Following reports some Australian financial services hiring managers are not recruiting amid the global financial crisis, executive search and recruitment groups have told InvestorDaily that job prospects are showing signs of improvement.
"It has definitely been a lot quieter on the hiring front with job opportunities down approximately 30 per cent on this time last year, but the reality is not as negative as the general perception," Financial Recruitment Group managing director Judith Beck said.
"Most redundancies and restructures have been completed and we've noticed an improvement in job opportunities over the last couple of months."
The key difference was more stringency was being placed on candidates' skill levels, qualifications and experience due to a bigger talent pool, Beck said.
According to Profusion director of wealth management Alison Loader, while there had been a substantial drop in financial services roles in comparison to 12 months ago, the Profusion team had been noticeably busier in the last couple of weeks.
"Previously, companies were hiring predominantly for business critical roles, but in the last couple of weeks there has been a noticeable pick up in job opportunities for business as usual roles such as business development manager and financial planner positions," Loader said.
Growth Focus Recruitment managing director Steven Fine said some of the major banks had lifted their freezes to an extent and it seemed the dust had begun to settle across the industry.
"We're getting more opportunities now than a few months ago and while job prospects have not returned to the level they once were at there are glimmers of optimism," Fine said.
Mass recruitment drives were not to be expected but an increase in job prospects was likely to continue, he said.
