Moving from industry to financial services: Ask the Expert

A: You're asking this question at exactly the right time: Edinburgh firms are facing a candidate squeeze so they are looking at different sectors than those historically used to hire in from.

Recruitment firm Joslin Rowe have been monitoring the hiring patterns of over 400 financial services companies in Scotland since 2000. From a zero percentage of firms hiring from outside the finance industry initially, by 2003, 7% of firms did so, growing to 16% by 2004. Last year, 34% of their respondents said they were recruiting from other industries to try and plug the skills gap.

How can high-calibre applicants approach Edinburgh's financial institutions given that they aren't following conventional entry-level routes? Henry Chaplin, chief executive of Noble Fund Managers, advises that corporate finance and broking candidates need to be 'natural numbers people' who pay great attention to detail.

"It doesn't matter if an applicant has no direct experience, provided they have a natural aptitude for doing deals," says Chaplin. "We take on a mix of accountants, lawyers and others, in that order, and roughly a third have come up the traditional graduate trainee route. We tend to take on people already qualified in their areas, but specific industry expertise is a rare commodity which we often latch on to."

Julie Bodger, divisional manager at recruitment firm Change, advises candidates to try different approaches: "These candidates can make in-roads to the financial services sector by networking with contacts in the industry, making direct applications to the investment management companies and through specialist agencies/headhunters."

"The Edinburgh market is very busy at the moment, especially in fund accounting. However, there is not as much happening in fund management or relationship management type roles," says Bodger. "We are definitely seeing most of the recruitment activity in the fund administration sector."

Experience solely in the energy industry is no bar to making the jump. Margaret Dyer, director at Joslin Rowe, says that depending on an applicant's background there are a number of options: "If a candidate has accountancy or similar financial qualifications, the lack of industry experience is not such an issue. Clients recognise the value of transferable skills," she says. "They are happy to wait until interview to make a judgement - rather than dismissing applications at the initial CV stage."

Dyer adds: "One client we work with specialises in equity research into energy companies. If a candidate has the relevant financial experience and strong knowledge of the energy sector, they could find themselves in an expert position."