LATEST NEWSMarket Update - Legal Sector - March 2012Apparently, if you believe the rumours, the recruitment market is slow at the moment. Well, someone forgot to send us that memo! Over the past 6 months, we’ve been working with new and existing legal clients on a number of exciting roles (both in Australia and internationally) and have seen some interesting trends emerge. The Legal Market continues to be strongUnlike many other sectors, the legal market continues to thrive. Whilst there will always be particular practice areas that are busier than others, due to the economic climate, across the board it seems that most firms have well and truly recovered from the GFC and are continuing to invest in growing their businesses. Recent mergers between Australian and international law firms such as Ashurst/Blakes and Mallesons Stephen Jaques/King & Wood demonstrates that firms are investing heavily in increasing their market share on a global scale.The mid-tier market is also very confident and many of these firms have hired additional marketing & bd talent. Another promising sign for the legal sector is that there is little, if any, discussion regarding redundancies (for fee earners or business support staff). Our recent workOver the last quarter we have seen legal marketing and bd recruitment in Melbourne increase significantly and whilst Sydney has been quiet, roles are now starting to come to market there. The number of retained roles we have placed in Brisbane, Perth, Auckland and Hong Kong has risen dramatically which has enabled us to further strengthen our national and global client and candidate relationships. Interestingly, a lot of these roles are newly created and in response to client demand which is a positive sign for the growth of these sectors. Whilst bd skills continue to be in high demand, the last quarter was geared towards more dedicated communications roles – especially in Melbourne. We have also noticed that as mid tier partnerships continue to grow organically and laterally, their teams have increased and we have placed a number of generalist marketing/bd roles – whereas larger firms have retained us to recruit newly created positions in the client relationship and practice development areas (especially those that weren’t replaced during the GFC). Sourcing candidatesWe are currently working with a number of impressive candidates at manager/senior manager level. Many of these candidates have worked at their current firms for a number of years and stayed throughout the GFC – but are now looking for an opportunity to move on. We find that clients are responding well to speculative approaches by us and we have placed several candidates recently using this strategy. Sponsoring international talentClients are also starting to review their firm’s sponsorship policies as they realise that top talent may not necessarily be available locally and that in order to attract the right candidate they may need to look overseas. This is especially pertinent for firms specifically looking for candidates with large or international law firm experience. In the last quarter we have worked with several BDM’s who were sponsored by firms in Sydney and Perth. How clients work with usWe are delighted to see a trend towards clients retaining us exclusively on recruitment campaigns; with many citing our market knowledge, candidate attraction and Asia-Pac reach as being key differentiators in the market. Over the last 6 months, the number of firms who have retained us exclusively has increased and we have been fortunate to work on a number of campaigns where we have recruited multiple roles in multiple regions simultaneously – with a very pleasing 100% success rate. We thank our clients for placing this trust in us. If you would like to discuss the recruitment needs of your team, or the market in general, please don’t hesitate to contact me at any stage on 61 3 9903 6403 or email graham.seldon@seldongill.com
BRW Client Choice Awards
Congratulations to the winning firms at this years BRW Client Choice Awards, held in Sydney on 14 March 2012. Seldon Gill were delighted to sponsor the event and it was fantastic to see so many of our clients win awards. It proves, yet again, that quality attracts quality. We are proud to represent such high caliber candidates and to assist them in securing fantastic career opportunities with professional services firms that are true leaders in their field.
Considering relocating to Hong Kong? Read on.
As a leading recruiter in professional services, we are passionate about supporting and best preparing candidates who are looking to take their careers overseas. As Hong Kong is one of the most popular destinations for our candidates to relocate to, we have produced a Hong Kong Guide. Packed full of useful, practical and helpful information to better assist candidates through this exciting process, Seldon Gill’s Hong Kong Guide provides all the answers to the most common questions asked about relocating to Hong Kong and information on where you can find out more.
Did you know?
