What finance candidates really want from employers

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The Talent Leaders Connect event on Banking, Finance and Fintech has revealed some interesting insights into exactly what it is that jobseekers in the finance industry are looking for when it comes to finding the right role.

Higher salaries

Graduate salaries in the banking and finance industry consistently rank higher than the national average. Despite fetching an average of £2,500 more compared to the all-sector average, it seems that even this isn’t always enough to attract top finance candidates.

Earlier this year it was revealed that for the first time in five years, expected salaries have outstripped actual starting salaries amongst those in the finance industry. What’s more, even though salaries have actually experienced a minimal dip during this period, graduate expectations have increased and they’re now asking for 27% more than they were five years ago.

An efficient interview process

How well a company handles their recruitment process can have a huge impact on the candidates they attract. When it comes to finance jobseekers, it appears as though punctuality is key.

Amongst the banking and finance candidates who were surveyed, it was found that 85% expect to be interviewed within a fortnight of making an application. This is compared to a national average of 78% – highlighting the fact that when it comes to finance professionals, employers need to act fast if they don’t want to miss out on hiring the right people.

A fair recruitment process

One point which consistently came up amongst finance and banking professionals is the desire for a fairer recruitment process.

Many companies have already started to recognise the need for change and have begun introducing new recruitment practices. Some of these include:

• Flexible interviewing such as one-day assessments, video and group interviews.
• Blind CVs – this involves taking out non-skills-based factors such as your name and which university you went to. The aim of this is to reduce bias from the recruitment process which is something that often happens whether we realise it or not.
• Employers are also working to remove the barrier for academic qualifications with higher grade A levels no longer being seen as pre-requisites to secure a finance role.
• When it comes to hiring finance and banking professionals, employers are trying to shift the focus from educational achievement and background to attitude and mindset. This is something which could have a huge impact on improving the office environment as well as staff retention rates.

If you would like help recruiting top finance professionals, please feel free to contact Choralis Consulting and we will be more than happy to help.