We spoke to Luc Jones, a partner at recruitment firm Antal in Moscow. This is what we asked, and what he told us about hiring in Russia this year.

Which kinds of financial services organizations will be hiring in Russia in 2012?

Luc: We continue to have an optimistic outlook for recruitment across the banking and finance sectors for 2012.  Not only will State banks and smaller market organisations continue to look for the best talent, there are also a selection of new players that have entered the Russian market such as banking organisations from Asia.  Such organisations continue to look to hire strong candidates across all key disciplines, including general management and senior accountancy.

Which financial services roles will there be the most hiring for in Russia this year?

∙ Heads of sales

∙ Product & marketing managers

∙ Project (business process) managers

∙ Traders (derivative instruments)

∙ Analyst

Which skillsets will be hardest to find in Moscow in 2012?

People who really know about financial markets, product controllers, derivatives structurers.

What's the outlook for pay and bonuses in Russia?

Our recent survey indicates that the majority of professionals within capital markets and corporate finance are expecting to receive a bonus for 2011.  But a general complaint is that bonus structures are fairly unclear – even if someone is happy with their bonus, they often have no idea how their bonus was calculated!

Are you expecting further Russian redundancies in 2012?

Possibly, yes. Big state banks and international players may well continue to optimise their structure.

Where should people be positioning themselves now if they want to be employable in 2013?

Don’t job hop, concentrate on your core skills and where they could be of most use to your organisation (or a potentially new firm). Don’t get sidetracked by fads, such as a useless MBA when employers are much more interested in the achievements in your actual day to day work. One ‘hard to understand’ Russian trait for international employers is taking 2-3 months off after you’ve quit your job (especially in the summer, to spend time at the dacha) and only then beginning a job search.