By Pat Sommerfelt, Senior Consultant

I've been having a lot of conversations with finance hiring managers and candidates recently. Here's what I'm actually seeing in the market right now.

1. Attitude is the new qualification

The days of rejecting a CV because someone hasn't ticked every box are fading fast. I'm seeing more employers open to hiring on potential - backing the right person and developing the gaps. The data backs this up too, with the vast majority of finance employers now saying attitude and willingness to learn outweighs existing technical skills. For PQ candidates’ mid-studies, this is genuinely good news. The market is more open to you than it might feel.

2. Job ads alone aren't working

If you're a hiring manager who has posted a vacancy and is wondering why the quality isn't there, you're not alone. Candidate confidence is low right now. Finance professionals are cautious. The mindset I'm hearing repeatedly is "it has to be the right move, or I'm staying put."

The result? The best people aren't browsing job boards. In the current market, the overwhelming majority of successful placements are coming from direct headhunting and network referral, not inbound applications. If your role has been live for a few weeks without real traction, the talent you want almost certainly hasn't seen it.

3. Hybrid isn't a perk anymore, it's a filter

This one keeps coming up. A strong candidate, a genuinely interesting role, and then the employer mentions four or five days in the office. The conversation stops there. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of the most common reasons a process falls apart before it's even started.

The majority of finance professionals say they simply won't consider a role without hybrid working, and a significant chunk would actually take a pay cut to get the flexibility they want. If you're struggling to attract candidates, the working arrangement conversation needs to happen before the job spec is written, not after the first round of interviews.

4. The skills gap is real and it's reshaping what "good" looks like

This is the one that I think will define the next few years of finance hiring. Nearly half of UK organisations are going through some form of finance transformation right now, ERP migrations, automation, analytics.

At the transactional level, roles that used to be pure process are increasingly requiring comfort with systems and data. At the PQ level, the newly qualified who can model, interpret data and act as a genuine business partner are getting multiple offers. Those who haven't developed those skills alongside their studies are finding it tougher. The gap between a good profile and a great one is increasingly a digital one.

So, in summary

What I'm taking from all of this is that the finance recruitment market in 2026 rewards specificity!

Be specific about what you need, honest about what you're offering, and proactive in how you go to market for talent.

Get in touch

If any of this resonates, whether you're a hiring manager trying to work out why a search isn't moving, or a candidate figuring out your next step, I'm always happy to have a straight conversation.

Contact me, Pat Sommerfelt, Senior Consultant, on patsommerfelt@srmrecruitment.com or call 07399 278452.