Banking pay is up, so why is recruiter pay still down?

Mean compensation per head for 2009 may not quite have reached 2007 levels, but at most banks it was substantially up on 2008. At the same time, most banking institutions, with the possible exception of French ones, have increased salaries.

Why, therefore, are London's finest executive search consultants still afflicted by the salary reductions imposed at the nadir of 2009?

"Last year, a number of financial services search firms asked their employees to accept salary cuts of 15-20%," says James Gardner at Gardner Associates, a headhunter of headhunters firm. "Others asked their employees to move to a commission only pay structure."

One year on, Gardner says most of those cuts still stand. A consultant at one London financial services search firm confirms that he's still feeling the pain: "The standard base salary is now 40-60k. Before the crisis I was getting 75k."

Most search consultants are paid a commission structure in which they get 25%+ of fees after billing around three times their basic salary. It doesn't help, therefore, that fees are also down substantially.

"The recovery hasn't even begun," said the consultant we spoke to.

Another confirms that things are still tight. "Most search consultants are realistic about the situation. Before the crisis they were billing 1m+, for some people that's now down to 125-150k - they accept that they're going to be paid less," he says.

However, Gardner adds that things are looking up in terms of hiring: there's more demand for researchers and execution consultants who work on mandates after business has been generated, suggesting the market is returning.