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What Are Employers Looking for in Their Finance Talent?

By Ashley Rowe on May 11, 2013 in Accounting/Finance.

A study conducted by Corporate Executive Board (CEB), a member based advisory board, found that finance departments rely too heavily on traditional interviewing methods that analyze technical skills and functional expertise. This method overlooks essential soft skills which they found to be valuable for high-performance and effectiveness in the finance department. CEB suggests having candidates present a case study or analyzing data to demonstrate their abilities. We compared the skills that CEB attributes to success and which skills employers are currently requiring in finance and accounting jobs.

Skills Required in Finance Job Ads CEB's Suggested Finance Skills
  1. Oral and written communication skills
  2. Microsoft Office
  3. Detail oriented
  4. Problem solving
  5. Microsoft PowerPoint
  6. Project management
  7. Analytical skills
  8. Self-starting / Self-motivating
  9. Business development
  10. Risk management
  1. Communication
  2. Persuasion
  3. Business acumen
  4. Team management
  5. Collaboration
  6. Leadership
  7. Financial analysis
  8. Critical thinking
  9. Data analysis
  10. Qualitative analysis

Both lists demonstrate that communication is key. While finance professionals may have to analyze and interpret data, they also have to effectively convey what this information means to other staff members and departments. Persuasion was also at the top CEB's list, which is also needed to communicate ideas internally as well as externally. Other similar skills include project management, a commonly advertised skill, and team management, a CEB suggested skill. Both features involve working collaboratively with others towards an outcome. CEB emphasizes the importance of financial, data, and qualitative analysis skills in great candidates. Similarly, analytical skills is a commonly advertised attribute.

As CEB analyzed how the most effective finance departments select high performing candidates, they found that they use case-based interviews that simulate real-life data analysis and presentation requests to evaluate a candidate's soft skills. This method focuses on hard-to-teach and assess competencies. CEB's study found that less than 1/3 of survey respondents use these strategies.

Will you include any of these recommended skills in your job ads? Do you think any skills are missing?

Try a free trial of WANTED Analytics to compare the skills you currently require vs. what skills your competition is looking for. Just copy and paste your job ad into the Search Wizard then print a Talent Sourcing Report.

Analytics users, copy and paste your job req into the Search Wizard here. Then, select ' Generate Report'.

5 Best and Worst Places to Recruit Accountants

By Abby Lombardi on March 25, 2013 in Accounting/Finance.

It's tax season "crunch time." If you still need to hire additional Accountants to help get you through this last few weeks of tax season, you may be feeling the pressure. So to help you fill jobs faster, we wanted to provide the 5 best places to currently find this talent. In the past 7 days, there were 4,500 new ads posted online by 1,600 companies. Even as we approach the end of the peak season, there is still growing demand.

Hiring Scale Map for Accountants and Auditors across the US

Hiring Scales for Accountants in Major Metro Areas

Source: WANTED Analytics

The above map shows the Hiring Scales of Accountant or Auditor jobs in major metropolitan areas across the US. Most areas are green, which shows that even though demand is increasing, these positions are likely to be just moderately difficult to fill. Nationally, our Hiring Scale scores Accountant and Auditor jobs at a 47 (out of 99, where 99 represents the most difficult-to-fill.) In addition, we see that jobs stay online for approximately 7 weeks on average.

Below are the 5 cities that scored the lowest on our Hiring Scale. Interestingly, the below all scored a 5. By sourcing from these cities, Recruiters are likely to see less competition from other employers, have larger pools of candidates to source from, and ultimately fill jobs faster. The average posting periods in these cities are also shorter than the national average. For example, the posting period for an Accountant job ad in Scranton, PA is less than 5 weeks – or about 2 weeks shorter than the national average.

