Banks are busting to hire the best people leaving the armed forces

24 June 2011

2 minute read

Banks are busting to hire the best people leaving the armed forces

Under the Strategic Defence and Security Review, thousands of people in the British armed forces are losing their jobs.

Investment banks are hiring (some of) them.

"We come across a lot of ex-services people who move into the City," says Mike Hartwell at recruitment firm Hartwell Buck. "Lieutenants, captains and majors are the easiest to place."

Most ex-services professionals go into the back office, where their organisational and leadership skills are at a premium.

"Ex-services professionals are used to working with a budget, with people, with a target and with deadlines," says the head of recruitment at one leading bank. "They are excellent for operational delivery. You also get quite a few who go into sales and brokerage roles."

Some organisations, such as London-based Orion Consulting, run by Simon Treadgold, a former major in the British army, specialise in placing ex-services personnel into financial services roles. Unfortunately, Simon wasn't around to talk to us.

"Some firms out there are much more mature about receiving ex-services people than others," says another recruiter. "Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, in particular, hire a lot of them."

Steve Daffron, global head operations in Morgan Stanley's Institutional Securities Group was previously a commander in the US army. Rory Gilbert, managing director at Barclays Wealth, was previously a platoon commander in the parachute regiment.

"Some banks have realised that ex-forces personnel can inject a leadership function into their business," says Hartwell. "There are an awful lot of ex-service people leaving the army and a lot of them are being picked up straight away."

Many of them go into comparatively senior positions. A wing commander in the RAF, for example, might go into somewhere like Morgan Stanley as a VP. One recruiter says he placed a colonel as an AVP a few years ago and that he's now a senior managing director running six other MDs.

The only downside to placing ex-services types is that they tend to be male and white - especially if from the officer ranks. "We have to watch out as it's not very good for our diversity profile," says the head of HR.

Hartwell also points out that working in a bank is so different to being in Afghanistan that some people don't make the transition. "For every two ex-forces people who work out, there's probably one that doesn't," he says.

AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

re
recruiter79
28 June 2011
Lets face it... the majority of bankers are either uneducated essex boys or rich eton toffs who don't have a clue about anythhing in life other than money... Let the intelligent ones with a bit of intregrity have a crack. They are less likely to drive us into another economic minefield!
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To
Todd
27 June 2011
How do they deal from being pride of the country to joining the ranks of shame of the country? Surely the self confidence?
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AJ
AJ
25 June 2011
I could see a Wing Commander fitting into retail or private banking quite easily, or even some niche in investment banking, though would be unlikely to be an M&A banker.
However, find it rather unlikely to be commonplace. A Wing Commander is likely to have been an OC Sqn, Eng, Logistics or Admin, and while those in the cockpit are more likely attracted to the airlines if they are at PVR point given resettlement, skills are simply more suited to corporate / transport / aerospace business roles, managing hundreds, although the politicking skills are certainly relevant.
More likely is the young ex-army / RN junior officer type, particularly if they have then done an MBA
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So
Soon to be jobless
25 June 2011
Why is the industry hiring people with no experience instead of those who have been let go in the relentless pursuit of a bigger EOY profit margin?
And before it gets there, dont give me the spiel that those let go were never any good. The industries are rehiring to try and scale the knowledge cliff they stepped off when they kicked out all the people who were keeping things running. Good to see they've learnt nothing and hiring more 'leaders' than workers...
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HC
HCM (Recruitment) IB
25 June 2011
I'd employ an Officer without any reservation, if they are genuinely committed to a Career within Financial Services. Military Officers are highly trained, fit, motivated, discipined, confident, bright, articulate, smart and enthusiastic. Almost all are Grads and could pick up the technical stuff in weeks. This industry needs more Heroes and less Bernard Madoff's and Fabrice Tourre's. Anyone can do an MBA or MSc, join a Bank from School or Uni, tick over with their most stressful experience having to work late, lose their bonus or miss the tube to work. Not anyone can pass Officer selection, graduate from Sandhurst, Dartmouth or Cranwell and go onto command Service personnel in Afghanistan or Iraq.
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