eFinancialCareers

Be prepared to make up your mind quickly – Australia’s banking and finance companies will now offer jobs as little as 48 to 72 hours after interview. Debbie Loveridge, managing director of Select Australasia, tells us the amount of time it takes banks to hire is being slashed as they compete for talent in a tight market. A year ago, she says mid-ranking admin staff in banks would wait two or... Read more

Have visa, will travel. The US has emerged as yet another destination for travel-hungry Australian finance professionals, adding to the talent shortage that is plaguing the country in the accounting and financial markets. The signing last year of the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement means that young Australian professionals no longer need to enter the green card lottery to gain visas to the US. Instead, the E-3 visa programme has been expanded... Read more

Australia’s banking and finance sector had a storming time in 2006. Where will the hot and cold spots be in 2007? Here’s our verdict. Going up: • Salaries and bonuses After a bountiful 2006, expectations are that the bonuses paid out in the first few months of this year will be significantly up. Macquarie pays bonuses around June and with profits up 51% in the six months to September, chances of the... Read more

When analysts and associates don't get on... From: Associate Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 6:04 PM To: Analyst Subject: wgl Can you put together a working group list in next hour using template I've previously sent you (vcards attached)? Contacts are MF, SF, C and me From: Analyst Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 6:35 PM To: Associate Subject: RE: wgl There is really no reason to get testy. I was here all night, you know that, and I am... Read more

What was hot and what was not in the Australian financial services industry over the past twelve months? Here’s our considered opinion. Good Year Private Equity: This has been the year of the mega-deal in private equity, with seven AU$1bn plus transactions, topped off with the AU$11bn bid for Qantas. Big overseas funds such as KKR, CCMP, and TPG all set-up shop in Australia, while smaller Australian funds such as PEP, Archer Capital,... Read more

ANZ Bank is about to embark on a major hiring program to support its expansion into Asia. Other banks are expected to follow close on its heels. ANZ CEO John McFarlane is behind the new push into Asia, and said that in the New Year the bank will launch a recruitment drive aimed at the postgraduate market. “We’re looking to recruit a substantial number of graduates with Asian language skills or... Read more

What if you're not satisfied when you get your bonus? Could you negotiate for more? Success is rare, and it could be a dangerous path to pursue. “In 20 years at Goldman, I never once saw anyone renegotiate their bonus after it had been announced, ever,” says one ex-head of department at the bank, which is paying US$16bn in bonuses this year. “Bonuses are decided in October and it’s not done... Read more

Investment banks aren’t best known as cuddly employers. But when it comes to flexible working arrangements, even high-powered financiers are getting more leeway these days. Take UBS for example, which offers its employees a whole range of flexible alternatives, from the ability to work from home on some days, to staggered hour arrangements, job sharing, and part-time options. Mike Davies, UBS’s head of human resources, says workers at all levels are... Read more

There are 18 much richer Australians this week, and it’s not down to a lottery win. Goldman Sachs JBWere has promoted18 people to become Australian managing directors (MDs) - nearly doubling the 22 it had. Rumour has it they’ll each be on at least US$1.5m (AU$2.0m). What's going on? Craig Drummond, Chief Operating Officer at Goldman Sachs JBWere Sydney says the appointments "reflect the depth of talent and the significant contribution... Read more

Australia’s banks have been quietly trying to hire more women, but the industry is still a bastion of masculinity. “We have some employers who are still concerned that their executive ranks remain something of a boys club,” says Matthew Gowan, a Melbourne-based specialist in banking at recruitment group Hays. “They say if they have male and female candidates of the same quality, then they may pick the female to balance things... Read more

Bankers on Wall Street and in the City of London are expecting bumper bonuses this year. How does the Sydney market compare? Quite well, seems to be the answer. Australia may have a market cap of just US$854bn – 20 times smaller than the US, but our research suggests financial services salaries in the market punch above their weight. According to the office of New York State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi, finance... Read more

Recruiters say the Australian Government needs to put more money into white-collar training to address the chronic shortage in the financial services sector. Australia’s Government has set aside A$837m to spend on additional training measures for unskilled Australians. Recruiters say it's focusing on the wrong area. “Australia does not have a jobs problem, it has a skilled workers problem,” says Grahame Doyle, a senior regional director for recruitment firm Hays. “There needs... Read more

When the going gets tough, wannabe bankers start showing their moves. Over the past few weeks the global financial community has been following one UBS candidate’s innovative approach to nabbing a job. His was no ordinary application – it featured an 11 page CV and a sharply edited video featuring him ballroom dancing, breaking bricks with his bare hands. Observers are treated to nuggets of wisdom like ‘To achieve success you... Read more

One recruiter says the City of London market is crying out for Australian Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) expertise. “The amount of hiring here is ridiculous,” says Timothy Rowe, managing director of London-based Cobalt Recruitment. “It’s a candidate-led market.” REITs are only just taking off in Europe. The United Kingdom will allow tax efficient REITs vehicles from January, while Germany’s finance minister has submitted a draft law for the introduction of REITs... Read more

The financial services industry is known for its long working hours, and it seems Australian bankers work longer hours than most. The latest report from AXISS, the financial services division of Invest Australia, suggests Australian bankers may work longer hours than their counterparts in both the UK and the US. The report notes that the average Australian worker worked 1,826 hours last year, well above the G7 average of 1,696 hours... Read more