  1. Tallahassee, FL
  2. Binghamton, NY
  3. Scranton, PA
  4. Pensacola, FL
  5. Ocala, FL

In comparison, here are the 5 cities that are likely to experience the most difficulty recruiting Accountants:

  1. Battle Creek, MI
  2. Manchester, NH
  3. Niles, MI
  4. Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
  5. Minneapolis, MN

The Battle Creek, Michigan metro area currently scores the highest on our Hiring Scale, with a 75. One of the reasons it's likely to be so difficult here is that the existing talent pool is very small. Currently, there are only about 200 accounting professionals working in the area. If you are trying to fill an Accountant position here, there is likely to be competition from other employers to attract candidates from a very small supply.

See how difficult-to-fill accounting jobs are likely to be in your city with a FREE trial of WANTED Analytics!

Already an Analytics user? Log in here – we already added the Accountant & Auditor occupational code. Just customize your search with any skill, location, or keyword filters. Don't forget to generate a Talent Sourcing Report to use in strategy meetings with hiring managers or other HR partners!

Hiring "Crunch Time" for Accountants

By Abby Lombardi on February 12, 2013 in Accounting/Finance.

Have you filed your taxes yet? You still have time until April 15th, but employers might be feeling the crunch to fill any Accountant jobs that remain open. After a likely seasonal decline at the end of 2012, job postings began to bounce back in January. Last month, there were more than 72,000 jobs available online for Accountants, representing a 4% year-over-year increase.

Hiring Demand for Accountants – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Hiring Demand for Accountants

Source: WANTED Analytics

Below are the 10 most commonly required skills in accounting job ads. Oral and written communication skills are important to most positions, but could be seen as particularly important in accounting jobs since Accountants and Auditors need to interact with clients or other parts of a business regarding finances. With more parts of a job becoming computerized, it's not too surprising that general ledger software appears on this list. Do any of the below skills surprise you?

  1. Oral and written communication skills
  2. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
  3. Public accounting
  4. Microsoft Office
  5. Financial reporting
  6. General ledger software
  7. Detail oriented
  8. Analytical skills
  9. Internal audit
  10. Problem solving

The cities that are experiencing the highest number of available jobs are currently New York, Washington (DC), Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston. You might expect New York to be on top, since it is the financial capital of the US. Despite the highest hiring demand in the US, companies recruiting for Accountants in New York City are actually likely to have less difficulties than average. The largest available pool of potential candidates is also in NY, which means that the stresses and strains of demand on the talent supply won't be as great. Recruiters aren't likely to see as much competition from other employers.

Hiring Scale for Accountants in New York City

Hiring Scale for Accountants in New York City

Source: WANTED Analytics

Some of the locations with the most difficult conditions for sourcing Accountants are Niles-Benton Harbor (MI), Grand Forks (ND), and Sherman-Denison (TX).  While job postings remain online for an average of about 6 weeks, jobs in these 3 locations are likely to take longer to fill. For instance, accounting job ads have an average posting period of almost 8 weeks in the Niles-Benton Harbor metro area. This is 2 weeks longer than the national average.

Hiring Scale for Accountants in Niles-Benton Harbor, MI

Hiring Scale for Accountants in Niles-Benton Harbor, MI

Source: WANTED Analytics

How does your city compare for hiring Accountants? Get a free trial of WANTED Analytics for a Talent Sourcing Report of hiring demand in your local area.

Already an Analytics user? Log in, search for the "Accountants and Auditors" occupation. Or, just click this link for pre-populated search. Enter your location or any skill requirements for your open jobs. Don't forget to generate a Talent Sourcing Report to share with HR partners and hiring managers.

Keep Hiring for Corporate Finance Jobs on the Books

By Abby Lombardi on January 9, 2013 in Accounting/Finance.

One of our Twitter followers sent us a request to look at accounting, finance, and controller jobs for corporate positions (not at financial services and accounting agencies.) This is an interesting topic, since corporate finance and accounting jobs are often very different from jobs at consulting firms or financial services companies, and require a specific set of skills. In December, there were about 49,000 jobs available online for corporate finance and accounting positions. Although a slight decline from previous months in 2012, this still represents a 6% increase in hiring demand compared to December of 2011.

