CassonX are not only honoured to be working with some of the best candidates in our sector, but we are proud to partner with a vast range of clients. We typically meet all our hiring managers to gain an insight into what is essential for any hire’s that they might want to make. We do not only listen to their requests but we offer sound market knowledge and intelligence because of our specialism. We can educate clients with what is trending within their talent acquisition market, including availability of suitable profiles, what their competitors are doing, and even simple economics of the industry. We believe this is paramount to building a strong working relationship with our clients.
Recruitment is a tough job. We represent individuals who have emotion’s and opinion’s, and sometimes the perfect candidate profile may not want to do the role that is on offer, or even work for the company we are representing. However, recruitment without its challenges would be boring and there are certain situations that can be extremely rewarding to overcome.
The are many hurdles as recruiters we must overcome when instructed to fill a role, we have outlined below the ones we come across most frequently.
Expecting candidates to want to leave and just do the same role
We understand why client’s want to hire someone who is doing the same role in a competitor firm. But this is not necessarily enticing for a candidate. Unless they are being made redundant as example, it is very rare for a candidate to want to make a sideways step in their career, most candidates will always want to further themselves. Therefore when hiring we always recommend that a client chooses a candidate who can demonstrate they are competent in 70% of the role which leaves 30% for them to learn. This will leave the candidate excited at the prospect of joining your firm and giving them the chance to develop further.
Candidates with advanced academics
Whilst many roles within financial services require specific levels of education and qualifications, our Operations and Middle Office sector doesn’t always dictate premium education. Those from top tier universities with STEM education as example, don’t necessarily want to forge careers in the back office. We encourage clients to meet those who don’t stand out with their advanced educational requirements, because often having practical experience within their field, or offering logical common sense is more valuable in the Operations world.
Trying to fill two or three roles using one candidate
Often due to budget constraints, firms will try and find a candidate who is able perform multiple job functions. Whilst this can be an exciting prospect for a potential candidate to grow their knowledge and skills, finding those with specialisms in multiple functions can be extremely difficult. Whilst we appreciate that candidates who work in smaller firms tend to offer a more varied skillset, we encourage clients to put emphasis on the most important part of the hire, and give opportunity for someone to be keen to do a wider role as part of their move as a bonus.
Hiring juniors
Whilst there are many benefits to hiring those at the start of their career, the junior end of the recruitment market has been challenging for a few years now, largely down to the lack of graduate schemes run during the COVID pandemic. My previous blog (https://cassonx.com/the-difficulties-with-hiring-a-less-experienced-operations-or-middle-office-candidate-in-the-current-market/) details most of these issues, but fundamentally there is no value in hiring those with less experience right now. Given the ever-increasing demand for youthful talent, and the sheer lack of graduates or school leavers starting their careers in the last 4 years, (not forgetting rising cost of living and individuals trying to get on the property ladder) this has forced the salaries up of those in the junior category. Surprisingly, firms are still willing to wait patiently and pay for them!
Programming skills
Many firms now use Operations or Middle Office hires to help automate their processes. In many of the smaller firms we recruit for, who don’t have budgets to invest in major technology systems from vendors, they typically use Excel to manage their data. Whilst being proficient with Excel and sometimes VBA are justifiable in those instances, some firms try and hire Python/SQL/Alteryx programmers as example. A programming role is very different from working in Operations or Middle Office. In fact a programmer can not only take on a more front office focused role programming algorithms for trading strategies as example, but these roles pay substantially more! Front office roles are certainly more attractive, as they are more aligned to revenue generating. But the main issue is that they are two sperate roles, requiring two separate skillsets which tend to be much harder to correlate. We always recommend that where possible, budget should be found for 2 separate hires to attract the best possible candidate for each role.
