US
It’s a patchy job market at both the local and foreign banks, say recruiters.
The decline in M&A activity has left investment banking recruitment treading water, according to John Coles, chief executive, Executive Group International. “Unless you’re a resources analyst, there are not a lot of job opps on offer at the moment.”
Coles says it’s steady as she goes at the start of the new financial year, given continued problems in the global economy. “Most of the banks are pretty cautious at the moment and I don’t expect too many Christmas-in-July parties this year,” he adds.
Sharmini Thomas, director, financial services, Michael Page International, says some investment banks are struggling with flat revenue lines, hence she doesn’t think they will accelerate hiring any time soon.
The job market for domestic banks is “patchy” and focused on replacing critical staff, say Kym Woolf, senior consultant, financial services division, Porterallen. Sales recruitment is more active than the back office.
But there are some reasons to be cheerful. Wealth management positions, both advisory and support, are popular with local banks, while temps with experience of year-end reporting processes are also in demand, says Thomas.
“Not all the Australian banks use June 30 as year end, although many are at the half-way mark of 2011 and are looking at their numbers and whether they can press the go button on hiring,” she adds.
From afar, Australia looks like the land of milk and honey. If you are willing to drive a truck underground and live in areas resembling Mars, then you are in the right place. For anyone else, let alone those with overseas experience (note there was no GFC here so experience within that environment will not be fully comprehended), the market is no different to overseas i.e. awful. As for the reasons to be cheerful, not everybody wants to push uninteresting retail products to people already drowning in mortgage debt.
If you are planning to move to Australia then please do not be fooled by the 4.9% unemployment rate. The job market invalidates overseas experience or degrees. If you are a high achiever you are seen as unnecessary and as a threat. HR is of the poorest quality and have no published standards that they adhere to. Merit is severely frowned upon as it makes everyone look bad. Also, if you have an ‘ethnic’ sounding name, you should not expect any reply to job applications at all. I have had a job application at Macquarie Bank since February 2010. Yes, it is still being processed! I have sent out about 250 applications, I have stopped counting since. For the record I have a undergraduate degree in engineering from the USA and a global top 10 MBA. Naturally, I was a bit frustrated at first but I have grown to accept that this is the nature of the market. Perhaps I should have done some more research.
So to sum it up, please consider alternatives and avoid Australia like the plague. You WILL be disappointed. There are enough of these stories around and you can easily verify it online. It would be interesting to know how many naturalised citizens emigrate. Cannot wait!
#AnObserver
Totally agree.
@ AnObserver: Clearly having sent off 250 application and not had any traction is indicative of the fact that you have little (if any) finance/investment banking experience. You seem to frame your entire credentials on a piece of paper. Recruitment in investment banking/institutional banking in Australia is highly competitive with most having to work towards this by taking other jobs to gain the required skills to get these roles. Just because you have an MBA from an international university does not mean that the top jobs will be thrown at you.
I also question your comment: “If you are a high achiever you are seen as unnecessary and as a threat” – What planet are you from?
@AnotherObserver
Unfortunately, he is from planet earth. Jealousy, politics, and people being territorial sounds quite real??
#AnObserver , spot on. The truth is the Aussie market is very vanilla on the IB side and bosses are intimidated by those with new ideas they don’t know about. I left Aust 10 yrs wanting to get more interesting roles and experience. I have recently enquired about coming back and despite the fact that in one year I have had more deal experience than the entire team I was talking to, they said I didn’t have ‘current Australian experience’.
The Aussie market is about to go off a cliff anyway, so enjoy your time there and learn to surf.
Observer – Australia is a different market place to anywhere else, the MBA has a lot more value in the US, in fact an MBA doesn’t mean too much until really senior levels, if that. Australia is a practical place, so they focus a lot more on what you have actually achieved, whereas an MBA is more of a reflection of what you could potentially achieve. Experience over academics is generally the mantra here, not just in finance but in most industries.
Interesting comments above and I can see both sides. I completed a Masters here at Melb Bus School. Ok so it’s not Harvard, but it’s the best we have. I also have Aussie experience in Investment Banks doing equities research. All I can say is the market here is fickle at best, and has been just as impacted by the GFC as everywhere else. I have some great experience in Aussie equities, but the jobs are simply not available.
My suggestion? Look at what other skills you have. Fortunately before equities I worked on projects and have a good understanding of derivatives. Hence I resorted to leveraging from the financial engineering component of my M App Fin and shifted into more of a systems/BA role with a structured. products/detrivatives. I miss equities and writing research notes, but my advice in this market is, beggars cannot be choosers. And unless you speak fluent Mandarin, you are not going to find anywhere else where IB jobs are plentiful!
It is hard.
First of all, there are lots of unscrupulous recruiters. If you come from abroad, be very careful to make sure you state they may not forward your CV without your consent (preferably written) lest some cowboy spams it around all banks.
Also, two roles that I have recently passed second round interviews for have been filled internally. Which, in the case of secondees, means you are competing against the entire rest of the world. Or at least against people’s local colleagues that they have worked with for a while and would otherwise need to fire. Good luck with that pitch.
I have been reading the comments on this tread as well as others. Clearly AnotherObserver holds a minority opinion. I would probably ascribe it to a bit of hurt derived from a sense of patriotism. Nevertheless, there seems to be an overwhelming consensus with regards to the opinions expressed here. I think if the US sinks further then all that experience which counts for so much at present will get invalidated. ‘Gentleman’ banking, which is what London had till about the 1960s, was wiped out by a new class of educated professionals. So while it may be comfortable to stay where we are now it would be worth our while to look ahead.
I truly believe that it is in our best interest to promote talent and recognise merit. Any HR department that does so at present will not have to scramble for the best when the time comes. It would make intuitive sense that those that bring in new business and access to new markets should be given front and centre priority over those with experience. So, bottom line, while experience has it’s place, I would any day take those with the best skills AND those who can bring in new business.
I enjoyed reading all of your comments. Thanks!