Hiring Demand for Corporate Finance & Accounting Jobs

Hiring Demand for Corporate Finance & Accounting Jobs

Source: WANTED Analytics

The cities with the most demand for corporate finance and accounting professionals during December were New York, Los Angeles, Washington (DC), Chicago, and San Francisco. It's probably not surprising that New York saw the highest volume of available jobs, however this area actually experienced a year-over-year decline in hiring. In December, there were about 3,800 available jobs being advertised online, 9% fewer than were seen online during December 2011. San Francisco, on the other hand, experienced the greatest year-over-year increase of the above 5 cities. Hiring demand here was up 24% in December versus December 2011.

The most commonly advertised corporate finance and accounting job titles are:

  1. Accountant
  2. Senior Accountant
  3. Financial Analyst
  4. Senior Financial Analyst
  5. Controller
  6. Accounting Manager
  7. Tax Manager
  8. Assistant Controller
  9. Corporate Controller
  10. Finance Manager

We also examined some of the skills that are most commonly required for these positions:

  1. Oral and written communication skills
  2. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
  3. Microsoft Office
  4. Detail oriented
  5. Financial reporting
  6. Microsoft PowerPoint
  7. Financial analysis
  8. Problem solving
  9. Project management
  10. Microsoft Excel

Our Hiring Scale shows that the positions are moderately difficult to recruit on average across the US, scoring a 61 out of a 99 (99 would represent a very hard-to-fill job.) The metro areas that are currently experiencing the most difficult conditions are Niles-Benton Harbor (Michigan), Grand Forks (North Dakota), and Columbus (Indiana). There is a smaller pool of qualified, potential candidates in these areas, meaning there is likely to be more competition to attract candidates and it will take longer to fill open jobs. These 3 locations score above an 80 on our Hiring Scale.

Hiring Scale for Corporate Finance & Accounting Jobs

Hiring Scale for Corporate Finance & Accounting Jobs

Source: WANTED Analytics

Are you hiring product management or product development professionals? Find out if they will be hard-to-fill in your city with a free trial of WANTED Analytics!

Already an Analytics user? Log in, search for the "Finance and Accounting" job function. You can include specific industries in the industry filter, or through your keyword searches. Or copy/paste one of your job reqs into the Search Wizard. Don't forget to generate a Talent Sourcing Report to share with hiring managers and HR partners as you develop a recruiting strategy.

Will Early Planning for Tax Season Bring Early Hiring for Accountants?

By Abby Lombardi on November 26, 2012 in Accounting/Finance.

Recently, one of our readers requested that we look at hiring demand for Accountants. Although "tax season" is still a couple of months away, employers may already be sourcing and recruiting talent so that employees are in their jobs when the busiest time in the field begins. Historically, demand for Accountants grows in the beginning of the year, but are employers looking to get a head start on hiring this year and beat out the competition for talent? In October, there were more than 81,000 jobs available online for Accountants and Auditors. (Accountants accounted for about 75% of the job ads, whereas Auditors represented about 25% of demand.) Demand has been fairly strong during 2012, and was up about 8% in October compared to October of 2011.

Hiring Demand for Accountants – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Hiring Demand for Accountants

Source: WANTED Analytics

Not too surprisingly, employers posted the most jobs for positions located in the New York City metropolitan area. Despite having just over 7,000 jobs available during October, this represents a 2% decline in demand compared to the same month last year. Of the 10 cities listed below with the most job ads, the other 9 experienced year-over-year increases. San Francisco actually saw the highest growth, with 24% more job ads this October than were available last year.

Metropolitan Areas with Most Job Ads for Accountants – October 2012 vs 2011

Hiring demand by city for Accountants

Source: WANTED Analytics

On average, job ads for Accountants remain online for 43 days – or just over 6 weeks. That means it's likely to take 6 weeks on average for Recruiters to collect enough resumes and applications, and begin interviewing and screening candidates. However, many locations will experience a longer time-to-fill and more difficult recruiting conditions, due to the local demand and available talent supply. For example, the 3 metro areas with the longest average posting period are: Yuba City (California), Pueblo (Colorado), and Danville (Virginia). In Yuba City, the average duration of a job ad is more than 11 weeks – more than 5 weeks longer than the national average. Pueblo and Danvill both average about 9 weeks, which is still 3 weeks longer than average.

