A new breed of recession-hardened workers now demanding pay rises

The message to financial services companies in Scotland is clear - the survivors of the recession, handed extra responsibilities as their teams shrank in the wake of redundancies, now want both the salaries and job titles to reflect their new status.

With redundancies rife in the Scottish financial sector over the last 18 months, a large number of those that remained in the decidedly leaner teams were handed greater extra duties, usually reserved for more senior colleagues.

According to the latest Joslin Rowe Scottish Financial Services recruitment review, an impressive 75% of the 786 people they surveyed have been handed more demanding responsibilities left behind by redundant colleagues, and 64% gained more experience and a wider skill-set than during the good times.

But, in these austere times, the problem is that few have received the recognition for this - either in terms of salaries or job titles. Now, with a much-improved job market, many are looking to move.

"Some initial research we've conducted across our banking recruitment desks shows that many assistant vice president (AVP) level candidates feel they operated at a junior vice president (VP) level during the recession and therefore will only move on to a competitor, or stay at their current firm, in return for a VP title," says Margaret Dyer, director of Joslin Rowe in Scotland.

But are these realistic expectations? While most within your organization will have recognised your extra contribution, it's another thing convincing a new employer that you're worthy of a promotion - especially if your job title has remained unchanged.

"Candidates need to demonstrate how their responsibilities have changed, exactly what new skill-sets they've acquired and how they've added value to their organisation," says Mike Leeman, manager - finance recruitment at Bright Purple Resourcing. "Most people are looking for a sideways move to match their extra responsibilities and, hopefully, secure a pay rise."

But financial services firms are still reluctant to dig deep when it comes to recruiting new employees, and Leeman suggests that a 10% uplift is the most you should expect.