Financial services keeps competing for a narrow band of qualified people, and the data shows where that pressure sits. In the sector, recruitment was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles, rather than RQF 3-5 GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report. In plain terms, employers are chasing degree-level and above expertise, not entry-level support, which makes every vacancy harder to fill.
For a lean in-house team, that matters. When the roles you need are concentrated at the higher-qualified end, you can't rely on a flood of applicants. You have to find the right few people and reach them before anyone else does.
The hardest roles to fill are the ones that demand regulated, higher-level qualifications. Because sector recruitment skews towards RQF 6+ roles rather than RQF 3-5 GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report, the pool for each vacancy is smaller and the competition for it is sharper.
That dynamic creates two problems for a small team. First, sourcing takes longer because the right people are scarce and often already employed. Second, speed decides outcomes: the best-qualified person usually has options, so a slow process loses them. When two or three people own the whole hiring process, both problems compound quickly.
Start by being precise about the qualification level you actually need. With demand concentrated at RQF 6+ GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report, a sharp, honest spec saves you from wading through profiles that were never going to fit.
Then build a process a small team can run without dropping the ball. Keep your pipeline in one place. Shortlist against clear criteria rather than gut feel. Contact people quickly, because a strong candidate rarely waits. And keep interview scheduling simple so momentum never stalls between stages. The aim is fewer tools, fewer handoffs and a process two people can keep moving at pace.
Reed.ai runs that whole process for a small team. We search a database of 15 million candidates, return a ranked shortlist in under 30 seconds, contact matched people in under a minute and book an interview in under three minutes. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell us the role you need and we'll show you who's out there today.
