Don't delay if you want a job in M&A

Bonuses have been paid, deal activity is rising, the big banks are hiring across all levels, and talent is short: it's the perfect time to jump ship if you're an M&A professional.

Recruitment levels in the sector have been healthy in Q1, and the following three months should also be good ones for job hunting.

"Volume will always occur post bonus at the major investment banks, so activity continues from January through to July. Hiring budgets are set for the first half of the year, with the normal cycle of attrition through to mid year," says Gary Howard, an investment banking consultant at Talent2.

In contrast with much of 2009, the major global i-banks are dominating recruitment. "Most large institutions now have demand, whereas six months ago it was mainly the independent financial advisory firms that were hiring," comments Andrew Valentine, a consultant at Jon Michel Executive Search.

JP Morgan plans to grow by 20 to 30 per cent in M&A this year, says one headhunter who asked not to be named. Morgan Stanley has hired about 40 i-bankers in the last six months (mainly equities, but some in M&A), he adds.

Hiring is rising at Nomura and Barclays Capital, while BoA-Merrill Lynch is battling to regain a top-three league-table spot in M&A.

The US bank has been bulking up since September when it poached the property M&A team from UBS. It followed up last month by taking fixed income, currency and commodities bankers from RBS.

Deutsche Bank is also keen to break into the big three. "There's light evidence of aggression from DB so far, but expect it to get more aggressive this year," says the anonymous headhunter.

Even juniors are getting jobs

In 2009 the i-banks largely limited any hiring to a handful of seniors, but now more junior M&A bankers are becoming sought after.

"There are acute shortages of execution skills at associate level. Nearly all banks are short in this skill set. Analysts and VPs also in demand," says Valentine

The most active job functions within M&A include financial institutions, natural resources, utilities and infrastructure.

"The resources sector is arguably the most active - inbound upstream Asian investment activity into Australian primary industries by Chinese state-owned enterprises mainly. The expectation is that FIG will be active this year with further industry consolidation as consequence of financial crisis," adds Valentine.