It’s hard to believe that less than 2,000 miles away – Ukrainian families are having to flee their cherished homes with no sense of how they are going to care for their children, find food for their next meal, or find further shelter.

In an effort to help local initiatives maintain the funds needed to provide support to Ukrainian refugees, Finiti Search has donated to the following organisations:

Disasters Emergency Committee

The Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal is gathering all of the resources and funds it can to provide food, water, shelter, healthcare, and protection to refugees and displaced people.

To put it into perspective:

• £30 could provide essential hygiene supplies for three people for one month
• £50 could provide blankets for four families
• £100 could provide emergency food for two families for one month

To donate: Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal | Disasters Emergency Committee (dec.org.uk)

Aid for Ukrainian Refugees in Poland

Someone known to Finiti Search is doing her bit to help as many Ukrainian refugees as possible in her hometown of Radzyń Podlaski in Poland. Mainly with housing refugees, and providing clothes and food.

The town has rallied together to turn as many empty spaces as possible into safe shelters, and many have begun offering up their own homes to help protect fleeing Ukrainians. Money she raises will go directly to the local coordinators to provide physical necessities, psychological support, and additional medical supplies for hospitals in Ukraine.

To donate:Fundraiser by Anna Jarmosiewicz-North : Aid for Ukrainian refugees in Radzyń Poland (gofundme.com)

With many people facing the most frightening and uncertain times in their lives, it reminds us to take a moment to reflect on how grateful we are to be in the position to help. Also, that a donation big or small, could save lives.

Founded a year before the Credit Crisis in 2007, Finiti Search is now navigating all of the changes that come with a global pandemic, as we celebrate 15 years of being in business.

As Fintech firms continue to adapt and grow because of major world events, we continue to adapt our approach to Fintech sales recruitment. When we first began, the Fintech firms we worked with were offering more Credit Risk Management systems. Now, the focus is heavily on lending, credit and ESG to confront climate change. Nothing shouts this more than the recent news that Apple has quietly acquired Credit Kudos for $150 million.

The Beginning of Our Fintech Journey

Looking back to 2007 – the industry was known as Banking Technology and technological advancements showed no sign of slowing down. Our founders Kate Sharland and Alison Power were well aware of the need for Fintech Sales and Commercial hiring specialists. By combining Kate’s expertise in sales recruitment and Alison’s background within technology companies, Finiti Search was born.

As the only recruiters at the time specialising in the Fintech Sales market, Kate and Alison knew they were providing a practical service once they had demand from clients to open an office in the United States. The market was different then, and was focused more on recruiting for large well known names in the industry: the likes of Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg, Sungard (now FIS), and Misys (now Finastra). These companies have now consolidated and their employee numbers growth has either slowed or been overshadowed by the surge of Fintech startups and smaller companies scaling up.

Growth Through the Years

Finiti Search hasn’t looked back since, and we have continued to build our Fintech network. From travelling across Europe and North America to different events (many times at Sibos), to visiting clients across the world, we continue to go the extra mile to build relationships and build on our already strong foundation.

We are confident saying that we have the biggest global network of Fintech Sales professionals. Our consultative and collaborative approach, along with our industry expertise is what keeps both clients and candidates coming back to work with us.

Now that Fintech recruitment has become a more crowded field, reputation and trust has become more and more important. With 15 years of Fintech recruitment under our belt, Finiti Search’s experience runs deep and we pride ourselves on our unrivalled reputation.

Fast-Forward to Today

Banking Technology has become Fintech, and is now seen as a highly innovative, exciting, and rapidly growing industry. Most people have heard of it now – it’s no longer just people in the industry. We even saw Bill Gates speak at Sibos one year, and he spoke about how big Fintech was becoming. Smaller, fast growing, well-funded startups are at the forefront of Fintech, and make up the majority of our client base.

Having navigated through the Fintech landscape changes the past 15 years, we continue to succeed in helping Fintech clients find the perfect fit for their organisations and continue to match Fintech candidates to roles they would thrive in.

As a leading niche provider of recruitment services to the Global Financial Technology market, our experience and commitment runs deep. Whether you need to urgently fill a sales or sales leadership role or just want to pick our brains on current industry insights, we’d love to hear from you. Just contact us!

