The Front Liners that become City Superstars

It certainly is a numbers game when you’re involved in financial recruitment as a recent client vacancy demonstrated. We placed an advert for an Operations Clerk for a prestigious bank which attracted 520 views and 242 applicants over seven days, and it was our job to whittle that down to four candidates to present to our client.

Now while going through so many applications may sound an onerous task, it is such a privilege and provides real soul food in a very competitive industry. We’re obviously bound by strict confidentiality rules, but what I can tell you is that every one of those candidates who took the time to apply had great stories, absolute gems of anecdotes and a blend of great ambition with shy humility.

It’s our job to matchmake their stories with the corporate narrative that our clients have in terms of their mission, their purpose and their identity.

And this is where we forensically examine our clients as well to check that what they’re asking for is realistic and fits in with their mantra. We don’t paraphrase the job spec the client has created; we meet the HR teams in banks and financial firms and we have conversations about the recruitment environment and the available pool of potential staff.

As we’re at the coal face we can share our insights about candidates, the personnel potential and what generic skills new entrants are exhibiting and whether their abilities are flexible and they have the capacity to learn. So out of those 242 applicants we were looking for enthusiasm, a gentle thoughtfulness and first and foremost a fit or as close as there could be.

Honest applicants will let us know if there is an element of the job they’re unsure of, or have no knowledge about. We appreciate this and it helps us source those with integrity and identify those that are perhaps economical with the truth.

Which brings me back to that advert for Operations Clerk. If you don’t know much about that role, then it is the beating heart of a bank. It is the person you trust with the admin, the filing, taking the emails and phone calls, ordering the stationery, inputting data and doing so with a smile.

This is a frontline job and reminds me of a candidate who started his position in the bank’s basement spending time with a photocopier and franking machine (anyone else remember those?) for a large listed blue chip. His career is one I admire as he worked his way up from office boy to global MD banker involved with some of our most well-known global institutions. That’s quite a progression but as I said it’s a numbers game, and get the right person and the right fit and you get harmonious synergy between client and their newest recruit who one day could be the firm’s rockstar CEO.

As of Friday Jake, the bank’s chosen candidate, accepted his job offer and starts at our client onsite in January. Congratulations again Jake!