I have been away for longer than I wanted. The rush in hiring over the first half of the Q1 has been rampant. I apologize for my tardiness in keeping you all informed of where the Job Market is going.

Today I want to speak about employee evaluation and retention particular to one of my primary staffing silos; Technology. Technology departments at Wall Street firms are those most likely to hire from outside the capital markets industry. {Closely followed by Accounting/Corporate Finance and Operations departments.}

Technology is so crucial to having a competitive edge on Wall Street. ”Our Systems need to be Faster, More Resilient, Larger” is the Dogma of the day. There are not enough technologists to go around as they are needed for areas like high-speed trading, rapid modeling and real-time modeling. (Technologists with experience in project management, risk management and databases are also in high demand.) So they’re a very valuable commodity.

The buy-side firms are hiring those candidates outside of the Financial World who are ”looking to get their foot in the door”. The time cycle these firms trade by is a bit longer. As opposed to the sell-side firms, which need people who can ‘do it yesterday.’

62% of those surveyed in a recent Financial Firm Retention study conducted by “Major Job Boards” stated that their firms have done an assessment of which employees they think are at risk of being poached. (A further 41% have not).

Still, surprisingly, most are doing nothing to keep these ‘at-risk’ star employees at their current firms. That’s right, being a “Rock Star” at your firm doesn’t guarantee that you are truly valued!!!

Corporate Policies, Regulations, and over all Senior Management ”Top Heaviness” {That’s Right - I made that Term up and I expect to be credited with it when you add it to your day to day speech ;) } have led to employees having few ’Career Paths’ within their current firm…. What are you to do then? Many of my candidates aren’t looking at the market when I approach them, however during our initial discussion they will in some manner express their concern about being promoted. As one candidate stated, “Tracey, my evaluations are perfect for the last 2 years, but I know that I will not make Director because there are 4 others slated for promotion before me. So tell me what’s out there for someone with my background?”  

As I preach in every other blog, you are in a Career…Not a Job. If you are continuously looking for the next opportunity that can elevate your career, you MUST NOW LOOK OUTSIDE YOUR FIRM! Find what’s available outside your firm; compare it to where you are today {Even if you are happy and - Not Looking -}. The days of staying in your firm for 20 years are over. Change with the times or get used to being middle management.

Thank you for your Time & Efforts,

Tracey Greene

TechExec Inc.

Senior Vice President, Financial Technical Division

O: (914)-235-5901 

E: Tracey.Greene@TechExeconline.com

Blog: http://tracey-greene.tumblr.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/WallStRecruiter/

The initial steps of climbing out of a 3 year hole are slow and calculated!

I remember when I was a kid I was walking at a local playground during the winter and slipped falling down an ice covered hill. The more I tried to fight the fall downward, the slower I fell. I must have looked absolutely comical. Finally after stopping 2/3‘s of the way down the hill, I tried to rush up it, but I ended up losing my grip and falling the rest of the 3^rd down the hill. It was hard to get up seeing I couldn’t stop laughing at how I must have looked. But once I restored my mental state, I realized that this was going to be a concentrated, slow, deliberate rise to the top. No rush job here, I would have to get back up a foot at a time. It took about 30 minutes (in 12 year old time about “40 days”), but I made it. This is how I see our current job market. It took more than 3 years to fall down the hill. So how can we assume everything will be as it was prior, it just a couple of months? I have seen the hiring begin. Even for this time of year Hiring within the financial markets is very hot. Just keep in mind that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Our first positive sign for the New Year, Unemployment declined to 9 percent last month from 9.4 percent in December. I am not alone in this assumption that this is indeed great new! After three years of economic pain, a growing number of economists think 2011 will finally bring what everyone’s been hoping for: More jobs and a self-sustaining recovery. “We’re looking at some leading indicators on employment, and they’re all flashing green lights,” said Bernard Baumohl of the Economic Outlook Group, a Princeton, N.J. research firm. Bottom of FormThough most economists still expect a painfully high unemployment rate of about 9% at the end of this year, some think (I am one of them) that stat masks more important signs of strength. But if you don’t want to take my word for it, let’s see what CNN thinks.

“Economists surveyed by CNNMoney are forecasting an average of 2.5 million jobs added to the U.S. economy this year, which would be the best one-year gain in hiring since the white-hot labor market of 1999.

Of the dozen economists who responded, several of the more bullish are predicting more than 3 million jobs added — about 250,000 jobs a month. Even the most pessimistic of those surveyed, David Wyss of Standard & Poor’s, expects 1.8 million jobs to be added this year, roughly double the pace of hiring in 2010.”

The worst has happened already, we aren’t at the bottom of that playground hill. We are about 16 feet from the bottom, making steady progress one foot at a time. With the coming Spring Rush of Employment that comes over the financial job market, I expect our progress to be at a rate of a yard at a time. My advice to you, stop perceiving our progress like I did when I was 12 on that slippery hill bottom. It won’t take us forever to get up this hill, just a little longer than we would like.

Thanks for your Time and Efforts,

Tracey Greene

TechExec Inc.

SVP, Financial / Technical Division

O: (914)-235-5901

E: Tracey.Greene@TechExeconline.com

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè

I love my job because I get to experience different cultures and learn to look at life from different perspectives! In particular this year, The Year of The Rabbit, looks to be incredible!

“The year of the Rabbit is traditionally associated with home and family, artistic pursuits, diplomacy, and keeping the peace. Therefore, 2011 is very likely to be a relatively calmer one than 2010 both on the world scene, as well as on a personal level.”  Which is perfect seeing the last 3 years of the Financial Job Market have been incredibly shaky (The Wall St. Hiring Frenzy is just starting to kick into gear as I type this Blog!!!)

As we begin to enter into the year of the Rabbit, tradition dictates that my  Chinese extended  family be off today  thoroughly cleaning their houses to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck. Red will be splashed upon the doors and windows with themes of Happiness, Wealth, and Longevity.

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè !!!!

Thank you for your Time and Efforts,

Tracey Greene

TechExec Inc.

Senior Vice President, Financial Risk & Compliance & Technology Division

O: (914)-235-5901

F:  (914)-355 -2160

E:  Tracey.Greene@TechExeconline.com 

Blog:      http://tracey-greene.tumblr.com/ 

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/WallStRecruiter/