Job vacancy: Equity sales, Germany

It is too soon to talk of a job recovery. Just last month Santander Central Hispano, the Spanish bank, axed its Frankfurt brokerage operations with the loss of 30 jobs.

Stefan Willms, a headhunter at Huxley Finance, says: "With an equity sales team coming on to the market, it is obviously harder for people already on the market to find a new position.

"But there are sales positions available, especially senior ones. For a junior I think it will be difficult to find opportunities."

Huxley is looking for an equity sales person to be based in Germany for a large European investment bank. The successful applicant will be be part of an expanding pan-European equities team and will sell to institutional clients in German-speaking countries.

The higher shares rebound across the continent the better, therefore. In Paris the CAC 40 index is up 25% since March and in London the FTSE 100 is up 20% - but both remain far below last year's peak. Other markets, notably Moscow, are well above last year's highs.

Not surprisingly in the current employment climate, Willms says there has been plenty of interest from equities sales staff with all sorts of backgrounds. The bank wants a proven track record of marketing pan-European equiities plus strong quantitaive knowledge.

"Since so many people are on the market, hiring managers can choose whom to invite to interview. They prefer people who have goot technical knowledge of the product," says Willms.

The advert also says a degree or MSc in a numerical or business subject is desirable. It reveals nothing about the pay except that it is 'negotiable'.

With so many staff on the market, the bank is presumably taking the chance to assess a huge number of resumes across a wide range of experience.

It will probably not be disappointed. Adverts for such staff in Germany remain few and far between.