The typical bank in Australia: Our hiring's complete, the market's uncertain and we're cautious about headcount

There are still skill shortages in some functions and the local job market isn't as bad as in the US and Europe, but overall recruitment rates are lower today than they were a year ago, according to delegates at the recent eFinancialCareers roundtable in Sydney.

The event was attended by 23 in-house HR professionals from leading financial institutions. Representatives from international banks gave the most downbeat assessment of near-term job opportunities.

"We have already done our growth hiring for this year and there are now added layers of uncertainty because of events in the US and Europe," said one of the panellist, all of whom asked not to be named in this report.

Another roundtable attendee from a bulge bracket firm added: "There's enough uncertainly in the market for us to take a cautious approach. Recruitment has dropped off and will continue to fall this year."

Islands of hiring

Not all of financial services is in a recruitment slump. The mining boom is helping to fuel more demand for advisory positions at the big four auditing firms. "We're hiring aggressively this year, and it's growth as well as replacement. We're more active than we were before the financial crisis," said a big four delegate.

And even the banks, both domestic and international, say that despite a general fall in vacancy volumes, there are still positions where demand exceeds supply. These include two perennials - financial planning and product control - as well as underwriting jobs at banks which offer insurance services.

Looking beyond borders

Such talent shortages mean that firms remain open to foreign talent, although they prefer to relocate people internally if possible. One panellist from an international bank commented: "We are constantly sponsoring in certain areas, especially in the back and middle-office. There's consistent demand and perhaps even a pick-up in product control."

Sponsorship is also popular at the big four auditors, as one of their HR professionals explained: "We do it a lot and without much hesitation - the demand for auditors is very strong at the moment."

Similarly, some banks have also stepped up their search for potential returnee Australians to help fill sought-after jobs such as financial planning. One has organised an expat event in London to encourage Aussies to return home, using a weak UK economy as a push factor.