When working on marketing roles for clients we are often asked to find candidates who have experience in cross selling and practice profile raising campaigns. The firms are generally keen to raise brand awareness of service lines and practice areas that they have developed that may not be what they are “famous” for. It’s always very interesting to learn the full capabilities of our clients and we regularly leave briefings saying “I didn’t know they did that”! Turning the spotlight on ourselves we realized there were probably a few things about Seldon Gill that many of you didn’t know. We have changed a lot over the last 8 years and whilst we are “famous” for marketing recruitment in professional services; here are some other things we’d like you to know about what we do:
Executive Recruitment - Business Services:
We have always handled recruitment assignments for clients outside of the marketing area but in the past few years this area of our business has grown dramatically. In 2011 we launched a new brand, Seldon Gill Executive Search, which is headed up by Graham Seldon. So far this year we have handled search assignments for professional services firms in Operations, IT, HR, L&D and Sales for firms in Australia, Asia and New Zealand. Feedback for this new service has been extremely positive with many clients commenting that we are filling a much needed gap in the Executive Search space for professional services firms. Engineering Sector: There is no doubt that the legal industry was, and continues to be, a major sector of specialisation for Seldon Gill, but did you know that since 2007 we have been building a solid client base in the Engineering sector. We are now proud to represent some of the region’s largest and most successful engineering firms and have placed whole marketing teams for some of them as well as specialist roles in Bid Management and Communications. The engineering sector continues to flourish and we plan to grow with it. International: Yes, we are 100% Australian owned and our 2 offices are in Sydney and Melbourne, but did you know that our 3rd busiest city for work is HK? Or that we are the ‘recruiter of choice’ for many NZ firms. Of course we regularly work in Brisbane, sometimes Canberra and Perth, but also Dubai, Singapore and Tokyo. We were even briefed on a role in Milan last year! Our networks and client contacts are truly global and since 2010 we have had enjoyed strategic alliances with Dutch Consulting in London and J Johnson Executive Search in New York. So if you want to head off to a new overseas destination, chances are you can take us with you! Interim Project Management: Our “bread & butter” work is finding candidates for full-time permanent employment, but did you know we have a built up a wealth of contacts in the Interim Project Management space. Whether a Firm needs a senior communications manager for a stint, or help with a tricky bid process, or advice on how to structure a marketing team; we have independent consultants on hand who can help. Executive Coaching: We have always tried to differentiate ourselves in the market by being a career service, not just a placement agency. Indeed we have now worked with some candidates several times in the past decade, helping to build their careers and reach their goals. This year Graham Seldon successfully completed a Professional Development Certificate in Executive Coaching from the Institute of Coaching & Consulting Psychology. He now offers comprehensive coaching services to executives looking to focus their careers. So there you have it, 5 things you probably didn’t know. We even surprised ourselves with the things we do, which have all come about because of client demand and support of our business. We continue to strive for excellence in everything we do, so hopefully we will be “famous” for a little bit longer.
Supporting you in your career
As the market leader of the recruitment sector for business development and marketing in professional services, we are passionate about supporting candidates who are at the beginning of their career journey. We have recently produced a Candidate Guide which is packed full of useful information on topics such as learning how to step into management, winning at interviews, relocation options, industry trends and using social media. You can now download Seldon Gill’s A Candidate’s Guide here, and get started on preparing your next exciting step up the career ladder.
Seldon Gill Executive Search
In response to a demand from our clients to provide executive level candidates across all management disciplines, we have launched an Executive Search division. Seldon Gill Executive Search will manage campaigns for C-Suite and Director level roles in HR, Finance, IT and Business Services as well as continue to recruit in the Marketing and Business Development space. The Executive Search team will be lead by Graham Seldon - Seldon Gill’s Managing Director, and joined by our newest member of the team, Jay Kostos. Jay is an experienced executive search professional who recently joined Seldon Gill after spending 16 years working in Singapore. She started her career in advertising, before moving into Asia-Pacific regional sales, business development and marketing roles, with some exposure to the Australian and SE Asia markets. More recently, she moved into the executive search space in Singapore and identified talent for the professional services sector which focused on permanent and C-level interim management appointments specifically across Forensic Accounting, Management Consulting, Accounting, Finance and IT. Graham Seldon comments: “I am thrilled to have launched this new division of Seldon Gill. We have always managed search campaigns for Marketing Directors but recently our clients have asked to search across broader areas. Our understanding of the professional services market, coupled with our extensive network of talent globally means we are well placed to deliver this service and after our first COO search campaign, we have gradually increased our focus at this C-level and have enjoyed partnering with our existing clients to provide fantastic career opportunities across the Asia Pacific region”. If you’d like to get in touch about current roles being managed by Seldon Gill Executive Search, please contact Graham Seldon on +613 9903 6403 or send an email to graham.seldon@seldongill.com | 
Super Freakonomics
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Your Career in Their Hands