Low salaries
Budgets are always the toughest part of any recruitment process we have to manage. It is rare that companies want to overpay their own staff in comparison to their competitors. Some firms do, but typically you are expected to work much harder in return. However, unsurprisingly it is a common theme that candidates want to earn as much as they can, and companies want to pay as little as possible. The most complicated challenge is when a team has been built on budgets that are outdated and not in line with the rest of the market, consequently it shocks hiring managers to see that candidates with less experience than their current staff are commanding higher renumerations that some of their experienced employees. There is nothing we can do to change this and have sympathy for those hiring managers as sometimes, they will experience a high turnover of staff due to financial constraints. Our only advice can be to make sure you are creating an environment where people don’t want to leave, with excellent working conditions, strong leadership, and above all, job satisfaction. This is turn can help attract suitable talent when explained.
Not considering experienced professionals for more junior roles
There is always a fear that someone could be too overqualified for a role, and that they might want to leave soon after joining when a more senior role becomes available in the market. There is sometimes even a hesitance to hire them because the hiring manager is worried that they could challenge their own role. Many talented and experienced individuals don’t want to take on a demanding, high pressured role that carries a lot of responsibility. We always say to the clients that if we are sending their profile, then the candidate understands the level of role they are applying for, and are comfortable with it, thus willing to commit without causing complication to their team or department.
Part Time roles
We believe that these roles should always be offered to internal staff first. Many people now days are looking for job shares, or reduced hours to fit in family or other commitments for a healthy work/life balance. This is something that their existing staff may be looking for. Many clients want us to lower our fee to represent the reduced salary vs the amount of days or hours they work, but we must remind clients that we are not working part time and that the fee should be reflective of the full time work we are doing. We always embrace recruiting part time roles when required, we do however make sure our clients have explored all internal options first before embarking on this type of search.
Having to compete with internal recruitment teams
This shouldn’t be a competition! Specialist recruiters should be working in partnership with internal Talent Teams. Given we have a vast understanding of our specialist sectors, we should be encouraged to try and find profiles that their own resourcing teams can’t find. Many internal teams just use Linked In these days, to post a role and hope the ideal candidate applies. However, recruiters are trained in many ways to attract and identify candidates for all our clients. Some candidates even prefer using recruiters to act as a broker, and not directly with hiring firms. Having good communication with the internal recruitment team will achieve optimum solutions and give them the chance to make sure they can make the most informed hiring decision, by having a larger pool of candidates to choose from.
Lack of sponsorship
Working with international candidates has many challenges. Mostly the need to relocate and lack of being able to attend a face-to-face interview. But most commonly because they would most likely need sponsorship. Every company, dependant on size, has a limited amount of visa’s they can offer if any, therefore this may not be relevant for everyone. Some roles we see require individuals who are skilled in certain job functions who are typically found in locations internationally. We have experienced it many times where we are approached by those international based individuals, yet the client has no approval to offer sponsorship. Sponsorship requires time, financing, and can make a candidate less attractive in an interview process in comparison to those who are already in the UK. We always advise candidates in this situation to relocate and apply for a visa, before exploring roles here in the UK, and certainty when considering BREXIT implications.
We welcome the opportunity to talk to all potential client’s and candidate’s surrounding their needs. On our website you can find dedicated sections on how best to partner with us or other recruiters. You can also see all of our vacancies: https://cassonx.com/vacency/
CassonX are a specialist operations and middle office recruitment firm based in London. We are a boutique specialist agency, privately owned, giving you friendly and bespoke advice and support for all your staffing and recruitment needs. You can always contact one of our friendly, experienced, and talented recruiters directly via the website or on +44(0)2030565545.
We are approaching that time of year, where the Financial Services recruitment market springs into life. Largely because it is bonus season for many institutions, and that starts the merry-go-round of individuals who have waited for their financial reward to hit their bank account, before handing in their notice.
Here at CassonX, we are proud to say that the start to 2024 has seen substantial job flow, in hindsight where clients are preparing for the above-mentioned eventuality. However, many candidates do not know how to proactively plan and execute a thorough search to make sure they are obtaining the most suitable opportunity available.
