People Are Scarce Again

Excerpt: from Securities Industry News, June 18, 2007

By L.A. Winokur

MITCHELL/MARTIN director of recruiting Mathew Franklin said it has become more common to see a job seeker who has been on the market for less than a week get three to four job offers and good ones at that-as well as counteroffers. And Holtzman, who has over 25 years of experience dealing with Wall Street, said the major firms are now treating tech people like "key players" who are aligned with profit centers, not just workers performing back-office support. Their pay reflects this new status. Both MITCHELL/MARTIN executives pointed out that people with four-plus years of technology development experience in the equities and/or fixed-income areas, combined with strong business skills, can command total compensation of about $200,000 per year. That goes up to $250,000 to $275,000 if they are in a supervisory capacity. Bonuses are in the area of 80 percent to 100 percent, versus only 10 to 15 percent eight to ten years ago, the recruiting experts said. Franklin added that companies now are awarded referral fees as high as $15,000 to employees who bring in new workers. In other words, a number of the top-tier banks and brokerage firms are paying up to get top talent.