larger UK organisations to question the value of their reward packages if they are substantially dependent upon share price performance."

To view the full results of the 11th annual PricewaterhouseCoopers global CEO survey go to: http://www.pwc.co.uk/mindoftheceo