With the Fintech industry flourishing and new financial service products coming to light constantly, Fintech businesses are having to put more of their focus on recruitment in order to keep up with the rapid growth.

We knew that over the years jobs would change, the way we function daily would change, and the way we run our businesses would change. But the start of a global pandemic expedited that process, and now many companies have been forced to shift their recruitment strategies in order to stay a player in the game.

Common reasons why Fintech employers are struggling to find quality candidates:

• Competition with other companies has heated up. The tables have now turned from past years with big organisations now facing fierce competition from the many attractive start-ups in this space, who are now well funded and have staying power.
• Wage escalations in the tech space are on the rise. This means companies are having to reevaluate their compensation for current employees, and address any internal equity challenges to retain their employees.
• New roles are constantly being created and many come with unrealistic expectations, causing candidates to avoid applying or becoming unhappy once they are in the position.
• With remote work becoming more of the norm, many candidates are quick to rule out any companies that require a strict in-office schedule.
• Physical location is no longer a main factor, and now companies are welcoming talent from across the globe.

When it comes to hiring, candidates have taken the reins

If you’re in the Fintech industry, it’s time to pivot and realize that candidates are in control. Here are 6 things to ask yourself as an employer when recruiting:

1. What makes your company attractive, and why should that pull people in?

With many companies offering flexible work options, you are no longer competing with others in just your geographic location. Companies are reaching far across the globe to recruit tech talent. For employers – this means that you need to hold a strong position on how your company stands out from the competition, and what you can offer employees that others may not.

2. Are you acting on candidates fast enough?

Don’t sit on talent just to see what else may come up in the applications. When you have a role you are trying to fill, it’s important to move as quickly as possible through the process and make initial contact with potential candidates as soon as possible. Nobody enjoys a long, drawn out process.

3. Are you paying according to current industry standards?

Before even opening up your applications, you should evaluate your compensation and benefits package and benchmark them against others in the industry. With many candidates starting the conversation with multiple companies at the same time, keep in mind that you may not have the opportunity to counteroffer.

4. Do you have clear and realistic expectations set?

This is a huge step that many companies shoot themselves in the foot with. It’s important to make sure that a detailed job description is shared from the start, along with reasonable requirements. If the requirements are that of someone with 20+ years of experience but pays of an entry-level position, you probably won’t see a lot of applications rolling in. If there is misalignment between how the role is presented and one’s actual responsibilities once they get on the job, it will probably lead to some pretty unpleasant interactions.

5. Have you focused on retaining your good people?

Don’t neglect the people who have been with you from the beginning and have been pivotal factors in the company’s growth. If an employee feels unrecognized or unappreciated, then a quick knock on the door from a competitor may be all it takes for them to leave. Staying out in front of it and making sure your current employees feel valued can decrease turnover rates.

6. Have you put well thought out effort into your onboarding process?

This is your time to show true company culture and make the newcomers feel welcome from the beginning. Make sure you are giving them all of the resources they need to succeed and that the transition is as smooth and manageable as possible.

Where Finiti Search Can Help

As a business that works closely with candidates and clients, Finiti Search has real-time awareness of the current state of the Fintech market, and ensures clients are up to speed on hiring trends and market value of talent. To learn more about our process and working with us, visit finitisearch.com

A lack of diversity and underrepresentation of minorities are a battle that many industries are trying to combat. Within Fintech, it’s no different. Many of these obstacles are not unique to Fintech, and are rooted in century old notions or caused by a lack of outreach in minority communities.

The Hard Truth

• When it comes to the global Fintech founder community, women make up just 7% of the pool.
• With Fintech accounting for between 10%-15% of overall tech employment, African American executives and professionals in the fintech industry are lower than 2% and 5.3% respectively.
• Women-led startup companies receive only 10% of venture capital investment, and all-female teams receive less than 1% of UK venture funding
• We all knew there was a gender pay gap, but the wage gap for Black women, Latina women, LGBTQ+, and other marginalized groups in tech is even larger.

How Championing Diversity Adds Value

Teams having a diverse range of thinking and voices are proven to pay off through:

Increased Revenue:top quartile for ethnic diversity and gender diversity are over 20 percent more likely to have more above-average profitability than those in the bottom quartile.

