Massive financial industry layoffs expected - where to go from here

Commentary October 24, 2008 at 08:00 PM
Share & Print

After more than 110,000 have lost their jobs in the financial-services industry, experts are predicting many more to come — 200,000 before the year is over.

Fortune magazine asks, where do those in the industry go from here?

"Don't sit on the sidelines and wait for things to get clearer," John Challenger, CEO of Chicago-based outplacement and career counseling firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, tells Fortune. "Get a fast start on your job hunt."

But where are the jobs?

  • Wealth management and retirement services — Businesses with long time horizons are strong possibilities, as are private equity firms, says Burke St. John, head of the financial services practice at executive-search firm CT Partners.
  • Small firms — Boutique broker/dealers are showing strong appeal.
  • Government jobs — With the current bailout plan, the Treasury Department will have to go after bankers and hire them, says Clark Beecher, a principal with headhunters Magellan International.
  • Consulting — "This crisis hit so fast that many companies really need to call in knowledgeable advisors – and, since they're trying to run as lean as possible, those companies would rather outsource financial expertise to consultants than take on permanent high-priced talent," Beecher says.
  • Banking and finance industry sectors outside the United States — We're seeing tremendous demand for banking and finance expertise in Dubai, and also in every Asian country except Japan," says John Rogan, a managing director at recruiters Russell Reynolds Associates.
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Related Stories

Resource Center