About Selby Jennings
News & Updates
27 July 2020
Working-from-home will endure long after the Covid-19 pandemic has passed. Before government lockdowns, only 3.4% of the U.S. workforce telecommuted at least half the time. Yet, many businesses have had to adapt to their employees remote working.
How Working with a Specialist Recruiter Can Help Advance Your Career
Upon reaching Senior Executive level, the number of opportunities available for career development begins to decrease, while the competition increases. As you reach the competitive leadership positions, it’s vital to differentiate yourself from the other candidates in the market.
In many circumstances, working with a specialist recruiter will help give you an edge when it comes to searching for a new job. A specialist recruiter has a specific network among the organizations within your market to help you get the most from the opportunities presented.
While job boards are undoubtedly a useful resource to begin identifying opportunities, most senior level roles are very rarely advertised online; but companies use their network and their recruitment agency’s network to seek the right people – often because many candidates who are right for the role are not actively seeking new opportunities.
With a recruiter, on the other hand, you will receive information about the relevant roles in the market and receive timely, direct feedback. The recruiter acts as a representative for both you and the hiring company; helping to improve the communication process, as well as ensuring that the company you are interested in is a good cultural fit for you.
There are several benefits a specialist recruiter can offer when looking for new opportunities.
They have the insight
A specialist recruiter will have a strong relationship with their client; making it their business to know the company inside out and being able to tell you exactly what the client is looking for.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions – recruiters can be a source of in-depth market knowledge, giving you access to current industry trends or changes, which can give you the edge, should you need to tailor your resume and interview strategy to stand out from the competition
Now and in the future
Nurturing a relationship with a recruiter can help you secure a position with promising prospects. From resume advice to salary guidance, a recruiter can update you on the market and show you how to leverage that to find the right role. A recruiter can also actively network for unadvertised opportunities that best fit your career goals.
To find a good recruiter, make the most of your own contacts – ask senior executives you know if they can recommend someone they have worked with before.
Networking with a specialist recruiter can also develop a long term relationship for future opportunities. In years to come, when you are ready for the next step, that consultant will still understand you, your requirements and the best next steps available to you.
They are selective
By nature recruiters are selective, they hand-pick the most suitable roles for their candidates to maximize success; reducing the competition and giving you a higher chance of being hired. Be open to networking with recruiters when you may not be actively looking; consultants can bring you the best opportunities, even if you may not be currently looking.
They know about jobs that are not advertised
At senior level, opportunities are not always advertised through traditional medium. Specialist recruitment consultants are privy to all of their client’s positions. This could be especially useful in situations where the vacancies that suit your skill set are few and far between.
Leading businesses often utilize agencies because it’s a more efficient way for them to hire the right person. Rather than hunting for opportunities that may not be visible online, you could save considerable time working with an expert.
Working in your interests
Listen to specialist recruiters, their expertise will help add to your knowledge of the current market and let you know what their clients are interested in. Once they have a clear idea of what you want from a role, a recruiter can prepare your resume and present it to several clients who meet your needs; it is worth taking the time to clearly define your needs and expectations with your recruiter.
Liaising with a recruitment partner can help increase the efficiency of your search. They are a partner for your long-term career progression, as well as when actively seeking an opportunity. In the same way that networking is often less effective if you just ramp up your activity when you want a job, reaching out to a recruiter and building a relationship with them over time could help you secure better opportunities in the future.
We partner closely with mid to senior-level candidates to enable their careers now, and in the future. If you’d like our help to find your next opportunity, get in touch today.
What should we be teaching the next generation of quants?
5 Hiring Trends to Watch in 2020 and the Next Decade
Looking back the 2019 year, it is safe to say that the economy and hiring trends across the financial services sector went through a bit of a roller coaster. Kicking off 2019, we were faced with looming fears of an economic downturn that led to most top tier financial institutions putting the brakes on hiring across Q1 and Q2. As the economy rallied in the second half of the year, U.S. unemployment hit an all-time low of 3.5%, and month in and month out, the number of jobs added continues to move north of expectations. From asset managers to bulge bracket banks, most major financial institutions feel confident in adding headcount in 2020. We are excited to see what the new year brings and how major financial institutions will solve one of their biggest challenges: talent.
Diversity in the workplace.
While diversity and inclusion (D&I) seems to be a widely used phrase nowadays, the impacts of having a varied work force with regards to age, gender, and ethnicity have a major influence on a company’s ability to attract better talent and, ultimately, their bottom line. Harvard Business Review quoted a statistic from a McKinsey report that, “Companies in the top-quartile for workforce diversity are 33% more likely to financially outperform their less diverse counterparts.” We have seen and expect to see more titles in businesses such as ‘Chief Diversity Officer’ and ‘Head of Inclusion’ going into 2020 as institutions try and pull out all the stops to become as attractive as possible to potential hires.
Generation Z.
With over 60 million Gen Z candidates entering the job market in the next one to two years, most financial institutions are changing their tactics and overall business structure to make sure they are putting their best foot forward to acquire this new layer of talent. The common thread and mind set for these new grads is about finding a stable and clear path to career growth and progression. This generation wants to work in an environment where their opinions are heard, where they can rely on job security, and where they can harness innovative, best-in-class technologies. In 2020 and over the next decade, we expect more major banks to brand themselves closer to tech businesses with cutting-edge analytics and data platforms to try and appeal to Gen Z.
Technology and interview processes.
The use of alternative methods to conduct interviews and provide a mix of both quantitative and qualitative testing will be a major factor in the screening processes across banks and hedge funds in the new year. We have already witnessed first round phone screens turn into video recorded Q&A sessions, and as jobs in the front office and quantitative functions become more complex, employers will seek new ways to stress test candidates. Psychometric testing and analysis, as well as exams like the ghSmart test, help businesses weed out the good from the great and will be much more common in interviews over the next few years. In an effort to decrease selection bias and secure the best talent, job matching is another recruitment strategy we expect to increase; candidates who apply to a company will be presented to a myriad of groups and hiring managers and, following interview feedback, they will then be matched to a job that makes the most sense for their skill set and interests.
Flexible working situations.
With an increased technological presence in our everyday lives, employers are now finding more secure and efficient ways to enable flexible working situations for their employees. We fully expect more companies to have a larger remote working presence, whether that be a full-time work from home structure or a few days from home per month. While the world of finance has been rather sluggish to adapt this trend, more roles within consulting, technology, audit and accounting are some of the first to unlock the full potential of telecommuters. Over the course of the next decade most employers expect to have at least 1 day of remote capabilities a week for their employees and recognize that falling behind in adapting flexible trends will hinder their growth.
Insourcing.
In the later half of 2018 and early 2019 we saw several major banks drive an initiative to outsource a variety of key functions ranging from software developers, internal recruitment personnel, risk management functions and even compliance. The two main locations of choice were Poland and India. While the strategy of outsourcing does save costs in the short term, the long-term effect on quality and efficiency can be significantly impacted. Moving into 2020 and the years to follow, there is an optimistic feel in the market around bringing a large amount of the outsourced jobs back to the States.
If you have hard-to-fill vacancies, or want to discuss your hiring needs for 2020, get in touch with Selby Jennings today.
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