You are on the market for a new opportunity feeling a mixture of emotions churning within you. Perhaps you are excited to launch a new career path, perhaps you are nervous about finding the right job and fit for you. In this situation, a finance recruitment agency can be highly valuable in helping to connect you to the right kind of opportunities that would optimise your expertise and skillset. However, not all recruitment agencies are created equal. Especially in the multi-faceted world of finance, there are several questions that you should ask prospective finance recruitment agencies before registering with them to save you time and guarantee a hassle-free experience later.

#1 How long has this finance recruitment agency been in recruitment for?

Knowing when an agency was established can be a useful gauge for the type of influence and connections they may have within finance circles. The longer they have been in business, the more likely it is that they have been consistently successful in placing candidates. However, this is by no means a perfect measure to benchmark competing agencies by, which brings us to the next question…

#2 Who is the agent that I will be working with? What is his/her background in this industry?

Working with an agent that understands your profile, skills, and needs is arguably just as important as finding the right type of agency. It is here that an agent with a strong track record of client relationships and experience in the industry can be useful in more ways than one. Beyond just getting you into a room with the right kinds of employers, he/she can also understand your profile and source jobs accordingly.

#3 What type of clients does the agency work with?

Does the finance recruitment agency have deeply entrenched relationships with a particular sector or group of industries? The best will have exclusive relationships with particular financial institutions. As a candidate, you could benefit from this niche, specialist expertise and unique access to some employers if you select the right agency. However, on the flip side, submitting your resume to a larger agency which recruits for places outside of your background could result in your candidacy being a low priority.

#4 What type of jobs do they place candidates into?

We’ve already mentioned that finance is a vast field. Taking a ten thousand foot view, a wealth advisor working for a bank and a finance manager tasked with managing the P&L of an individual company or product line can both be classified as finance. However, the skillset, expertise, and qualifications required for each differ vastly. Depending on what you would bring to the table for an employer, you need to be selective about the type of agency you work with.

#5 What is the placement rate and the time to placement?

The placement rate is expressed as a percentage of candidates registered with the agency and provides a reasonable indication of the agency’s success in getting candidates to where they need to be. Of course, this is more of a quantitative calculation that doesn’t account for qualitative considerations such as whether the candidate got placed into a position at his/her level of seniority. The second statistic is the average time to placement, which is pretty self-explanatory. You want to reduce the time you spend job hunting and if an agency offers an average time within a few weeks to a couple of months, they are likely better prospects for you.

#6 Do they provide additional or ancillary services?

In some cases, the finance recruitment agency will work with their candidate pool to help refine them for the job market and maximize their chances of attracting employer interest. This can include resume reviews, interview preparation sessions or simple workshops that boost professional etiquette and/or technical skills. Provided that you have received satisfactory answers to the above questions, this could be an additional incentive that pushes an agency over the edge in favor over another.

Established in 2008, Lincoln Recruitment has long been leading finance recruitment agency in the Irish market. Our finance recruitment department has been established since 2010 and we recruit across Banking, Financial Services, Funds, Asset Management and much more. When recruiting our own employees, we apply the exact same standards we use to identify and attract outstanding talent for our finance clients. Relentlessly hard-working, smart, expert and committed to mutual success, Lincoln Recruitment will help you stand out from the crowd in a competitive employment market.

About the Author

Jamie O'Riordan

Senior Consultant - Fund Services

joriordan@lincoln.ie+353 1 661 0444

Jamie is a Senior Consultant in the Financial Services division at Lincoln Ireland. Jamie has an in-depth understanding of the complex Financial Services market in Ireland, with has a particular focus on Fund Management, where he maintains a strong network of contacts. His team share a high performance work ethic with a real desire to get to the best active and passive talent in the market place for their clients and the best opportunities to meet the needs of their candidates. Jamie holds a Masters’ degree from University College Cork and an Honours Degree in Business Administration from Cork Institute of Technology.