First, should you have a “significant other” in your life, take the time to discuss this with them, and understand why it is you are looking to move roles. Decipher what it is that you are lacking in your current opportunity, and how a new role can satisfy anything absent. The most common drivers for wanting a new opportunity are the role itself, a lack of learning, your leader, team / culture, the company, or even renumeration.
Then take the time to make sure that your CV is ready. Even if it is a starting point, having this ready will get you thinking about what it is that you know, capable of, and being able to explain how you go about your day-to-day responsibilities. Remember to include your contact details, typically a mobile number and personal email address.
Also, make sure your Linked In profile is up to date. You can even adjust settings to say you are “actively looking for work” but, be warned(!), this will announce your status to all your network and connections. Regardless, many institutions now have sophisticated internal hiring teams that not only advertise roles on Linked In, but also do searches for relevant profiles, and with an updated Linked In profile you are then more readily identifiable.
Take the time to research and contact relevant staffing firms and create a partnership with recruiters who specialise in your area of expertise. As example, there are a handful of Operations recruiters in the market, but most specialise in an industry or specific role. Here at CassonX, we are London’s Only Specialist Operations and Middle Office recruitment firm, and if you are an Operations or Middle Office specialist then we would love to hear from you so we can help identify a relevant opportunity across the whole spectrum of industries and sectors that our market has to offer.
There are many portals and career websites, like efinancialcareers as example, where we recommend you create a profile, search opportunities, and even be added to their databased for recruiters and organisations to find you. It is also recommended that you do the same for specific companies that you want to work for. Nearly every company has a careers section on their website, or an ability to share your CV and cover letter at least. You can showcase your interest directly with that organisation, and sometimes set up relevant passive notifications of opportunities that may arise. This is a CassonX Top Tip because in fact it eliminates any agency spend for the firm but offers a huge advantage as it flatters said company with your direct interest.
Don’t forget to talk to current and previous colleagues for any hints, tips, and recommendations for your search, but to also see if they can help identify any institutions or opportunities that could be deemed appropriate. Even in the firm they are currently working for as example.
Most importantly, keep a log of all your searches. Make a note of the firms you have contacted directly and introduced to by friends or recruiters too. Keep a progress report of all potential opportunities so you can timely and respectfully follow up, but also to make sure that you are not duplicating any applications also. There is nothing worse than a company or hiring manager receiving your CV multiple times. In fact, this could look rather detrimental – so make sure your CV is submitted to a role you are genuinely interested in, and that is also suitable to your skillset, because with some organisations you could only get one chance to be considered with them within a specific timeframe.
For a tailored search, please do reach out to our talented, enthusiastic, and experienced team of Operations and Middle Office recruiters.
You can find more details of some of our open vacancies, who CassonX are, and ability to contact us on our website.
If it is on your radar to be moving jobs, whether it be for a similar role within a different company, or a change of career altogether, the chances are you will be working with a recruiter.
There are 2 main channels in which your professional relationship with a recruiter will likely begin. That is to put the feelers out that you are looking for a new role and to ensure you are on their books, and applying or reaching out to them about a specific job they are advertising.
Reaching out to partner with a recruiter directly
When reaching out to a recruiter not relating to a specific role, first and foremost you must ensure they have your CV. It will give them chance to have an overview of your current and previous roles and experience which in turn will give them the tools to best help you.
Whilst you may have an understanding of what market the recruiter is working with based on the jobs they are advertising, make sure you seek confirmation about the type of market and clients they work with, and the kind of roles they take on, to be absolutely certain they are the best agency to help you align with your goals and help with your search. It would be a waste of precious time to converse with an agency that specialises in Operations when you are looking for a Front Office role as example.
It is important to make sure you are as transparent and open as possible with them regarding what you are looking for. Explain the types of roles, companies, whether you are wanting permanent or temporary opportunities, and which direction you are trying to take your career. Being as specific as you can be is the key to help a recruiter decide who are the best companies to reach out to on your behalf.
