Top tips for job searching in a highly competitive IR job market

Having worked in the IR market for 17 years, including in the IR recruitment and search space for the last 7 years, I have a wealth of experience identifying the key strengths of individuals and presenting these favourably to clients. The recruitment market in 2021 feels much more optimistic than the last 12 months, and according to the BBC article last week, about 56% of 2,000 UK firms surveyed planned to hire in the first three months of 2021.

Given Investor Relations was already an attractive market for many prospective candidates, it is now even more competitive with a flurry of new interest and new entrants off the back of the 2020 market disruption.  So how can you make yourself stand out and your job search more successful? Here are some of my top tips and advice:

1.      Identify your USP and make it stand out in your CV/profile

• There are a lot of candidates from various backgrounds – that is a hugely attractive aspect of the IR talent pool. Diversity is good. Make sure your differentiating factor stands out at the top of your CV or online profile. Whether that be a sector specialism, IPO experience, ESG etc, my advice would be to show this off.  If your CV is too generalist, clients will struggle to identify you as the perfect candidate, better than others.

2.      Don’t underestimate the power of LinkedIn – make sure a) you are on it, b) your profile is up to date and c) your profile speaks the same language and includes the same terminology as the roles you are looking for

• Recruiters, agencies and inhouse, use LinkedIn searches for headhunting outside of their immediate network. They use keywords to search for candidates.  Non IR specialist recruiters/head hunters may not be familiar with why a sellside or buyside analyst or corporate broking candidate would be worth considering – the profile may not mention the words “Investor Relations” and therefore won’t show up in a search. Make their jobs easier for them to find you.

3.      Don’t carry negative energy from past experiences in to the future

• Don’t carry negative baggage. There are many people who will have had a bad experience in a previous role whether that be a moral conflict, personality clash, redundancy and this can really hurt for a long time. But try not to reflect on this in an emotional way in a CV or an interview as you run the risk of portraying yourself as a negative individual. You need to detach that isolated event and focus on all the other strengths you have gained and positives you can bring.
• Clients & recruiters have more regard for you if you maintain your own self worth and so don’t undersell yourself. Don’t shy away from a discussion negotiating the salary upwards in line with your market rate.

4.      Utilise your own network – no shame in asking for introductions

• The more years of experience you have behind you, the bigger your personal network will be. This includes ex colleagues, bankers, lawyers, auditors, PR/financial communications contacts etc – all of which can be utilised.
• You need to put yourself out there. Identify and summarise your past work experience and key strengths in a short bio which can be shared amongst your contacts, rather than a full, lengthy CV

5.      Warmth, friendliness and strong interpersonal skills go a long way – no room for arrogance in this market

• The cultural fit for the client and candidate is paramount to the success of getting a role – just be yourself. Job searching can be tough, monotonous, and sometimes sole destroying – but be polite to those that you engage with and you will get further. I have never denied someone who is interested in IR the chance to have a call with me, whether it is someone I think I can help with a role or not. If I am unlikely to be able to help them with a role, I can try help them think of an alternative route or way forward. I am always happy to share advice and give a different perspective on your search.
• Be open minded – worth considering permanent and interim roles if your circumstances allow you to. Many interim roles turn permanent. Equally, with more flexibility now than ever before in working arrangements, don’t discount international opportunities as many of these may not require a full relocation.

To talk through any of these points in more detail, please feel free to get in contact and we would more than happy to have a confidential chat.