Recent City A.M. headlines have read: “UK services jobs decline on the longest streak since the financial crisis” and “Recruitment firms shutting at the fastest rate since the financial crisis”.

On the former, it is frustrating that we cannot help all the good job seekers we would like to in finding a role. On the latter, I feel very fortunate that we have the clients we do, and that our team is keeping busy. We would be pleased to speak to any high-performing recruiters or solopreneurs who are affected by the downturn. As many have found, setting up a recruitment firm is easy; keeping it running successfully is far more difficult. It is a team effort, and we have an established group with excellent infrastructure. Please feel free to reach out in confidence if you are considering your next step (my email address is [email protected]).

If politicians were to take a long sabbatical, I believe there would be more hiring. Perhaps taxpayers could fund a beach break until January? There are a number of firms talking about hiring. We have been fortunate to speak to many during their planning process, although some are waiting for the current uncertainty to ease. I would strongly recommend that if you are thinking about hiring, you engage recruiters at this point, rather than waiting until the role goes live. It is useful to understand what is actually happening in the market, to get an outsider’s view on your EVP and messaging, to refine your job description, and to consider your interview panel and process. An hour spent on this could save you a great deal of time later.

Downturns are often a good time to attract top talent. Sometimes careers involve waiting: waiting for the market to improve, or for your manager to move on and open up an opportunity. However, not everyone is patient. I have seen more poor career decisions made due to impatience than I care to remember. There can sometimes be a link between impatience and performance (though not always, so interview with care). If I were leading a financial services firm in a strong position, I would make sure I had time to meet good people. I would be open about not hiring immediately, but some of the best opportunities arise during quieter markets.

I am currently running a poll on whether we are moving towards a “winner takes all” jobs market. In some financial services firms, headcount has been reduced to offset rising staff costs, with those still in post generally content with their pay. In the public sector, the government budgeted for 2.8% pay rises but awarded 4% to parts of the workforce. This may result in reduced services. I think this sort of imbalance often happens in periods of inflation. There are still many projects that need to be delivered, and this creates opportunity for contractors. However, individuals need to be realistic about day rates. In my view, this is a chance to learn, stay engaged, and build relationships. Unless your skills are particularly niche, pricing power may be limited for the time being. Please do take the poll if you have time. I would welcome your thoughts on that, or on anything else I have raised.

On the subject of salaries, we have produced free-to-view salary surveys for wealth management, venture capital, and the asset finance segment of our Debt & Capital Solutions practice. They are not exhaustive or definitive (do book a Teams call with us if you need something more bespoke), but they provide a useful view of current market conditions. They have been well received and include some market commentary. The VC survey also includes more detailed insight into investment role salaries. There is a great deal of focus on private equity, but venture capital is a substantial market in its own right. The UK has a strong VC ecosystem, yet it is rarely covered in terms of salary data. We have not included detail on carried interest due to the wide range of structures in place, but Fram is genuinely one of the few firms with real experience in VC hiring.

If you’ve found this newsletter interesting, please do share it.