‘Our perception of the Accounting & Finance recruitment market in Melbourne’

These certainly are interesting times, with the world economy experiencing the most volatile period ever seen in most of our lifetimes, all within the last 6 months. Any commentators that would have predicted even half of the events that have taken place in the US, Europe and the UK over the past 6 months would have been shouted down as extremist, alarmist and irresponsible. Bear Sterns, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Merrill Lynch – they came one after another, in quick succession and quickly threw the media into a tailspin. Certainly, this has had an effect on the financial markets in Australia and some sectors, mostly Financial Services and Property / Construction have had to tighten and even let go of some people.

But how much of an overall impact has this had on recruitment, particularly in the Finance & Accounting market in Melbourne?

Not as much as one would think (given all the negativity that we are hearing in the media). Whilst there is plenty of caution and uncertainty being talked about amongst both candidates and clients alike, positions are still being listed quickly and confidently and good candidates are still difficult to find, particularly at the junior and middle market levels. With the exception of a very small number of Financial Services organisations, hiring freezes are not in place and not on the horizon, for the short term at least. Perhaps the most important factor at this stage is that the unemployment rate has remained steady, currently at 4.3%, still a very low figure by any measure. The bottom line is that good candidates are still picking up work, albeit with slightly less of a frenzy than has been experienced over the past 4 or 5 years. The last quarter of the calendar year is typically a volatile period for hiring in the Accounting & Finance field, with demand and job flow rising and falling sharply, particularly over the November and December period, before demand falls off almost completely over Christmas and January. This year is no exception, but the rise and fall in demand is probably being attributed by most to the ‘economic conditions’ rather than the usual volatility associated with this time of the year..


‘Which positions are in demand?’

Whilst demand has softened, we are finding that good candidates are still in demand, particularly in the ‘junior market’ (non degree qualified, $40 to $60k package) and ‘middle market’ (degree qualified, studying towards or recently completed CA / CPA, $60 to $100k package). We are seeing a number of quality candidates returning from working holidays in the UK all at once, which is affecting demand in the higher part of the ‘middle market’ and the lower part of the ‘senior market’ (CA / CPA qualified, $100 to $200k). Probably the highest demand is still for that middle ground of $60 to $85k – the candidates that are studying towards or recently qualified in either CA or CPA, within Management or Financial Accounting based roles. The ‘senior market’ (CA / CPA qualified, $100 to $200k) is probably the area most affected, with less movement / churn (people leaving one position to take up a new position), resulting in a slowdown of new positions and a backlog of good candidates. Overall, in the markets we are working in, we believe there is still a shortage of quality candidates, with a slight easing in demand from the acute shortage that has been experienced over the past few years..


‘Our recommended recruitment strategies’

Companies need to remain focussed on their recruitment campaigns and continue to compete for high quality candidates. Slowing down recruitment campaigns, tightening up on the requirements / being less flexible and lowering salaries are all strategies that will backfire in the current market – the market has a long way to go before organisations can employ these tactics and still walk away with a good hire. Indeed, we have seen recent examples of practices like these backfiring on organisations, costing them a lot of time and money with failed campaigns that have them ‘back at square one’, resulting in costly gaps in their teams.

Ensuring you have full sign off for a role before embarking on a campaign is imperative in the current conditions. A swift and effective campaign is still the order of the day, with the flexibility to move quickly for the right candidate, should the need arise. As mentioned in the last update, stability of the company and the role will be at the forefront of most candidates minds – selling these aspects to your preferred candidate during a recruitment campaign may make the difference between accepting your position or another one on offer. We are finding that good candidates are still faced with multiple offers at the same time - proving that firms need to compete for the quality candidates..


‘What to expect in the market over the next quarter’

This quarter is always the most volatile, so expect the rest of the quarter to remain ‘hot and cold’ in the lead up to Christmas, before demand slows dramatically over the Christmas and January period. January is always quiet – the telling factor will be how much of a ‘spike’ we see in early February. In most years, the first few weeks of February are usually quite busy, with a host of new positions being listed that have built up during the Christmas / January break. If there is no spike in February, it will be evident that the market is slowing down. With all the events happening around us, Australia is certainly not immune, however we keep coming back to a few simple fundamentals: despite all the events over the past 6 months, our unemployment rate has remained steady. Local demand for quality candidates, on the whole, remains high. A change of government in the US and a coordinated effort among the G20 has provided some optimism of a slow recovery amongst those experiencing the worst of the current crisis. Finally, our own government seems to be pumping plenty of stimulus into the economy, which may just help us to fend off the conditions overseas. One factor seems certain, by the end of the next quarter / beginning of the 2nd quarter of 2009, we believe we will ‘either be in it or know we have avoided it’ – lets hope it is the latter.

It is interesting to note the latest comments by the Reserve Bank Governer Glen Stevens in a keynote address he gave on the 19th of November, particularly the last few paragraphs entitled "What then of the outlook for Australia?"