Job seekers in financial services want stability


A supportive work environment is the top priority for job seekers in the financial services industry, according to a new survey.
CareerOne’s annual job hunter survey found that candidates are looking for locally based positions with friendly teams, rather than positions that promote tradition ideas like flexibility, personal ambition and a rewarding challenge.
CareerOne chief executive Michael Harvey said the movement towards stability could be attributed to the global financial crisis.
“Across the board this sector has been one of the earliest hit, with a number of restructures and redundancies. We’re starting to come out of it now, but it has been a pretty unstable environment,” Harvey said.
The survey found that there has also been a large increase in the amount of ‘drifters’ in financial services (ie, people who are dissatisfied with workplace issues and want more training opportunities).
According to Harvey, the new attitude among job hunters could be a drive towards part-time work, due to the number of redundancies over the last year.
“We’ve seen many full-time jobs lost, but now employers are realising they need casual people to do the work. Whether than will continue, I’m not sure,” he said.
To capture the attention of candidates, employers need to highlight the teamwork, training and support elements of jobs as well as the chance to increase wages, receive overtime and gain promotion.
“There’s still a section that are the career-orientated people, but across the whole, other values are a little bit more important,” Harvey said.
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