The shape of the current recession has been described in many ways – a double-dipping W with more pain to come or a V-style recovery, with the rise as steep as the fall.

But Gary Burnison, chief executive of Los Angeles-based Korn/Ferry, the world’s largest headhunter by revenue, says it will be a Nike-shaped “swoosh” – a gradual return to health following last year’s hurtle down a “double black-diamond ski slope”.