FRED BAYR: Three roles for which British candidates are insufficient
The candidate pool in the City of London is as dry as David Brent's sense of humour. The best candidates either demand too much money or are happy where they are.
What can recruiters do to earn their keep if the supply of quality candidates their clients demand is getting lower with too many tigers after the same piece of meat? 'Thinking outside the box' is not good enough. It's time to think outside the country. There are three specific roles for which overseas candidates are indispensable, whether Daily Mail readers like it or not.
1) IT Developer
India is the one stop shop for all IT development needs. However, as a recruiter it is imperative to ensure your candidate arrives in London the night before. One of my colleagues' candidates was excited at the prospect of the high life in the global financial capital: "If they want me to fly from the other end of the world it must be because they want to give me the job, right"? Wrong. He was merely 15 minutes late for the interview and the client refused to see him. He returned to the misery of back office quicker than you can say Migrant Cap.
2) Market Risk
China has some Market Risk gems hiding in the crowds. My colleague got in touch with a mathematical genius who had worked in GS, New York, for five years. He'd gone back to his native land for a 12 month career break. 6 months in, my colleague persuaded him to, 'taste the wine and women of London.' After several video conference interviews and online tests, the candidate was invited over at the client's expense for final face to face interviews. He was offered the job and declined. It turned out he just wanted the free holiday.
3) Finance Change/Project Manager
These rare breeds are best found in Australia. They need to be qualified accountants and PRINCE 2 certified. Boring British accountants simply don't have the interpersonal skills to engage stakeholders, so the chirpy Aussies come over to do the job. I had a chap called Rolf Harris apply for a job I advertised recently.
Fred Bayer is the pseudonym of a financial services recruitment consultant working in the City of London.
