The third-year accountancy student is already nervous - not
surprising, given the crisis in the financial markets.
He is sweating it out late at night filling in application
forms, chatting with senior students and preparing himself for a
bank internship to get a headstart in the highly competitive job
market.
This year, Mr Huang, 25, hopes to snag a private wealth
management-related internship with HSBC or Standard Chartered Bank
(Stanchart).
He is also trying to burnish his credentials and hunt down more
business-related competitions to take part in.
'It's for the future and that is why I'm beefing up my resume.
Hopefully, the job market improves next year,' he said.
Mr Huang is not the only one with the jitters - although experts
say jobs are on offer in certain banking segments.
'Fresh graduates are getting nervous,' said Mr Gary Lai, front
office banking manager of search firm Robert Walters. 'Many of them
are trying to secure jobs even before they graduate.'
Mr Lai said he has been receiving many requests from newly-
minted degree holders asking him for help - but he has advised them
to contact banks directly.
Financial sector jobs usually available to fresh graduates
include management associate roles, branch-level financial
consultants as well as risk and compliance positions, he said.
But recruiters say in these tough times, even more experienced
industry personnel face difficulties in clinching new jobs.
As the credit crunch deepens and banking stocks dive, some banks
are said to have frozen their headcount.
Others have imposed more stringent hiring guidelines. Before
they can add headcount, for example, they must get approval from
senior management.
Not surprisingly, investment banking and credit-related jobs are
not exactly flavour-of-the- month at the moment.
Banks, hit by a weakened dealflow, want to avoid anything
remotely linked to excessive risk-taking.
But despite the economic slowdown, some financial institutions
are shopping around for talent to fill certain positions and
functions, according to headhunters.
'We see a clear distinction between the commercial banks versus
the first-tier investment banks, some of which are now commercial
banks. Consumer and commercial banks are still hiring,' said Ms
Pernille Storm, director of banking and finance at Hudson
Singapore.
Mr Tan Soo Jin, vice-chairman of executive search firm Amrop
Hever Group, said among those hiring are Stanchart, Citi, DBS Bank,
United Overseas Bank and OCBC, as well as institutions with private
banking units such as Credit Suisse.
For instance, demand is strong for staff with accounting
backgrounds at banks, mostly in departments such as product
control, tax, compliance and financial planning.
Tightening credit markets have brought risk issues to the fore,
with many banks increasing their hiring of credit risk experts.
The need to counter fraud, especially within international
investments, is also fuelling demand for forensic accountants.
Consumer banking divisions, too, have been hiring.
For instance, demand for compliance officers is still high,
especially in know-your-customer roles. At the same time, staff
numbers in areas such as priority banking, sales and business
development are expected to grow.
Arguably, private banking remains one of the 'lifelines' of the
recruitment market here, but the days when banks poached entire
teams and doubled salaries are certainly over, for now.
Private banks want experienced relationship managers with local
networks who can hit the ground running, bringing with them clients
along with their assets under management.
Ms Annie Yap, chief executive of the GMP Group, said that
relationship manager or private banker positions are usually
reserved for experienced and highly trained professionals in the
industry.
'Fresh graduates are not immediately able to enter the specialty
trade, even for private banking support positions such as marketing
assistants or client servicing officers, which require at least two
to three years in the banking industry,' Ms Yap said.
Last month, online job portal eFinancialCareers held a
roundtable discussion attended by senior internal recruiters from
several leading financial institutions here.
What surfaced during the talks, said eFinancialCareers'
Asia-Pacific editor Simon Mortlock, was that back and middle office
roles have not been hit as hard as front office investment banking
jobs.
Recruitment has become more selective, with tougher selection
criteria, more interviews and greater use of competency-based and
psychometric testing, he said.
Mr Mortlock said the global downturn has made switching jobs a
slower process, with candidates forced to wait about eight weeks
for sign-off, about double the time it took last year. Recruiters
suggest that during a crisis, firms are more likely to offer
contractual instead of permanent jobs.
This is because, given the unpredictability of developments,
companies will have less liability in letting contractual staff go
should the situation worsen, or to convert contract staff to
permanent positions if it improves.
For now, headhunters predict the financial job market is
expected to remain subdued, with bonuses trending lower and
salaries rising minimally.
'Some organisations are prepared to start real quality fresh
graduates at $3,500 to $4,000, but much is expected of this group
and if they don't perform, they will fall by the wayside,' Mr Tan
said.
Robert Half's Singapore managing director Tim Hird advised job
seekers to pay more attention to the content and scalability of the
job, including opportunities for skill-set enhancement, career
advancement and training opportunities, and the existence of good
mentors.
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Companies's horizon are driven by short-term goals. Employees'
lifespan is only a year. Likewise CEOs' tenures are also
short-term. Live today and achieve your goals and get your bonus.
Makes your sale and achieve your targets at any costs because we
may be sacked after one quarter or at the half year appraisal
mark.
It's ironical that the CEOs in America get blame for getting
themselves into risky propositions and failed to consider the long
term survival of their companies. Should they care? Because they
can get sack for failing to meet their profit targets when other
CEOs have managed to achieve good profits on the sub-prime deals
and credit derivatives deals.
Should young executives be concerned that he has sold risky
investment products to pensioners? Afterall, he may be joining
another industry or bank after his employment contract ends in 1
year