Whilst it is important to discuss what you are looking for, it is equally important to be open about why you are wanting to leave your existing role (if this is relevant). This will naturally give a clearer picture about what you are NOT looking for in your next role. And of course, make sure you know your notice period with them, and how soon you can start your next assignment.
Make sure to be honest and open with the recruiter about your current remuneration, bonus and benefits. Remember, they are there to help you achieve your financial goals and exaggerating your current salary (as example) won’t necessarily mean a higher offer for your next role, especially as any future employers will see your P60 and will observe if you haven’t been entirely honest!
When it comes to applying for roles, a good recruiter will always seek permission from you before sending a CV so you know what companies are in receipt of your information. Equally, it is important to keep the recruiter updated on your own search, who you have reached out to and roles you have applied for, to make sure there are no duplications.
Before getting knee deep in job hunting, be absolutely certain that a move to a different company is what you are looking for. Candidates often overlook speaking with their current employer to see if there are any changes they could make to their existing role, that would be in line with what they are potentially looking for in their next role and that’s aligned with their future career goals. If your current employer could make these changes (as example) would you consider staying put?
Lastly, ensure they have all your correct contact details and understand how you want them to communicate with you – sometimes the processes can be time critical so communication is key!
Applying for a specifically advertised role
When it comes to applying for specific advertised roles, the first port of call will almost always be ensuring they have your CV, however, it is important to only send your CV for roles that you are suitable for. By applying for roles that you don’t meet the criteria for you could end up being overlooked and missing out on an opportunity that is potentially much more suitable for you. Whilst it is your choice, it is not recommended you apply for the same roles with multiple agencies and well worth noting that in most cases you only get one chance to send your CV to a company – so make sure it is for the right role!
Ask the recruiter to go through with you details about the company, including their culture, policies such as flexible working, what they know about the team, and more specifically the hiring manager and their work style. They might even be able to talk through the candidates they have hired through their services historically. A lot of recruiters offer tenured relationships with their clients, so use this time to really understand how they can best help you through an interview process with the client.
Make sure you have spoken with the recruiter so they understand your strengths and skillset, why you are relevant and suitable for the role and company so they know how to sell you! It is equally as important that they understand what are developmental areas for you within the opportunity – most companies hire people who meet 70-80% of the criteria they are looking for!
It is important that before sending your CV the recruiter shares the relevant job specification and any hints or tips on what they may be looking for so you can tweak or amend your CV accordingly. Once your CV has been sent ensure you have written confirmation from them.
Once you have secured an interview ask your recruiter to share what questions may be asked during the interview process to help you be as prepared as possible. Do not be afraid to ask them for a phone or video call before hand to run through this with you, or even ask for some example interview style questions. Also request a copy of the CV they have sent to the client.
As mentioned previously, make sure you always have realistic financial an benefit expectations that are relevant to your experience and what you are able to offer a company. Do not outprice or undersell yourself! And remember, clients will always see your P60 or P45 if you’re successful so always be honest about remuneration!
If at any point during the process you decide not to proceed and take it any further it is important to explain these reasons to the recruiter so they can understand why for next time they work with you.
Finally, it is always best to be open with recruiters about other roles you are looking at, clients often wish to know what they are competing with to make sure they are giving you the best possible offer and opportunity. It also helps the recruiter gauge genuine interest and helps them help you consider all possible options for the best outcome for you and your career.
We welcome the opportunity to talk to all potential client’s and candidate’s surrounding their needs. On our website you can find dedicated sections on how best to partner with us or other recruiters. You can also see all of our vacancies, some further guidance, intelligence, and advice in our resources section. We are always willing to help with tailoring your CV, preparing for interview or discussing new vacancies.
CassonX are a specialist operations and middle office recruitment firm based in London. We are a boutique specialist agency, privately owned, giving you friendly and bespoke advice and support for all your staffing and recruitment needs. You can always contact one of our friendly, experienced, and talented recruiters directly via the website or on +44(0)2030565545.
