Military and manufacturing experience? Investment banks want you

Investment banks are trying to become leaner and meaner by hiring operations staff from other industries.

"A lot of banks are looking for outside staff at the moment," says Mike Hartwell, managing director of operations-focused search firm Hartwell Buck. "They're interested in a different skillset. There's a bigger emphasis on commercial acumen."

Goldman Sachs is the latest to cast its operations hiring net outside the familiar financial services waters. The US bank is advertising for experienced staff to join its operations function, and is inviting applicants from the public sector, the military, accounting, engineering and manufacturing.

The bank failed to return calls for comments. But Hartwell says the broader-than-usual recruitment remit is part of a wider trend: "When you're manufacturing something you're trying to manufacture it for the cheapest possible price, and in operations you're trying to achieve settlements for the cheapest possible price. Banks are looking for people who can achieve those efficiencies."

Hartwell says black belts in the Six Sigma cost cutting methodology are a hot ticket in banking, and that GE Capital is seen as a prime place to poach them from. At the same time, he says outsourcing has created demand for project managers from the likes of the Ford Motor Company, who are used to dealing with vendors and service level agreements.

So why are banks advertising for military personnel? It's all down to leadership, according to Hartwell. Expect operations teams to be run with an iron fist in future.