HOW TO SURVIVE THE JOB SEARCH

Sharp Consultancy's Salary Survey 2025/26: Resetting the Landscape: Strategic Shifts in Finance Recruitment

It would be remiss not to start by addressing the elephant in the room — 2024 was a challenging year.While there were many reasons for this and numerous industries were affected, recruitment likely bore the brunt of it, particularly in the 6 months post-election(s).Whilst key roles and critical hires remained unaffected, certain head counts and processes were scrutinised and investment paused with internal restructures and automation utilised to reduce costs, in some instances, at the expense of employees. We subsequently saw an increase in candidate activity, with the talent pool strengthening. As those pressures eased in Quarter 4, recruitment processes saw improvement and green shoots have emerged. Optimism is on the rise in key hiring processes, albeit with a caveat. The cloud of additional cost increases in April, which is still dissipating. The senior finance and C-Suite market remains relatively unaffected, both regarding opportunities and candidates, it is the levels below that we have seen more change. In the evolving landscape of working dynamics, the volume of hybrid working is gradually waning despite sustained interest from candidates, presenting fewer job opportunities. While the blend of office and remote work remains desirable, it is no longer the predominant factor, indicating a notable shift in priorities for clients and candidates’ acceptance alike. Conversations with candidates underscore a growing desire around the importance of having a supportive mentor or manager and many professionals are increasingly open to a full-time return to the office if it guarantees enhanced guidance and avenues for professional advancement. "The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region."Throughout the professional practice market, some similar trends have been observed but there have been noticeable differences in the past year. Salaries across the range of candidates in professional practice, from AAT to fully Qualified (ACA/ACCA) individuals are still rising and those firm’s able to offer competitive salaries alongside stronger training contracts are beating out the competition in a candidate market with a growing focus on study support packages and career advancement opportunities for Part-Qualified candidates, indicating an increase in demand from employers and the volume of available job seekers. The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region, in what feels like the longest period of stability seen since Q4 2020 and we expect transactional finance salaries to remain stable throughout 2025/26, with anticipated salary increments to be moderate compared to the significant increases observed throughout the last 2 years. AI & Systems (process automation) continues to impact accountancy and finance, in particular, across larger functions but this has increased the need for wider interim support to assist with the transition and implementation especially with large, automated processes. Whilst 2025-26 will not be the same marketplace for recruitment as seen in previous years, there is certainly a growing level of optimism and whilst a more settled market may be seen as a negative in some areas, for those that have weathered the peaks and troughs over a longer period of time, it will feel very normal and a strong setting for both employees and employers to take advantage and thrive, with an increasing emphasis on growth and development.Download the full Salary Survey here!

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Looking for a new role can be a challenging and time-consuming experience – in many ways it is like having another full-time job in itself! Ensuring that you dedicate enough time to making your job search as success can be tricky and, if things don’t seem to be going your way, it can be easy to lose faith and become despondent.

Here are our suggestions for maintaining a positive outlook whilst looking for a new role:

Ensure you have focused and dedicated time to look for a new role:

It is worth planning time into your day or week when you will concentrate on your job search; this could be setting time aside at the beginning or end of the day to browse through new opportunities or taking time out each weekend to prepare the perfect application. Find a routine that works for you.

Understand that looking for a new role takes time:

Taking into account your notice period, you have to accept that even if you hit lucky with your first application moving roles can usually take anything between 3 and 6 months. Before you start your search, be realistic about the amount of time that it may take.

And you are not always in control:

Try not to worry about what you have no control or influence over. It can be frustrating waiting to hear the outcome of an application or interview and some organisations may have a lengthy recruitment process which requires several levels of approval or multiple interviews before they can get to the stage of making an offer. There is certainly no harm to keeping in touch (without bombarding the hiring manager!) to demonstrate your eagerness for the role, but at the same time, accept that the decision-making process is out of your hands and don’t assume that just because you haven’t heard anything, it won’t be good news. Use your time productively by continuing to seek out other opportunities and preparing your CV and applications.

Don’t take rejections to heart:

It can be very easy to feel deflated, particularly when you don’t secure a role that you really wanted – especially if you felt that you made a great impression on your CV or during an interview. Try not to view a rejection as you did something ‘wrong’ - whilst you should always seek feedback and reflect on what you can improve upon for next time, sometimes you need to accept that it simply wasn’t the right role for you.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond. CONTACT US today to discuss your recruitment needs with a member of our team.