It's difficult to find highly qualified people in Finance. And if they do take a look around, they pay attention to the details. They like to sit around the table with us and value our career advice. For our clients this means a quick response on our part. Particularly when they have an interesting proposition for our candidates.
Finance
Careful look around
Whether we're dealing with financial specialists, business controllers or analysts, financial managers or CFOs, our point of departure is always career development. Does the candidate's career step involve growing in a management position, or does his or her talent lie more in the area of thinking along with management and helping to steer on the basis of the business?
Karolien van Holder, consultant: "We hold in-depth talks with our candidates; we give them a great deal of advice about their career. On average, people working in Finance tend to be more rational in their approach: focused on their profession. They are intelligent people who take a careful look at the options. We can see personality becoming increasingly important. Besides what I always call ‘comprehensive intelligence', it's also a case of ambitions that have to be realised. This is an important subject in the talks. You can aim to become a business controller, for instance, but this role isn't reserved for everyone. In these cases, it could be better for you to pursue a broadening of your management capacities or a deepening of your specialism."
Key positions in Finance
Finance involves a broad playing field. Our clients include banks and a wide range of service companies, well-known premium brands in the consumer market, leading players in trade and industry and companies with an innovative character. The major functional areas include business control, group or corporate control, accounting and specialist roles like IT Audit, Compliance, Risk Management and Treasury. Saskia Braam: "It always involves key positions. Besides our regular contacts with clients, we also have a lot of ‘callers': companies that get in touch with us spontaneously. We take a critical look at what they have to offer. Will our candidates be able to grow; are they included in a management development programme. In the case of smaller organisations, it's a matter of giving candidates so much responsibility that they automatically become part of a learning programme."
Continued development
A solid process, high-level positions and an opportunity for continued development: this, according to Saskia, is what connects candidates and clients. "Our clients strongly appreciate the quality of our candidates and of our process. They furthermore see attractive positions in our advertisements; positions that also appeal to them personally. They are looking for people who can continue to develop within their organisations, and this is precisely what we work towards. People who make the difference. That is why we occasionally propose alternate candidates. Not necessarily candidates who are a perfect fit for the profile, but ones who fit within the organisation. Our view: they are smart enough to quickly catch up with whatever needs to be learnt."