Average Posting Period for Accountant Job Ads

Average Posting Period for Accountant Job Ads

Source: WANTED Analytics

Are you recruiting for an Accountant? Show hiring managers why these jobs are hard-to-fill with a Talent Sourcing Report, filled with data and market conditions. Sign up for a free trial of WANTED Analytics and we'll show you how to generate reports!

3 Things to Know About Recruiting on Wall Street

By Abby Lombardi on July 16, 2012 in Accounting/Finance, Finance - XLF.

While international financial markets may be struggling, jobs on Wall Street have been fairly steady. In June, more than 14,000 jobs in New York's financial services industry were posted online. Although it is a slight decline from May's 4-year record high, this still represents a 1.2% increase over hiring demand during June of 2011. We thought it might be interesting to look at 3 things that Recruiters and hiring managers should know about recruiting on Wall Street.

Think traders are in demand?

Contrary to what you may think about Wall Street, brokers, traders, and financial analysts are not the most commonly advertised jobs. Instead, the most commonly advertised job title in the financial services industry in New York is Tellers. Personal Banker and Sales Service Specialists were second and third. With Commercial Banking accounting for about 42% of all jobs on Wall Street, it's not too surprising that most of the jobs are for banking careers.

Here are the top 5 job titles being advertised on Wall Street:

  • Teller
  • Personal Banker
  • Sales Service Specialist
  • Teller I
  • Branch Manager

New York may have the highest demand for financial services jobs, but they are still easier than average to fill.

You probably aren't surprised to hear that employers in New York have the highest demand for jobs in the financial services industry. More than 14,000 job ads were posted online in this sector during June 2012. This is almost twice the volume seen by Chicago, which had the second highest demand for this industry. However, Recruiters are actually likely to find jobs on Wall Street easier to fill that on average across the US. When considering the available talent supply, our Hiring Scale™ and candidate supply data shows that New York has a large pool to source from. It's estimated that over 550,000 people work in the financial services sector in the New York metro area. This means that Recruiters will likely have a large number of candidates to source from.

Hiring Scale for Financial Services Jobs on Wall Street

Hiring Scale for Financial Services Jobs on Wall Street

Source: WANTED Analytics

Find the best places to source talent – locally and nationally

Although jobs are easier to fill in New York than on average, the difficulty of each position will vary slightly depending on the skills needed and the number of potential candidates in the local workforce that meet those requirements. If you are struggling to fill a job on Wall Street (or a finance job anywhere in the US), our Hiring Scale can show you the locations with the best conditions for finding that talent – both locally and nationally. In these areas, there is less hiring demand by employers and larger talent pools, meaning there is less competition to attract candidates and Recruiters are likely to find candidates more easily.

Near New York City, the best locations to find candidates in the financial services industry are:

  1. Utica-Rome, NY
  2. Elmira, NY
  3. Glens Falls, NY
  4. Rochester, NY
  5. Dover, DE

Across the US, the best locations for sourcing candidates in the financial services industry are:

  1. Morgantown, WV
  2. Dalton, GA
  3. Spartanburg, SC
  4. Wheeling, WV
  5. Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce, FL

Want to see how recruiting in your city compares to New York? Check out our online Hiring Scale! Just tell us where the job is located and what position or skills you are sourcing for, and we'll show you a Hiring Scale, average salary ranges, and who you are competing with for talent.

Already an Analytics user? Log in and search for the "Finance and Insurance" industry in your city to see hiring trends and competitive information.

Growth of Retirement-Eligible Workers Brings Added Hiring for Financial Advisers

By Abby Lombardi on May 2, 2012 in Accounting/Finance, Business/Finance.

A recent Investment News article talked about a looming shortage of financial advisers caused by millions of "baby-boomers" that are planning their retirement and also due to the fact that there are fewer younger financial advisers entering the workforce. We wanted to take a look at how hard-to-fill these jobs are and ways that recruiters may be able to fill them faster.

