This is the second part in a private banking career guide that aims to help you position yourself better in the market, and essentially help you in achieving that next career step in the right direction. The first part, which originally appeared in sister publication Wealth Briefing, follows below.

In the first part we looked at the importance of a well-structured resume and its key components. Part two focuses on raising your visibility in the market, to enable search consultants or your next employer to find you.

Key focus points:

•           Build your profile

•           Build relationships – quality above quantity

•           Share your expertise

•           Be patient – timing is key

Build your profile – Search Consultants and in-house banking recruiters gather as much information about market participants as possible in order to identify the best candidates. Nowadays there are various interesting platforms with which you can build your profile and subtly highlight it to prospective employers and search firms, thus increasing your chances of being found and approached for an exciting new challenge.

Platforms include business networking sites such as Linked IN and Xing, and the more specialized Wealth Connect. A benefit of joining such platforms is that users can post details of personal and professional expertise without flagging a clear desire for a career change. If you are seeking a change more urgently, you might also decide to register your resume on a job site. If you do post your resume and are employed, just be mindful that your current HR department may have access to the same database (experteer guarantees discretion by only allowing search firms access to their database, but you as a candidate are required to pay for that discretion).

It is important that you include key details on your networking profile – the more information people can see, the more likely you are to be approached for the right position. Remember that in a way your profile is like an online version of your resume, so make sure you are diligent as to impress the reader – it might be your future employer!

Build relationships – quality above quantity is key. Research who the best search consultants in the market are. Remember to, where possible, identify consultants who specialize in your geographical area and your professional expertise, as they will possess solid relationships with key players in the area that is of importance to you. The best way to choose the best consultant is by referral – ask a close friend if you can. Good, specialized consultants tend to get a reputation so it should be possible to track them down.

Don’t put all of your eggs into one basket – be selective but try to find 2-3 consultants who will cover the market relevant to you. Any good consultant will have outstanding relationships with their corporate clients – the fostering of such strong relationships does mean that such a consultant will not have solid links to all of the market players though. See whether your consultant can give you some information on which financial institutions he or she works with.

At this particular time, personal relationships are extremely important – there are so many people who are actively seeking or passively open to a new career change. Due to this, employers are often overrun with resumes and through the sheer volume of applicants, suitable candidates are sometimes missed. Resumes that reach the hiring manager through a trusted source will get the most attention – this could be through your personal connection or through a trusted recruiter.

A search consultant will value referrals highly – if you are not the best candidate for a proposed role, suggest someone you know might be a good fit. Believe me, it will be remembered.

Share your expertise – The financial markets are going through some of the biggest changes of the last decades, and all market participants are interested in hearing expert views, experiences and opinions from other professionals. By contributing as a speaker at conferences, a guest writer in financial publications, or even through writing a business blog, you will raise your profile in the market as a professional in a given field. This, in turn, will ensure that you are thought of or referred to when a senior opportunity arises in that field. The more that is written about or written by you, the easier you will be to find.

Be patient – timing is key to career progression. Some of the most promising candidates I have come across in my career have taken the longest amount of time to place into the right position – they are choosy and know what they want. This quality is a good thing; a career step should be a significant one. Be open and meet with a potential employer at the recommendation of your trusted consultant, but essentially only you will know whether the opportunity represents your desired next career step. As in most relationships, building rapport is key. Stay in fairly regular contact but also trust your consultant to think of you. In other words, don’t annoy them too much – they typically have very busy and long working days.

Going For Great Private Banking Jobs - A Guide Part I

Bonuses across the industry have been communicated and are about to be paid, and the last two years have proven particularly tough times for wealth management professionals. The cogs have started to turn, powering widely anticipated hiring activities in the industry. Feel it is time to make your move? Make the first step by ensuring your resume will get your foot in the door to your next exciting challenge.

·         Be concise

·         Focus on achievements

·         Make it relevant

·         Format

·         Chronology by importance

·         Stand out?

Be concise – In today’s fast paced world, whoever the person is who receives your resume will usually be receiving anywhere between 25 and 125 resumes per day. The unfortunate reality is that due to such high volumes, the individual tasked with selecting the most suitable candidates will probably spend no more than 20 seconds on each resume to decide whether to give it more attention. You must be able to get your main points across on 1 to 2 pages, regardless of your level of experience. Use bullet points where possible.

Focus on achievements – You need to captivate the reader’s attention quickly. This is best accomplished by focusing your resume on your achievements in your career to date, as they will show the reader what you are capable of at a glance. Be careful not to use company-internal jargon or short names such as “PWM PMG” as it will leave the unfamiliar reader guessing, and possibly moving on. Your most recent position(s) should be most detailed (perhaps a very short paragraph and 3 to 5 bullet points.  Your earliest job may just be your title - depending on how long ago it was, the actual tasks may not be of too much importance to your skill marketability any more.

Relevance – Even if you are unsure which exact job you may end up in next, you should have a fair idea of what interests you, what you would like to achieve and what you are good at. You have limited space to sell yourself on your resume, so make sure your document highlights relevant achievements (academic and professional) to the path you wish to take.

Format – It never ceases to amaze me how little effort some people put into their resumes. Spelling mistakes, varying text fonts and sizes, and mistakes in the chronology of your experience reflect poorly. Your resume is a pitch, a sales document, a door opener – for you. It is often the first impression someone will get of you, so it is important to make an effort. No one will believe your “attention too detail” strength unless you have applied that strength to your own resume.

Chronology by importance – The ideal order of one’s resume varies from person to person. As a rule of thumb, put your strongest selling points first. Someone with a very strong academic record should start their resume with “Education and Qualifications”. For less educated, or more experienced professionals, your experience will take priority and is more defining of your potential added value.

Standing out– With the number of people applying for available positions at the moment, it can be tempting to make your resume stand out above the rest. I have seen some very original efforts in the past. I once received a parcel that looked like a homemade matchbox, which upon opening emerged to be someone’s resume, with qualifications, experience, hobbies and languages each taking up a flap. A passport photo of the creative individual took the space where the postage stamp would be.

Needless to say, it raised a lot of smiles in the office and earned praise for originality, but decreased his professional chances of getting the job he applied for. In my opinion your resume should professionally and efficiently represent your academic and professional capabilities and is only one part of the process in securing your ideal next job. You need to use your personal network and that of one or two well-connected headhunters to assure the right amount of attention to your profile, but that is already delving into the next feature.