Outlook for 2008

In 2007, the banking and financial services sector offered 465 more vacancies compared with the previous year – the highest increase in the absolute number of vacancies amongst all sectors, and corresponds to a year-on-year percentage increase of 22.9%.

2008 started with uncertainty in the global finance community. With crude oil hitting the $100 a barrel mark and significant drops in the Dow Jones, S&P, NASDAQ and European stock indexes, followed by the credit crunch, volatility in the market remains.

The outlook is not all bleak however - banks, large multinationals and consulting firms rely on the university talent pipeline. In the last recession - late 2000 through 2002 - some companies rescinded offers which hurt their reputation on campus. Employers continue to look at new grads as their future leaders and want to groom them for those roles.

While the financial markets are shaky, from a resource perspective the constant demand for new graduates to some extent is a result of an increased demand for employers’ products and services; in addition, employees - baby boomers - are retiring or nearing retirement age, and other employees are leaving organizations for new opportunities.

Graduates are taking the economic uncertainty to heart. Finance and accounting graduates who once looked forward to picking from among several offers are now planning to network more and develop a broader range of skills and interests to reduce the risk of future unemployment. The appetite for ‘hand on’ roles that allow a degree of entrepreneurship continues to grow among the graduate population.

Marketplace trends over 2007

The most significant trend for us through 2007 was the continued discussion around how to define talent, supported by the recent Burgess review. For example, is a 2:1 a fair way of assessing talent in the graduate marketplace? Approximately 75% of employers we spoke to stipulated this as a minimum academic entry requirement and it is the most commonly used screening tool – but is it a fair and accurate measure given the trend towards wanting graduates with a broader skill set? The focus on the 2:1 as a gold standard is often at the expense of the wider skills an individual gained from their time at university. This coupled with ongoing issues of grade inflation and the arbitrary cut-off point often allocated by employers does mean employers are missing out on great potential and skills. Demographic, socio-political, technological and economic changes are leading to a significant shift in the war for ‘early year’ talent on a global scale and it is becoming a necessity to find new ways of defining talent through bespoke selection and assessment processes.

The other shift we have continued to see is in the mindset of graduates when they start to consider entering the working world. The best candidates continue to be attracted to the companies that treat them as individuals – that go out of their way to accommodate, understand and develop them. This coupled with the global approach to recruiting talent means companies will need to continue to take a more flexible and culturally aware approach to the recruitment and management of talent, which is something we have advised a number of clients on. This can be achieved through year-round graduate recruiting, graduate engagement activities and increased focus on headhunting high potential rather than recruiting through more traditional processes.