First, we'll quickly review hiring demand for this occupation. In March, there were more than 3,000 jobs posted online for financial advisers – representing a 4-year high in demand for this occupation and a 110% year-over-year increase in hiring demand. Employers in the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington (DC), and Boston metropolitan areas posted the highest volume of job ads for financial advisers. All of these 5 metro areas saw increases in hiring demand; however, Boston saw the highest year-over-year growth at 240% and outpacing the national average.

Hiring Demand for Financial Advisers – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Hiring Demand for Financial Advisers

Source: WANTED Analytics

The skills that are most commonly required in job ads for financial advisers are:

  1. Microsoft Office
  2. Microsoft PowerPoint
  3. Microsoft Excel
  4. Financial modeling
  5. Hyperion
  6. Microsoft Word
  7. Portfolio management
  8. Estate planning
  9. Microsoft Access
  10. Asset allocation

The most commonly recruited certifications are:

  1. General Securities Representative Exam (Series 7)
  2. Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
  3. Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
  4. Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
  5. Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC)
  6. Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU)
  7. Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
  8. Securities license (NASD Series 7)
  9. Chartered Investment Counselor
  10. Accredited Senior Appraiser

Since the demand for financial advisers is increasing, there is more competition to attract this talent by employers, therefore making the jobs harder to fill. Our Hiring Scale™ showed us that the best markets for sourcing financial advisers are Durham (North Carolina), Winston-Salem (North Carolina), Rochester (New York), Syracuse (New York), and Pensacola (Florida). In these cities, hiring demand remains low, while the available talent pool is larger. Recruiters that are able to post job ads in these cities are likely to spend less time sourcing candidates and see less competition for this talent. In fact, job ads in these areas remain online for as few as 32 days – or about 4.5 weeks. In comparison, the national average is 6 weeks – 1.5 weeks longer than in some of these areas.

5 Markets that Financial Advisers are Easy-to-Fill

Best Cities for Listing Financial Adviser Job Ads

Source: WANTED Analytics

Recruiters that find financial adviser jobs to be hard-to-fill should consider targeting candidates from the above cities. You will have more candidates to source from, less competition for the talent, and are likely to fill jobs faster.

Are financial advisers easy- or hard-to-fill in your area? Find out with our online Hiring Scale™! Enter in the location of the job opening, and we'll show you the Hiring Scale for your city, average salary ranges, who you are competing with for talent, and where you can find more candidates!

Hiring for Accountants Surges in Final Days of Tax Prep

By Abby Lombardi on April 16, 2012 in Accounting/Finance, Business/Finance.

With tax season in the final hours, we wanted to take one more look at hiring for Accountants and Auditors to see if there was a final push in job ads for this occupation. There was quite a significant increase in hiring for this occupation in March. More than 29,000 job ads were posted online for Accountants and Auditors, a 46% increase over March of last year. This is the highest volume of jobs posted online since October 2008, when the recession was beginning.

Hiring Demand for Accountants and Auditors – 4 Year Hiring Trend

Hiring Demand for Accountants and Auditors

Source: WANTED Analytics

Of the 5 cities below with the highest volume of ads, all saw year-over-year increases. Not too surprisingly, New York saw the highest volume of job ads for Accountants and Auditors during March. More than 3,000 ads were posted online last month at a 54% increase compared to March of 2011. However, employers in Chicago saw the greatest growth since last year, with 57% more jobs this March than were seen last year.

