Editor's Take: Forget shifting after Spring bonuses - big four staff just want to stay put
The October/November bonus season is coming up for staff at Australian banks, but don't expect much movement this year after they pocket their payments. There are typically two main indicators of a lacklustre employment market: cautious candidates and a lack of vacancies. We seem to have them both for the foreseeable future.
Many candidates fear the potential impact of current global economic conditions on their careers, so they are prioritising their own job security. For long-serving employees, staying put in their roles means at best enhancing their reputation by successfully negotiating a tough period, and at worst getting a large payment if they are laid off.
But those who move to a new firm risk being made redundant with no money to cushion the blow. It's no wonder candidates are cautious.
Even those who want to change companies are questioning the long-term security of the role they are applying for. As one headhunter told me this week: "These days career advancement is the first question that candidates ask - is the job sustainable?"
The big four banks have also shoved security and career advancement back on their recruitment agenda, but not entirely for selfless reasons. Their current emphasis on cost cutting is forcing them to promote their vacancies based on the potential for future career opportunities, rather than big salary increases. But these opportunities haven't really changed, it's just that there's a renewed emphasis on talking them up.
Of course it's not just that candidates have developed last-in-first-out anxiety in recent weeks: Vacancies numbers are down on last year across most sectors of financial services. Hiring managers must now build watertight business cases for any external recruitment, even for roles which were considered business critical last year.
This is a job market primarily driven by replacement, not growth. If there is to be surge of movement at the domestic banks, expect it to be delayed until February/March - after the summer holiday season. But such is the uncertainty in global markets that HR managers and recruiters are reluctant to commit to a timescale for hiring to rebound. You can hardly blame them.
