But, as with the rest of the employment market, executive search has been evolving to suit the current economic climate . . . a climate where there are simply not enough suitable people to fill the specialist roles available.

"The market for senior positions remains buoyant due to a continuing strong economic performance . . .

however there is a limit on the number of people out there with the skills and experience to fill certain roles, " said John McCullough, Managing Director of KPMG Executive Search & Selection. "That's where experienced search and selection professionals can add real value."

Many of these roles are being filled by ex-pats returning to the fold. But the availability of certain positions will, naturally, mean that the profile of senior management is getting younger. But this is not "One interesting dynamic is that some well known and highly successful companies have appointed Chief Execs in their 30s . . . demonstrating that relative youth need not be a barrier to success in securing a board level appointment, " said McCullough.

Another significant change in the market has been the broadening of the scope of search beyond the traditional areas of senior management.

"Sometimes even at supervisor level, the only way to fill a role is to use a search company, " said Stephen Brady, who heads Broadreach, an international executive search company. "This is especially true in the financial services industry, where a lack of mobility in areas such as the funds industry means that much of the time a company will get no responses to traditional forms of advertising."

This is a view which is shared by Ronan Colleran, who feels that part of the reason for this expanding of the role of search is due to the market's openness to the idea of search. Colleran is director of Accreate, which is part of the Imprint Plc group.

"Search is more expensive, " he said. "But given the tightness of the market, especially in the banking sector and in revenue generating roles, clients are happy to use search, sometimes as part of a wider campaign. So they might run an advertising campaign initially, and if they get no responses from that, they might turn to a search company."

Of course, for some senior positions, many candidates will not respond directly to traditional advertising, so it might be prudent to dispense with advertising entirely. But part of creating a successful search industry is to ensure that clients are getting value for money . . . something which Colleran feels could be done better in Ireland.

"I feel that the Irish executive search market is poorly serviced, " he said. "For example, the London market is far more specialised that Dublin. Many of the players in Dublin point to their confidentiality and their ethics, but these should be a given, rather than being presented as a core competency of the companies in question."

The question of quality is being addressed by the industry itself, where many executive search companies are moving away from the retainer model, and basing themselves on a no-fill, no-fee policy.

"We are moving away from the retained model much more towards contingencybased recruitment, " said Stephen Brady of Broadreach. "The purpose of a retainer is to qualify the role of the search company, so that that company is not gazumped by a position being filled from elsewhere . . . but it might also preclude some clients from using search as a method to fill a position.

Still, a retainer becomes obsolete if a search company is confident that it can complete the job."

Indeed, the general consensus is that search does work, although given the nature of the positions which are tending to be filled through search, it may take time to get the right results.

"It can take a few months because we have to get the right fit, " explained John McCullough of KPMG.

"Clients demand it, candidates expect it. However, using a well established recruitment consultant means that you have ready access to an existing network of potential candidates . . . so that can speed up the search process."