To say the least, Ireland has had it tough over the last three years. 2008 marked the start of the worst recession the country has ever seen and just when things look like improving, the eurozone is suddenly on the precipice.

Understandably, therefore, the predominant emotion among many financial services professionals has been fear. Any job moves from previously bullish candidates would have been triggered by factors like soured relationships with their manager, stress, a desire to move up the career ladder or, simply, securing a pay rise.

Not any more; the motivations of candidates have changed markedly.

The first factor is that candidates no longer focus purely on the job spec, but are looking at the wider performance of the company. So many financial services firms have been rolling out redundancies that the last thing anyone wants to do is move to an organization with unstable prospects. Candidates are asking tough questions, and will often sacrifice remuneration, progression or benefits to move to a perceived safe haven.

Until recently, European-owned banks were winning out; able to hand pick the best talent from the domestic firms as candidates flooded out to escape the financial and political pressures within these organizations.

At the senior end of the market, it’s quite simply stagnant. The ‘better the devil you know’ mentality means that few people who have worked their way up the corporate ladder are willing to sacrifice this for a new opportunity.

Because they’ve enjoyed success in the past, and have developed their internal brand, they believe this will shelter them from any cuts. Starting at a new company means starting from scratch and, for client-facing roles, this means working doubly hard, no dining off past glories and potentially never returning to their previous successes.

Finally, there are those who know the writing is on the wall. There are whispers in the corridor long before redundancies are officially announced and it provokes very different reactions from people. The junior ranks are hanging on for the redundancy payments, assuming a lump sum could make a real difference to their lifestyle. Senior bankers, lifers in the one organization, are just taking early retirement.

At the mid-level – people aged 30-40 – the realization is that any redundancy payment will soon be zapped by mortgage payments and supporting a family. If the right opportunity presents itself they’re no longer hanging around until the severance payment hits their bank account.

The point to emphasise to financial services professionals now is that while caution is understandable, this fear is no longer necessary.

The hiring and pay freezes that ran through 2008-10 are now consigned to history, the majority of firms are still backfilling roles from this period and some are even expanding into new areas. A recession is a tough time to switch jobs, but for the right people there are opportunities again now.

Eoin Blake is director of Dublin-based financial services executive search firm Lincoln Search & Selection