'Only 1 in 50 interviews are being closed right now'

How hard is it to achieve a definitive offer of a new job?

Last week, the chief of staff at UBS wealth management divulged that they were interviewing frantically but only offering 6% of their interviewees jobs because most of them weren't good enough.

Now the head of one fixed income search firm, who asked not to be named, said the situation in investment banks is worse still.

"There's an absolutely huge amount of interviewing going on, but hardly anything's being closed," he claims. "It's extraordinary. I can't understand how anyone's getting anything done."

He estimates that only 2% of interviews - or less - are leading to firm job offers.

"We'll put 20 people through the interview process and nothing will come of it. Other firms are doing the same thing. There's a lot of data-gathering going on out there."

However, the situation may be improving. The managing directors of two broad-based front office search boutiques tell us the tempo of hiring has increased over the past few weeks.

"It's definitely picked up in May," says one. "April was full of bank holidays and the weather was good and a lot of things just didn't get done. Now it's picked up again."

Even the disconsolate fixed income headhunter predicts things will get better in June. "Revenues are under pressure and some headcount has been rescinded," he says. "But where it hasn't, people will want to fill it as soon as possible - both in order to upgrade and to make the most of the additional headcount while it's still on offer."