Metropolitan Areas with Most Online Job Ads for Accountants and Auditors

5 cities with most job ads for Accountants

Source: WANTED Analytics

Here are some of the most commonly advertised skills that are listed in job ads for Accountants and Auditors:

  1. Microsoft Office
  2. Internal Audit
  3. Microsoft Excel
  4. Microsoft PowerPoint
  5. Tax planning
  6. Cost accounting
  7. Hyperion
  8. Financial accounting
  9. Microsoft Word
  10. Enterprise Resource Planning Software (ERP)

With the steady increase in hiring over the past few months, it is likely that Recruiters will find accounting jobs moderately hard-to-fill. Locations that are experiencing higher than average growth in demand will see more competition and a longer time-to-fill. For example, our Hiring Scale shows that recruiters in Chicago currently keep job ads online for 6.5 weeks. Our Hiring Scale also shows some of the locations.  Amarillo (Texas) is currently experiencing one of the shortest posting periods for accounting job ads – about 3.8 weeks. Recruiters in Chicago that are struggling to fill job openings may consider advertising their job openings in Amarillo and relocating talent.

Hiring Scale for Accountants and Auditors in Chicago, IL

Hiring Scale for Accountants and Auditors in Chicago, IL

Source: WANTED Analytics

Hiring Scale for Accountants and Auditors in Amarillo, TX

Hiring Scale for Accountants and Auditors in Amarillo, TX

Source: WANTED Analytics

Are you sourcing for Accountants? Find out how hard-to-fill these jobs will be in your area with the free, online Hiring Scale. Just tell us where and we'll show you a Hiring Scale, average salary information, and who you are competing with for talent!

Tax Season is Here – Have you Filled all your Company's Accountant Job Openings?

By Abby Lombardi on January 31, 2012 in Accounting/Finance.

Tax season is upon us and that means that this is prime time for companies to recruit Accountants. Many companies have already begun sourcing for Accounting positions needed during this busy time of the year. Hiring during the last 3 months of 2011 was up 33%. Since the beginning of January, more than 23,000 job ads have been posted online for Accountants and Auditors, a 13% increase compared to the same time period in 2011. If you haven't filled all the open accounting jobs at your company, it's likely you will find these jobs hard-to-fill now.

We found more than 7,900 companies currently advertising Accounting job openings across the US. Some companies – especially many the big accounting firms – are recruiting in large volume. For example, Deloitte, KPMG, and Ernst & Young are currently advertising the most job ads of any employer in the US. They each have more than 1,000 open accounting jobs being advertised online and are likely to compete heavily to fill all their openings.

Heat Map of High Hiring Demand for Accountants

Heat map of Hiring Demand for Accountants

Source: WANTED Analytics

Our Hiring Scale™ shows that it will be moderately difficult to recruit Accountants across the United States. On average, there are about 11 potential candidates in the nationwide workforce for every job opening advertised online. In areas where there is higher demand, recruiting will be even more difficult. Chicago, for example, has seen some of the fastest growing demand over the past year. During October, November, and December of 2011, Recruiters placed almost 3,700 unique job listings for Accountants, representing a 39% increase compared to the same 3 months in 2010. Although hiring demand has grown, the local talent pool has not grown at the same pace. There are just 7 potential candidates in the Chicago workforce for every Accounting job being advertised online. It's likely that Recruiters will not only compete more for talent, but also see a longer time-to-fill for these open positions.

Hiring Scale for Accountants in Chicago, Illinois versus Nationally

Hiring Scale for Accountants in Chicago Illinois

Source: WANTED Analytics

If you are still sourcing for open jobs, we suggest you look in locations with easier recruiting conditions. Our Hiring Scale also shows us the easiest place to recruit Accountants is currently in Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas. Here, the competition is low – only 4 employers are currently hiring – and the talent supply is high. Recruiters that are able to source candidates from this area are likely to reduce their time-to-fill by as many as 11 days. The average posting period in Chicago is 45 days, while the average in Beaumont is 34 days.

Hiring Scale for Accountants in Beaumont, Texas versus Nationally

Hiring Scale for Accountants in Beaumont Texas

Source: WANTED Analytics

Other locations among the easiest to recruit Accountants include: Myrtle Beach (South Carolina), Brownsville (Texas), Waco (Texas), and Kingston (New York).

Are you recruiting for Accountant job openings? Find out how difficult-to-fill the job will be in your area with the Hiring Scale™. We'll also show you the average salary range for your location, who you are competing with for talent, and where to find hidden candidate pools.

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