As our leader James Manders celebrates 20 years as a specialist recruiter in the Financial Services sector, he was asked to share his thoughts and guidance in a series of interviews with the wonderful team at eFinancial careers, as part of their Talent Conversation series.
It goes without saying that James has seen a lot in the last 20 years, and he is immensely proud to be a trusted partner with many candidates, clients, service providers, and vendors, and loves talking about his market knowledge and experiences throughout his tenure.
Should you wish to review these talent conversations, then please see below links:
Mastering salary negotiations in 2024: https://vimeo.com/917965752
Navigating the impact of hybrid working: https://vimeo.com/917965537
The early careers dilemma; challenges & solutions in today’s job market: https://vimeo.com/917965456
Exploring in-house vs. recruiter hiring teams: https://vimeo.com/917965291
Please do take the time to review our other blogs, market intelligence, advice, and all things recruitment in the Resources section of our website
If I had a pound for every time in my tenured recruitment career, that I have heard the words, “I have to fit my C.V. onto one page” muttered, then I would be a very rich man. However, I struggle to understand why this is acceptable and become the norm. If you need to use two or three pages to make sure you display all of the salient information you should feel relaxed in doing so.
It is like posting a picture on a social media or dating site – you don’t choose the worst picture of yourself! Sending your CV for a role is very similar. The C.V. has the sole purpose of convincing the hiring manager/HR that you should be called for interview. You should therefore send the C.V. which provides the decision maker with the tools and information to decide that you are one of the people they should interview
We live in a recruitment world where too many decisions on candidates are made from a two dimensional piece of paper – aka your C.V. So why would you want to omit key facts that will help you convince for an interview, Surely not because you are worried you might be a few sentences too long?
Here is the fact – There is no rule that says your C.V. should only be one page long! In fact when asking most hiring managers one of their biggest frustrations is receiving too many non-relevant C.V.’s. However when probed further, it often transpires that actually it’s not necessarily that the people aren’t relevant, it’s just the hiring manager hasn’t been able to ascertain whether the person’s experience is relevant for their hiring needs.
A similar thought processes can be applied to when you are applying to an advert. Why use your generic CV to just be quick? On average over 80 candidates apply on-line for each job in the Operations and Middle Office sector. So you need to make sure your C.V. is as relevant as possible in order to draw the attention of the recruiter, how else will a recruiter know you are applicable if it doesn’t say somewhere it on your C.V.?
Returning to the dating site analogy; when you are just about to message that person, you would look at their profile and structure a message that will be relevant to their interests. Applying for a job should hold similar comparisons – take a little longer to read the spec and send a CV that includes the requirements of the role. As clients look to hire experienced hires through recruiters – that’s what they pay us for- If you apply for a role and you don’t have the relevant experience disclosed, you will not be considered further.
On the flip side, your CV should not be the length of War and Peace. You only really need to detail the last five to ten years of your experience, because this should be the part that is relevant for the role you are applying for. You don’t need to add multiple points to a role much past the ten year mark, because this forms less relevance in your application, keep those roles to just a couple of points will do.
So, how long should a C.V. be? Long enough to ensure you have all relevant experience to get an interview and don’t make it so short you miss valuable information. However there is a rule of diminishing returns, and as you get onto that third and certainly the fourth page if you were to find yourself there, you should be asking the question, is this next point adding to my application?
There are three main qualities you need to have to succeed in a job in the City: a corporate mentality, determination and a strong work ethic.
Having a corporate mentality is very important if you want to succeed in this environment. Many people come to work in the City because they want to earn significantly more money, but you have to appreciate that you are working for a conglomerate and that, fundamentally, thriving in that environment takes the right kind of individual coupled with the right attitude.
The City is renowned for hiring the crème de la crème of the market – and indeed that’s the way it should be. To get there, having the determination to succeed should go hand in hand with also having the right work ethic.
