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Anne Carrigan
Resourcing Specialist

Q:Hi Anne - I have been operating in Financial Services Recruitment since Nov 2010 having come from a Financial Services Background, working in the past as both an IFA and a Broker Consultant selling to IFA's. Over the past 12 months I have experienced a shrinking market, with fewer jobs and an abundance of really high quality candidates in terms of both experience and qualifications. With the market shrinking and becoming more competitive, I am finding that clients are becoming more particular, and are taking a long time to decide on which candidate to choose (too much choice) and also that some clients are asking for unreasonable terms i.e. 6 month rebate periods and/or 60 days invoicing. Also there is the usual PSL problems to deal with, and although I have a really good understanding of financial services I have not been a 'big biller' with an agency in the past, as I have always gone for quality and not quantity working on my own. My particular market has been face to face sales - are you aware of any other areas within Financial Services that are busier and perhaps I should be concentrating on in order to fill the gap whilst my own particular area is quiet. Thanks in advance. Karen Turlay-Rose Director of Financial & Corporate Recruitment A. LAMB ASSOCIATES LTD
Posted: alamb associates | 13.07.2012
A:

Hi and thanks for your question. There are a few points here: firstly I’m not sure which area of face to face sales in FS you refer to, so can’t comment on whether that particular area is experiencing more problems than others, and therefore which area to focus on. However as a whole the FS sector UK wide has approximately a third less opportunities than it did pre financial crisis. This of course creates a more competitive market and in turn clients can and will be more selective, however we have also seen an increase in good candidates being counter offered by their existing employer.

In relation to terms, I can’t comment on particular companies, however I would say that I personally don’t think 6 months is unreasonable -  if you have confidence in your candidate, and believe that all you have briefed both the candidate and client well, I would hope that no rebates would be necessary regardless of time.

I hope that answers your question, but feel free to contact me directly if you would like to discuss further 
Q:With a lack of funds to pay for the main job boards, what social media sites would you say are the best behind Linkedin.What benefits are there in paying for linkedin?
Posted: philipwagstaff | 13.07.2012
A:

Hi and thanks for your question.

Paying for LinkedIn delivers real value particularly in the professional candidate market giving us access to circa 4 million ‘passive candidates’ in the UK alone within a searchable database, competitively priced job postings and a candidate pipeline management tool, along with MI to monitor the performance.

Facebook and Twitter are free as is Google+. For volume and Graduate hires Facebook offers best value, Google+ offers the best value if you are looking to improve SEO moving forward. Also tools such as YouTube are great and free for publicity.

I do think the days of spray, and pray candidate attraction (posting to multiple job boards) has moved on and hoping that the right candidate looks at the online advertisement, at the right time,  and applies makes up for a very small part of successful recruiting. Building networks across social media platforms are by far the most effective way to reach candidates, map key competitors and seduce top talent.
I hope that answers your question, but feel free to contact me again  

 

 
 

 

  
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