Recruitment strategies in 2021: Preparing for the return to normal

The last 12 months have been strange for us all, perhaps surreal, especially in our working lives. The often arduous commute to work has been replaced by a few steps to the home office, and the in-person interaction with colleagues we once took completely for granted seems almost like a distant memory.

A year on, it’s fair to say many of us have gotten used to it. So much so that it is doubtful whether full-time office work will ever return to anything like the same extent again.

Much has been made of the technology’s ability to bridge the social gap, but does it really? It has been perfectly serviceable for maintaining existing relationships, but what about strengthening them, and more importantly, forging new ones?

Those who thrive on getting on with the job solo, by soldiering away quietly and producing daily results, have been in the spotlight far more than ever before. Whereas their counterparts, the relationship-builders and the rainmakers, have largely had to pull over to the hard shoulder, switch on the hazard lights and wait for normality to resume.

We believe that there is significant pent-up desire in the fund finance industry for in-person communications to restart as soon as possible. Candidates and clients alike are quietly asking about the prospect of in-person meetings (subject to legal and corporate policy requirements) as they see summer and vaccine effectiveness on the horizon.

We are advising banks and law firms in the fund finance space to take a good look at this aspect of how the market is going to unfold in the latter half of this year. The team member who was a star during the height of the 2020 lockdown may not be the same person you would want to send out into the post-pandemic world in 2021 to schmooze.

For fund finance professionals looking for new challenges this year, our advice is similar. Different aspects of your skillset are in demand in 2021 and in the second half of the year especially. Hiring managers may well be looking for someone different than today, even for the same job. We anticipate a greater focus on relationship building and the network to stay competitive as firms transition back to in-person interactions. Time to take a long look at that CV again and reposition your personal brand for the bold new post-COVID world.

Brickfield is the only international talent acquisition specialist dedicated to fund finance. If you are seeking to grow your fund finance team or if you are looking to move to a new position in the space, contact Rory Smith at Brickfield Recruitment by email at [email protected] or by telephone on +44 7800 963 594.