‘A great time for looking for work in finance’

Various finance offices on the Esplanade Picture: ROB CURRIE

Toni O’Flaherty of Select Recruitment and Toni Bracken of Park Personnel said that the jobs market in the finance sector had picked up dramatically following the slowdown caused by Covid-19 and this had created an ‘excellent’ environment for those looking for work, while employers have had to compete for staff.

Ms O’Flaherty said that the firm currently had more than 325 jobs advertised, most of which were in the finance sector.

She said: ‘Long gone is the cycle where there are more candidates than there are jobs, and despite some clients [employers] thinking that the situation with Covid-19 would make recruitment easier, this has been far from the case – we are well and truly in a candidate-driven market.

‘There has been a huge increase in companies recruiting across sectors, but there still remains a massive shortage of middle-level candidates in compliance, accountancy, trust and funds, and demand for experienced candidates across these roles is very high.’

She added that competition for staff had created an environment where job candidates could negotiate better conditions and it was a ‘great time’ for experienced employees to consider a career move.

‘The shortage of applicants and the increase in competition among employers ensures there is fantastic potential out there for those looking to take their career forward.

‘At the moment it is very much an applicant’s market. Providing there is not another recession, there’s no signs of it slowing down. More recently we have seen candidates “naming their price” and making some demands that companies wouldn’t ever have considered previously, as well as companies making counter-offers, which again puts pressure on companies to compete for the best applicants,’ she said.

Ms Bracken said that it was ‘an excellent time for the job seeker’.

She said: ‘The current recruitment marketplace is very active. We are busy. We have seen an increase in job opportunities across the board.

‘Our financial-services clients, particularly in the funds space, are growing rapidly and there are consistent positions within fund administration and accounting and related risk and compliance functions.

‘HR administration and training and development has also seen a strong flow of positions, both on a permanent and contract basis. It has been particularly encouraging to see our clients recruit within the support functions over the last few months, such as reception and secretarial roles, accounts and finance administration, IT and project functions and marketing.

‘The range of opportunities for trainee school leavers and graduates has been consistent. These positions offer not just the more traditional trust and fund administration but opportunities within support functions. This is a great time to be looking for work.’

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