There’s always a market for great candidates – so move quickly!

Simon RoderickAbout recruitment, Hiring and recruitment process, Resources for hiring managers

Questions to ask in interviews

The employment market in financial and professional services has been challenging for job seekers over the last few years, and so it’s often a surprise to employers when a candidate turns down their offer in favour of another firm. The irony is that some candidates are struggling to receive one job offer and yet others are receiving multiple offers.

Firstly, don’t ever underestimate the luck factor. Our experience has taught us that skill sets come in and out of fashion. Demand is affected by macro events, the specific drivers of the industry, and in many cases management teams adopt similar strategies to cope with market conditions, which means that the demand for certain skills is magnified.

Secondly, every industry has it’s top performers and so regardless of market conditions firms will always find a space for them. These individuals are part of a very small club of people who add value to organisations, to the value of several times their salary. They are often proven winners and like when a top level sports person expresses their desire to move, the competition is fierce. In the recruitment industry, it is often said that great candidates are always king. Looking across the industries we recruit for, wealth & asset management, banking, legal, and insurance, this couldn’t be better demonstrated than in the financial adviser world. A qualified financial adviser with a client base of over £10 million of AuM, which is able to move with the adviser, will receive multiple offers. Why? Well because many firms in the sector are struggling to grow organically, they are also struggling to identify suitable acquisitions, and so hiring advisers with a client base is key. However, there simply aren’t enough to go around.

Firms who find themselves operating in a really competitive environment need to analyse every aspect of their recruitment process to ensure it is better than their competitors. We recently produced a brief webinar on strategies for attracting top performers and this can be viewed here. However, an efficient process that enables you to get to know the person is essential. People want to work with people like them and so it’s important to understand your firm’s culture and values, and to articulate these clearly. Finally, it is also important to make sure that the salary you are offering is competitive. Whilst money isn’t the main factor for why people choose one firm over another, in our experience it is a major factor.

A good recruiter should be able to help you with formulating a strategy to help with the above.

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