eFinancialCareers

It’s nearly December. If you want to get a new job before the end of the year, you’re therefore running out of time. It doesn’t help that most banks won’t even contemplate hiring for front office roles at this stage – particularly where guarantees are an issue.

However, if you want a new position before 2010, there are options. Some areas require headcount immediately; some banks are still rumoured to be desperately seeking to fulfil this year’s headcount allocations; smaller houses want to hire before the January rush.

Here’s what’s on offer.

1) Contract roles

Needless to say, contracting is your best bet if you want to get a new position fast. Unfortunately, contract roles aren’t accessible to everyone. Kristen Buckheit, a manager in the contract team at Robert Walters, says the big need at this precise moment is for object oriented developers to work on FX and fixed income trading systems.

Failing that, Buckheit says there’s also immediate demand for contract trade support professionals with structured credit product experience, product controllers, or anyone with a projects or change background.

2) Jobs at small firms with growth plans

With hiring at most banks now on hold until January, recruiters advise focusing on smaller houses instead. “It's the small firms with big build plans that will hire before the end of the year,” says Guy Roberts, chief executive of search firm Pelham International.

Organisations falling into this category include Russian brokerage Otkritie, which has “aggressive growth plans,” or Exotix, an emerging markets broker which is expanding in fixed income. Alternatively, last time we looked, Stormharbour, Amias Berman and Conduit Capital markets were all hiring in fixed income, Execution planned to hire another 11 people by Q1 and IllquidX, a boutique trading illiquid instruments, was looking for eight people.

3) Jobs at commodities houses/commodities hedge funds

Banks have big expansion plans for commodities next year., but with the possible exception of Fortis, most have now put commodities hiring on hold until January. However, Mark Tomlinson, global head of energy and commodities at search firm Kinsey Allen, says there's "sustained demand" from commodities houses and hedge funds (which are attracting a rush of cash) which want to diversify the products they offer in 2010.

Tomlinson didn’t name names, but for quick results you’re advised to look beyond large trading houses like Trafigura, Glencore, Vitol, Gunvor and Mercuria. Among commodity hedge funds, Amajaro Asset Management has been hiring in London, for example.

4) Jobs in workout

With banks still trying to make sense of piles of toxic loans, redundant financial services professionals are being housed in loan workout roles. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Bank of America, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. have collectively hired almost 17,000 people to work on mortgage workouts this year.

In London, recruiters say Lloyds is building a team of over 1,000 people to deal with HBOS’s corporate loans. RBS has also been hiring.

“We’ve got a few mandates in loan workouts that we’d expect to complete before Christmas,” says Paul Hunt, managing director of recruiters Healy Hunt Partners.

5) Jobs in FIG

As we mentioned last week, FIG is hot. Headhunters say banks are still prepared to pay guarantees, even at this stage, in order to get people in place for next year.