Recruiter Paul Webster has tips for finance job seekers

The unemployment rate remains stubbornly above 9 percent, but certain sectors hit hard by the recession are making a surprise come back. Finance is one, according to Paul Webster, a director of the front office banking area for top recruiting firm Michael Page International. Wall Street, especially the big banks, is once again opening its checkbook for talent. Webster, a recruiter with 10 years of experience in the U.K. and the U.S., shares some tips on where the jobs are and how to get them.

Where are the finance jobs today?

It was a myth that there was no hiring between the summer of 2007 and 2009. Areas that were hiring were counter-cyclical in nature, such as restructuring finance, financing for distressed companies, and areas where banks could mitigate their losses.

The market has steadily picked up from July 2009 to December 2009. And from January of this year, it has rapidly improved. I've seen aggressive hiring in mergers and acquisitions, leverage financing, and sales and trading. So, where before it was in counter-cyclical areas that were not revenue generating but cost mitigating, today, banks are hiring for capital market positions.