To be better than everyone else in the City, you have to be relentless.
You have to try your best and make sure that you surround yourself with good people. You are only as good as the people around you, and having a good boss who you believe in is crucial.
The most important lesson I have learnt over the years is: look after yourself.
To do this, work with a manager who will give you clear and measurable goals that are in line with your expectations.
The best piece of advice I could offer to anyone who wants to work in the City is: don’t try and run before you can walk.
It is highly unlikely that you will land your dream role straight away, so the first job that you have in the City is not the job you’re going to be doing forever. Whilst many people want to land the perfect role immediately, sometimes to achieve your goals you have to do things you don’t really want to do to get there, especially when you’re starting out.
When trying to get a job in the City, it’s really important to ensure that you can clearly communicate why you should be hired above other people.
Competition is fierce. What are your unique selling points? What it is that makes you stand out when hiring managers are looking through countless CVs?
Fundamentally, the City is a great place to work, and the financial rewards can be great.
People who work in the City are paid, on average, 40% more than someone doing a similar role outside of London. However, in order to get here, you need to be at the top of your game. The things that will make you stand out are your personal traits and your ability to you fit into a firm’s culture. So if you want to get a job in the City, don’t be disheartened if you do really well in the interview, but then get feedback that says they don’t think you’ll fit into the team. You have to trust that those managers are making their decisions based on the current make up of their environment. Keep going at it, don’t give up, and do things that other people are not doing. David Beckham didn’t become the best free kick taker by just training with his team mates and kicking a ball all day – it was because he used to do all that work and then stay behind after training every single day to practice 100 free kicks. You need to be doing that.
On this Valentine’s Day, there is not much point in analysing relationships from a purely scientific point of view. There are not many people that fall in love only if all their boxes are “ticked.”
The nature of relationships is such that there is so much more involved than basic (logical or illogical) compatibility. There is an animal magnetism that is often unexplainable, a mutual understanding that goes far beyond any common beliefs, and a naturalness in their company that starts from the moment your eyes meet theirs. Well, there are a thousand variations on this theme, but you get the idea….
The same thinking could equally be applied to your career.
Thinking about your current job – are all your boxes ticked? I doubt it. Do you enjoy it? Possibly. Do you need every box to be ticked to love it? Absolutely not
A job is something that grows on you – you can learn to love it. Your relationship with your job is a lot more complex than a simple list of preferences. What you put in equates to what you get out – passion and determination are key ingredients for a love affair with your career.
Therefore, as the economy gets better, and more people start to think about making some strategic moves, it is worth bearing in mind that there is no perfect match for your next step either. When a company meets a candidate at interview, it will be extremely rare that they will meet every requirement. When a candidate considers their options of which company to join and which role to take, there will have to be certain compromises.
The more flexible you are initially, the more interesting possibilities open up. Companies could take a chance on seeing those candidates who aren’t perfect on paper – they may have that special something when you meet them. Candidates might choose to go to an interview that on paper might not seem ideal, only to understand that it was exactly the challenge that they were looking for.
This concept also applies to internal projects and change in job scope. Everyone enjoys being confident in what they are doing, but sometimes a change can bring out a new aspect to your abilities. It may not seem like a logical move to start with, but if you welcome the new activity with open arms, more often than not you will be adding a new string to your bow.
Everyone has career goals – that is very healthy. You might want to be a Sales Director one day, but there is no set path to get there. If you are flexible about your journey, then you are likely to become a far more rounded candidate. If, on the other hand, you only take on the projects and roles that are on your “list”, you will miss out on an awful lot of learning.
With the introduction of technology, the world of work is changing rapidly for many. New boxes to be “ticked” are appearing every day. Be open to as many new experiences as possible, and your career will undoubtedly benefit.
Your dream career might not quite be what you expected, but you will have every chance of getting there if you are more flexible in your expectations.
