Monthly Archives: February 2013

Any EU-wide limit on bankers’ remuneration will, in likelihood, create anguished complaints of “business prevention” , “restraint of trade” and “anti-capitalist tendencies”. But in reality, it will not cause too much physical upheaval. Most bankers either do not earn enough, or are not sufficiently mobile, to allow them to move to an appropriate location outside the EU like New York or Hong Kong. Indeed, such is the shrinkage within global financial services hiring at present, there is no guarantee that even a senior banker could move to one of these locations unless there was a strong need within their existing company, or [...]

A cold wind blows   There comes a time in every good war/siege/horror/action movie when the lead protagonist whispers to another character, "it's quiet out there—too quiet". We're at a similar stage in the recruitment calendar—either in or nearing bonus time for most firms, where, other than some notable exceptions, there's very little formal hiring going on. Firms are either waiting to see who leaves after being presented with a 'donut', or hoping that their most valuable employees don't leave straight after having banked a sizeable bonus, both of which are likely to happen over the next four weeks or so. There [...]

With January behind us we have slowly—and more expensively, given the inexorable rise in transport costs in the UK—returned to work, our thoughts turn to what 2013 might have in store for us. While making predictions is a fool’s game given ongoing uncertain market conditions, I think that some bets are safer than others, namely: While sentiment is improving somewhat, with the ‘fiscal cliff’ issue looking like it has been partially resolved and companies continuing to be cash-rich (and hence the equity markets hitting 18-month highs), underlying confidence is still extremely fragile and companies do not yet have an appetite for anything [...]

Although this may seem an odd comment to make as a recruiter, it remains a popular fallacy that a firm can simply buy all of the talent it needs externally in order to be successful. Many hiring managers believe that simply by hiring the 'best' - which is very much a subjective term in the asset servicing industry, and certainly shouldn't be confused with the 'most expensive' - available talent all of their problems will be solved, revenue targets hit and RFP success a foregone conclusion. Whilst it is no doubt true that a 'heavy hitter' should be able to raise the [...]

Want to get your name out there more but unsure how? In a DerivSource Professional article we talk to media, marketing experts and industry peers about the value of building a professional brand and why it is important for self-promotion and the advancement of your career. You already have a professional brand. Look at your Linkedin profile, your CV, or the results of a Google search on your name. Whatever you come up with this is what you are presenting to the world and to potential employers. Building this public persona to establish a clear professional brand increases visibility, which can translate [...]