Wall St. Job Hunters Find Buyers' Market
By Chelsea Emery
Thursday November 22, 6:01 pm Eastern Time
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The few financial firms still hiring these days have found a silver lining in the economic downturn -- a treasure trove of top candidates who are willing to take a pay cut in exchange for a scarce job.
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``I'm seeing two times as many resumes as before and the quality, the experience, is considerably higher,'' said Timothy Leach, chief investment officer of Wells Fargo & Co.'s (NYSE:WFC - news) private client services. The firm is looking for about 300 portfolio managers, trust officers and private bankers to build its wealth-management business.
Wall Street companies that have positions to fill are finding a buyers' market, since financial firms have been letting good people go as they struggle to bring costs into line with falling revenue. Those who can afford to hire are winning the spoils in the talent war, which will help their competitive position when the economy rebounds.
``We will have much more talented people and over the longer term, we'll have a much stronger team,'' said Leach.
Firms like Wells Fargo benefit from the brainpower, as well as the wealth of client contacts that top hires can bring. Since the hires are coming at lower salaries instead of through bidding wars, it will provide an even bigger potential profit boost.
Leach is offering to pay about 10 percent less than a year ago, when the low unemployment rate sent salaries jumping. Other firms say they have snagged qualified workers for half as much as they had received at earlier jobs.
That would be just fine for Antonio Tambunan, who left his job as an analyst for Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong and the ``high six-figure'' pay package that went with it.
``I would take 50 percent less than I did a year ago,'' said Tambunan, who has been hunting for work in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boston and other major cities after leaving the German bank earlier this year.
``We all got overpaid last year. I don't even know where (the money) went,'' he said.
HIRING BUBBLE BURSTS
Wall Street investment banks, brokerages and asset-management firms are desperate to recoup profits as economic growth has fallen and the overall stock market has erased more than two years of gains. So they have turned to job cuts as a quick fix.
New York, the heart of the financial industry, is feeling the pinch. Wall Street has cut 5,000 people in the last year, and now employs 182,000 -- the lowest level since May 2000 -- according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The cutbacks have hit some of the biggest Wall Street firms. Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE:MER - news) said in October it would offer its 65,900 employees around the globe voluntary severance packages. Staffers were bracing for layoffs that could cut 10,000 employees, sources said this week. American Express Co. (NYSE:AXP - news), said it will chop more than 6,100 jobs and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - news) will cut about 12,500 people this year, or 5 percent of its global staff.
``I don't remember seeing this wholesale bloodletting in Wall Street, even in (the recession of) 1990 and 1991,'' said Vincent Farrell, chairman of Victory Capital Management, which oversees $75 billion. ``It's dramatic that Merrill said it would let 15 percent of its staff go and we're seeing some firms close offices in Japan, India, Mexico.''
Overall U.S. unemployment has soared to 5.4 percent and economists forecast it will rise to about 6 percent before turning around. In the week ended Nov. 10, the number of workers remaining unemployed has risen 18 percent since early September, to its highest level in 18 years, according to the Labor Department.
EMPLOYEES REJOICE
Widespread hiring freezes have squashed the hopes of recent graduates or those laid off, who could have received six-figure salaries at a top Wall Street firm just two years ago.
``It's been slow,'' said Tambunan, whose wife is pregnant with their first child. ``I used to get a call every two to three days for a job and now I get one response for every 20 calls I make.''
But while the jobless fret, prospective employers say they are overjoyed they can find great candidates.
``It's an opportunity to mine good people who weren't available before,'' said Kevin McClintock, managing director at money-management firm David L. Babson & Co. The firm recently sifted through twice as many resumes as usual before hiring Richard Davis to direct Babson's private client group.
That's a sea change from a year ago, when firms hired inexperienced staff at top dollar and then saw them quit when a better offer came along.
``You can't believe the number and quality of people looking for jobs,'' said Farrell, who pored through a ``ton'' of resumes before hiring a research assistant who had four years of experience and was from a top university. ``He's perfect.''
Prospective employers also have noted a change in job seekers' attitudes.
``I've been surprised by the number of resumes from people working at hedge funds and other small, high-risk firms, who want to join a large, more stable organization,'' said Ben Kottler, a money manager for State Street Global Advisors, which has been looking for a new portfolio manager. He said his firm has received 200 resumes for 2 positions.
``A lot meet all the requirements we've asked for. And a few considerably exceed those requirements. We've been delighted with the response.'' |