Higher Innovation: With Fintech companies so heavily reliant on innovation, fostering viewpoints from individuals with all different backgrounds and experiences can lead to more innovative brainstorming sessions. These then lead to new ideas or solutions that can help a company set itself apart from its competitors.

More Desirable Workplace: On the other hand, having a more diverse team will lead to a richer work environment. Employees will feel more accepted as individuals if diverse thinking and views are encouraged, which ultimately leads to higher retention rates.

Actions to Welcome Diversity

It takes more than a mere diversity statement to improve the numbers on minority disparity gaps, it requires action. What can be done to help lay a more diverse foundation in Fintech:

• More Minority Role Models: Bold, transparent leadership of minorities who are currently in Fintech roles is important. Through marketing representation, keynote speakers at conferences, and acknowledgement within companies themselves.
• Appropriate Support Systems: Make the work climate more welcoming for minorities who want to get their foot in the door in Fintech.
• Access to Education: Be proactive and bring tech experience into the education system earlier to excite youth about the future of Fintech. Introduce more Fintech focused programs for female professionals to access.

As Fintech recruiters, we often get asked to help firms increase their diversity and equality in the workplace. If you need help harvesting a diverse environment, feel free to reach out to us at finitisearch.com/client

Pre-Sales Consultants are an integral part of the sales team. They act as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in a particular field – e.g. business area, market or technology. They add value to an organisation by providing their expertise throughout the sales process and ultimately influencing sales.

They can report to a Head of Pre-Sales but usually report to a Sales Director. They are also known by other names, including Consultant (e.g. Risk Consultant), Sales Engineer and Sales Support Consultant.

Q: What Does a Pre-Sales Consultant Do?

A: Typically, a Pre-Sales Consultant does the following:

• Accompany salespeople on visits to prospects and clients.
• Deliver presentations and product demonstrations that require more in-depth or credible knowledge than the salesperson is able to provide.
• Liaise with Product Managers to provide feedback from clients about product requirements; or ideas to help them innovate or stay ahead of where the market is going.
• Carry out research to stay ahead of their particular area of expertise – including understanding the current & future market, product and competitor landscape.
• Manage the sales bid process, responding to RFI’s & RFP’s when a client or prospect puts an opportunity ‘out to tender’.
• Respond to technical questions about the product or related infrastructure.

Q: How Are Pre-Sales Consultants Paid?

A: Pre-Sales Consultants are usually paid a base salary and a bonus or commission. Bonuses are more common that commission and, on average, tend to vary between 15-30%.

Pre-sales Consultants tend not to carry sales targets. Instead, they are usually responsible for influencing sales and supporting the sales targets of dedicated sales executives. Their bonuses are dependent on the company – or specific solution revenue streams – meeting set targets.

Q: Who Can Do Pre-Sales?

A: Pre-Sales Consultants will often have a background within the market they are now ‘selling’ to. This is so that they are able to present themselves to clients as a credible subject matter expert in that market or product. For example, a Pre-Sales Consultant ‘selling’ Risk Management solutions to Investment Banks may have previously worked as a Risk Manager within a similar Bank.

Business Analysts sometimes enter into pre-sales due to the expertise they have developed implementing specific products into specific customer environments.

People who works in advisory divisions of consulting firms usually make ideal Pre-Sales Consultants.

Q: What Makes A Good Pre-Sales Consultant?

A: Typically, a Pre-Sales Consultant should have the following skills & experience:

• Subject matter expertise in a required field (ideally gained working within the market they are now ‘selling’ to).
• Strong client-facing skills, e.g. meeting & presenting to clients (ideally with experience dealing with similar types/levels of contact).
• Strong commercial skills including an understanding of the sales process (ideally gained within a similar, commercial environment).
• Strong communication skills, written & verbal.
• Strong problem solving skills including an ability to think ‘on their feet’ when faced with challenging questions in the sales environment.
• Experience managing the bid or proposal process including responding to RFI’s/RFP’s.
• (Technical Pre-Sales Roles Only) Technical skills.

From Headhunting to finding the perfect sales manager, to working with each and every candidate to find that perfect fit – Finiti Search is here to help your organisation hire quickly and efficiently. For more information visit finitisearch.com/client