Cultural nuances vary in Europe

The differences are evident from the outset, beginning with CVs. In France, a CV is little more than a series of bullet points. Anglo-Saxon CVs, which are usually written in whole sentences, are considered unnecessarily diffuse by comparison.

Then there is the question of whether to attach a photograph to a CV. In Germany, photographs are the norm, says Caroline Sheridan at the outplacement provider DBM Financial Markets. But in Paris, Yves Cahen of outplacement firm Garon Bon Valot, says photographs are an unnecessary addition: "Don't use a photograph unless you are asked to - you are not trying to get a job because of the way you look."

Cahen says that interviews in France are subject to cultural disparities. This is particularly so when it comes to the invitation to "Tell me about yourself". The Anglo-Saxon response invariably lasts for less than a minute and is commercially focused on what a candidate can bring to the company, says Cahen. However, the French equivalent takes at least three times as long, and should cover everything from past experience, to current skills and future aspirations.

Supplementary to interviews and CVs, some recruiters employ more esoteric methods of distinguishing good candidates. Diane Haddad, manager of Penna Executive Search in France, says handwriting analysis is widely used in the French market.

Investment banking career paths vary across European financial centres. Graduates, for example, face varying career paths depending upon where they have been schooled and where they begin work.

In Germany, Italy and France, it is unusual for graduates to begin their careers at 21 or 22, as in the UK. Italian students, for example, can take up to eight years to complete an undergraduate course. Male applicants in Germany and Italy are delayed by military service. Young German recruits can opt to undertake lengthy work experience.

Ralf Rudolf, head of graduate recruitment at Deutsche Bank in Germany, says: "After leaving college, students can take an apprenticeship that lasts up to two years. They go for military/civil service and study a degree. They may come to us as full-time recruits when they are between 27 and 29 years old."

There are additional discrepancies in the qualifications required for a future in banking, with vocational courses popular on the Continent. Laura Townsend-Green of Penna Resourcing Italy says Italian philosophy graduates find it hard to build a banking career: "In Italy it is not really acceptable to go into banking with an arts degree. The ideal and expected training is a business administration degree."

As continental European careers progress, recruiters increasingly look for international experience. Denis Marcadet, a headhunter at Vendômes Associés in Paris, says French bankers find it hard to succeed if their career has a purely domestic focus.

It is a view shared by Jean Facon, a former investment banker at JP Morgan and headhunter for Christopher Beale Associates in London. He says: "To rise to a senior position in Paris, you will need international exposure either from an educational or an employment perspective. You cannot work in a global industry if you yourself are a purely domestic product."

As a result, MBAs from leading US schools are popular. In Italy, an MBA from Harvard or Wharton is indicative not only of an international outlook, but also of an individual's affluence and prestige, says one headhunter. As a result, international qualifications are said to count for more than an MBA from a domestic school, such as Bocconi.

Similarly, banking recruits in continental Europe are expected to be multilingual. John Jessen, a financial services headhunter in Frankfurt says: "The top firms always want the most worldly people - those who speak the most languages."

Even the most worldly and multilingual of bankers will find schmoozing all-important. Frankfurt, Paris and Milan are considerably smaller than the London market; there are fewer people and closer personal relationships.

A leading Italian financial services headhunter says: "Direct contact is far more important in Milan than the UK. It's often a question of hiring a friend of a friend. This can be messy: the guy may be absolutely charming to go to dinner with, but hopeless at doing the job."

Networking is doubly important because headhunting in continental Europe is comparatively underdeveloped. While London has hundreds of financial services headhunters focused on every conceivable market niche, firms in European financial centres are fewer and more broadly based.

In Germany, headhunters also have to deal with the constraints imposed by long notice periods. Bankers cannot be recruited into new positions immediately, but must wait until three months after the end of the current quarter.

As Jessen explains, this can lead to significant market distortions: "There is usually a wave of resignations at the end of every quarter. We are currently working to a deadline of March 31.

"By that date, the interview process must have taken place, the contract must be signed and the individual must have resigned. If not, they won't be able to move until September 1."

However, the current difficult market may be removing this particular national distinction. Andreas Weig, a financial services headhunter at Korn Ferry in Frankfurt, says banks are increasingly prepared to waive the notice period: "Right now, German banks have so many problems they are letting people out of the mandatory notice period early. Everything is flexible."