Talent on sale

As recruitment in the financial industries stagnates and banks and advisory firms freeze recruitment and even cut staff, more candidates are flocking to private equity firms. The downturn can provide a good opportunity not only for deal bargains, but also to attract skilled professionals looking to change fields. Recruitment firms are reporting record numbers of queries regarding private equity opportunities from potential candidates. "Private equity is high on the wish list for many candidates with a financial background," Monika Dypeng, CEO of Hermes Headhunting in Oslo says. She continues: "We have never had as many questions regarding opportunities in private equity as now."

In her experience, candidates are particularly attracted to the long term aspect of private equity, especially those who have worked as traders and financial advisers and followed short term trends in the market. David Richardson of Private Equity Recruit (PER) concurs. The London-based recruitment agent has recently seen an increase of its flow of candidates "particularly from the investment banks, given the speculation in the market," he says.

As redundancies loom across the rest of the financial services sector, Nordic unquote" reported 15 new hires in Nordic private equity firms and related companies last month, and that was excluding hires at associate and analyst levels. Yet, recruiters are cautious in their predictions for the industry. "Currently the recruitment situation is fairly static, particularly for the larger funds. It tends to be the case that it is especially the low- and mid-market players which are currently busy across Europe," Richardson explains, confirming the trend observed recently in the UK where the majority of people moves were industry professionals leaving larger funds to join mid- and small-market players. In his view, private equity recruitment in the Nordic region tends to be quite consistent with the rest of Europe, and he expects a cooling down in recruitment until early next year. "Part of the reason for holding back now, is that January 2009 represents a new financial year for Norwegian firms," Dypeng expounds.

The perfect candidate

The increased supply of interested candidates outstrips the fairly modest demand, meaning firms can be increasingly picky in their choice of candidates. As Dypeng explains: "No one is recruiting for the sake of growing anymore. New hires must add real value in terms of client base, sector knowledge or simply be the top candidate, meeting 100% of the criteria." According to Richardson, of the firms currently recruiting there are many sector specific funds, including oil & gas and renewable energy funds, where expertise in these fields are advantageous.

PER estimates that about 60-70% of its candidates are at analyst or associate level and new to the private equity industry. However, with the increased competition, requirements for experience are likely to rise. Both Dypeng and Richardson agree that strong candidates from the Nordic region with international experience, typically associates who have worked a few years in London or New York and gained exposure to a wider range and larger transactions, are particularly attractive to regional private equity firms.

"Most of the firms we have spoken to are relatively optimistic," Dypeng says. "Many have been in the industry for a long time, and have experienced downturns before, although not as wide reaching and dramatic as the current crisis." As the people moves prove, recruitment activity has not completely ceased as a result of the current turmoil. Despite a cooling down of activity in the coming months, recruiters remain confident that demand will increase again in 2009: "There is a large talent pool out there now, and we are confident January will be busy in terms of recruitment," predicts Richardson.

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