While 2003 will not be remembered as an incredible year for financial services recruitment, with overall business down on the peak years of 1999-2001, a survey conducted by Finance magazine reveals that the outlook for 2004 is brighter.
Most of the respondents, from ten of Ireland’s leading recruitment firms, believe that while 2004 will again be tough, there will be room for growth. Funds is one sector in which recruiters are continuing to see strong demand for suitable candidates, and employees with insurance and accountancy skills are also doing well.
As the market slowed, so too did salaries, and recruiters predict that end-of-year increases this year will be in the region of four per cent. Moreover, candidates are now changing jobs for a maximum of two to three thousand euro, says Helen O’Reilly, consultant with Sigmar Recruitment.
Due to the slowdown, recruitment agencies have begun looking at other ways of attracting candidates, and the internet has proved a very useful tool.
‘We use our website to encourage the expat to come home,’ says general manager of Executive Connections, Hilarie Geary. It’s not uncommon she says to have CVs sent in by Irish people working in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, or the U.S. The agency has seen its web-site hits double in September and October.
For the full results of the survey see page 16. |
