More job-seekers consider career in insurance
By dot on April 22, 2009 at 1:30 am | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)
MORE job-seekers are willing to consider a career in the insurance sector now that banks are busy battling the financial crisis, said executive recruitment firm Korn/Ferry International.
And those with risk management skills could find themselves in particularly high demand as companies try to shield themselves from the fallout.
Drawn to investment banking and other glamourous fields in the past few years, many did not see the insurance industry as their top career destination, said Roderick Haire, the Asian head of Korn/Ferry’s insurance practice.
But the tide is turning as the crisis forces financial institutions to trim their headcounts or to freeze hiring. ‘With the significant slowdown in banking, some of that talent are now much more ready to talk,’ he said.
‘They are much more open to hear the story (of a career in insurance).’
Insurance firms and related companies have also grown in attractiveness because they are paying better, Mr Haire noted. There has been strong demand for people in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region including Singapore, and specialised talent such as actuaries and underwriters would have seen even higher pay increases, he said.
It helps that salaries in investment banking are likely to moderate, the global head of Korn/Ferry’s insurance practice Brooks Chamberlin added. ‘The disparity now between banking and insurance in terms of compensation has closed considerably.’
While recruitment for the insurance sector in Asia-Pacific has inevitably slowed because of the downturn, companies are still hiring, especially for risk management positions, said Mr Haire.
Clients were keen to hire for distribution units six to nine months ago, but ‘the whole area of financial management, risk management, without any doubt, is at the top of everybody’s radar’ now, he observed.
As companies grow and become more complex, they also need more executives for accounting, audit and compliance roles, said Mr Chamberlin.
The challenge is in working with clients to anticipate the types of talent they need when recovery comes, Mr Haire shared. ‘What we are seeing is companies wanting to have conversations now about hiring, about gearing up and getting ready.’
via Business Times
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