A candidate we met a few years ago had spent three months applying to job adverts in the Asset Management sector. He was methodical: fourteen applications, each with a tailored covering letter. He heard back from three firms. Two told him the role had already been filled. One never replied at all. He was not unusual. This is simply how selection advertising works, and understanding the mechanics makes it significantly less dispiriting, and more useful.
Selection firms recruit on behalf of companies through advertising campaigns, ‘selecting’ a shortlist of candidates from the applications received. Where an executive search firm conducts targeted, confidential research into a specific talent pool, a selection firm casts a wide net and waits.
Most roles you encounter on platforms such as eFinancialNews, Albourne Village or LinkedIn will have been placed either by a selection firm or, more commonly, by a contingency agency using advertising to supplement its candidate pipeline. Almost no selection-only firms exist today. The rise of the internet reduced the cost of advertising to near zero and, with it, commoditised the service. The most common model now is a firm that combines selection with contingency agency work.
This is the part most candidates find confusing. A significant number of adverts are posted for roles that either do not exist or for which the recruiter has no formal mandate. The purpose is to identify available candidates who can then be proposed to the recruiter’s broader client base.
When you apply and are told the role has been filled, this is not necessarily a dead end. What you have identified is an agency active in your area of the market. Note the firm’s name, find the relevant consultant and request a general meeting. These conversations are often more productive than the original application. Just bear in mind that firms advertising in this way are almost always contingency agencies rather than retained search firms; the two operate quite differently, and it is worth understanding which you are dealing with.
The main job boards, LinkedIn, eFinancialNews and Albourne Village, are most useful not as application portals but as market intelligence tools. Patterns in what is being advertised tell you which firms are building, which strategies are in demand and which agencies are most active in your space. We advise candidates to monitor these platforms regularly and to note which agencies consistently post roles that interest them, then to approach those firms directly, regardless of whether a specific vacancy is live.
A few practical points worth bearing in mind:
Selection advertising plays a relatively modest role in senior Asset Management hiring. The most consequential appointments, whether Portfolio Manager, CIO or Head of Distribution, are rarely advertised publicly. Firms making those hires tend to use retained executive search, which operates through confidential, targeted research rather than open advertising.
If you would like to understand how that part of the market works and how best to manage relationships with search firms, our companion piece on executive search covers this in detail.
If you would like to discuss your own career situation in confidence, or to understand how the current market looks for your profile, please contact us at hello@godliman.com.
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