Technological Changes in the Financial Sector Affect Candidate Profiles

The rapidly developing technology wind in today's business world also changes the job application processes in the finance sector and the direction of candidate profiles.

Fatih Cömert, Michael Page Finance and Banking Division Director,  says employers' tendencies are changing in the recruitment process in the finance sector; While online applications are becoming more common in recruitment in the finance sector, face-to-face interviews are still preferred over middle and upper-level candidates. In this sector, the role of recruitment companies that their employers know and trust is getting stronger. On the other hand, the rapid integration of technology into the mobile system makes recruitment processes easier and faster. Recruitment consultancy companies also have to keep pace with this technology.

Prospects for employers and candidates for recruitment in the finance and banking sector are evolving, according to Cömert's findings from interviews with candidates and employers in Türkiye. Here are some of the features that stand out in this regard;

Risk Analysts become the favourite: In the recent period, risk analysis expertise has become a favourite position for banks and financial service companies. The increase in collection problems made these positions more indispensable.

Candidates that comply with company values become advantageous: In the real sector, companies tend to  choose candidates who can show their technical values as well as their company values. Compliance with "company values" that global firms value is one of the most important criteria that recruiters pay attention to in the candidates. Although technical competence is not enough, the chances of preferring candidates that match the company's vision and values are increasing.

Reliable references are important: The reference control of the candidate to be recruited is of great importance in the financial sector. Particular attention is paid to making the reference controls of candidates who will work in the field of finance and accounting very professional and detailed. In family firms, it is often observed that financial authorities are preferred to family members because of the reliance on referential integrity.

Technical knowledge and infrastructure are indispensable: Financial positions include technical information such as in information processing and engineering roles. A particularly good candidate for a financier is the basic requirements that technical equipment such as information technology and engineering are sufficient. The technical equipment of the financial officer, who works in large institutions, contains considerable differences from the similar positions in small firms. This needs to be questioned in detail by the human resources team. Otherwise, the wrong recruiting is damaging to a company too much. Recruitment consultants should be very good at evaluating the experience of finance in the past and the ability to use the technical equipment in the company.

Personality features are reason to be preferred: At the top of the employer's preferences for recruitment of a suitable finance worker are analytical thinking skills, self-motivating ability, perfectionism, and self-sacrificing work.

Global vision: If the employer has a global structure, they prefer to carry out all recruitment processes in different countries with a global recruitment consultancy. With this method, as well as keeping costs under control, it can benefit from more qualified and diverse candidate databases. Global consulting firms can inform and direct their employers about the global market and candidates with its international information network.