Meet MERJE is a series of interviews with members of the MERJE team discussing their experiences of recruiting in their specialist market.
Meet Andy Hodson, a Consultant based in our Manchester office.
What do you do at MERJE?
I’m a Principal Consultant at MERJE specialising in the Financial Crime space at mid-to-senior level. I joined in 2012 and prior to that I worked at a leading recruitment business focusing on the same market, so I’ve been doing this now for ten years.
Before going into recruitment, I worked in Fraud Management for a blue chip bank which gave me a good idea of the area as well as Fraud Prevention. This has proven useful in helping people find roles, helping Clients find the right Candidates and understanding the needs of both sides.
How has your experience working within Fraud Management helped you recruit in that area?
Having spent six years working in this area, I have a good understanding of fraud prevention techniques as well as the systems, solutions and policies used within organisations to prevent fraud and financial crime.
I also built a network of people across Financial Services businesses and the public bodies that report on Fraud and Financial Crime that I could go to and understand their recruitment needs to find them the right people.
How has the Financial Crime and Fraud market changed?
When I first started in recruitment in 2008, organisations had a massive focus on fraud prevention and it was a very buoyant market that has continued to develop over the years. As a result of the global financial crisis there has also been more of a focus on Financial Crime prevention with new regulations coming in so the likes of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) roles have moved to the forefront.
This is especially true in the contract market where we find our Clients have a demand for bringing in Financial Crime and AML professionals on an interim basis to put in policies and procedures to make sure the business is adhering to regulation and move on. On the other hand we see that Fraud Prevention is an ever-changing area and we find it more buoyant on the permanent side as there is a need to have professionals in place to react to the changing Fraud trends and technology.
What advice do you have for jobseekers within the Financial Crime and Fraud markets?
I would always recommend being patient with your job search. You have a very niche skillset which is in demand but you need to be patient in finding the right role as they aren’t going to come up every day. Mid-to-senior level roles are available, but more often than not it takes people moving on for new positions to come up.
Think about your career progression rather than taking the first role that comes up. If you are open to contract roles within Financial Crime it is certainly something to consider and can be quite lucrative.
Why MERJE?
It is a very grown up atmosphere and their approach to recruitment is a focus on the long-term relationships which is the key to success in recruitment. There is a feeling that recruitment is a short-term thing – getting people in the door and not thinking of the future. Whereas we are all about the long-term which is reflected in the Consultants that work here. Many of the Consultants have worked together for over ten years and focus solely within their specific areas. This gives us an excellent understanding of our markets with long-standing Client relationships which has proven to be very successful.
To contact Andy to discuss your recruitment or career needs in Financial Crime & Fraud, please call 0161 883 2745 or email ahodson@merje.com.
