Have you ever wondered how recruiters choose between numerous well-qualified candidates when trying to fill a role?

How do they decide if a candidate is good for a particular job and whether they’re the best-possible fit for an established team?

Anthony Bell is the Director of Capital Markets & Investment Banking for specialist recruitment firm, Tardis Group, a role he has enjoyed for the past five years. He says there are specific pieces he’s looking out for when solving that puzzle.

‘I’m very interested in what people do aside from their work,’ he said.

‘Are they on the sausage sizzle on Saturday?  How they donate their time?  Do they play sport?

If they do play sport, I’ll dig deeper – at what level do they play? What position do or did they play?’

‘As an example, we recently worked with a candidate who played Premier League soccer in Sydney, he was in his late 20s and still played. Quite a feat. He revealed that he played the position of ‘Striker’.’

‘That information was a good insight into this candidate and I knew he would be a ‘results’ person and that outcomes would be his measure for success,’ Anthony said.

‘In the same way, a Centre in netball relishes in responsibility. I find these synergies between work and life activities really interesting.’

Of course when hiring for investment banking, qualifications and industry experience count, as do other traits, personal presentation, communication skills and attitude.

‘Integrity is always number one, but there is no doubt that in close second for me is how the candidate thinks and how they live their lives. What’s important is what a candidate brings to the table in skills but also in attitude.’

Anthony Bell says there is a growing shortage of experienced senior people in investment banking across Australia due to the juniorization trend seen over the past five years in particular.

‘In the post-GFC contraction, a tier of seniority at Director level was lost through redundancies and restructures,’ Anthony said.

‘Several years on and those above them – those who survived the restructures - are retiring or moving on, drawing our focus to find those with experience or transferable skills to step up or across into those roles. This often includes Aussies abroad looking to come home.’

Anthony Bell draws from his own experiences as he helps clients fill important roles in the capital markets and investment banking sector. His own financial markets career across debt syndicate, capital markets and treasury spanned 30 years. He’s run three successful financial markets businesses and has been a conference speaker in Australia and Asia.

‘My background has been really helpful for my work with Tardis, when I’m talking to clients I can relate to their needs – I understand their drivers,’ he said. ‘Equally I can appreciate the motivators of candidates.’

Anthony practises what he preaches when it comes to outside interests too.

He played State Grade squash when young and has competed in numerous Ironman Triathlon events. He coached squash and soccer at representative level, and, because he’s more than a little results driven he won, with his team, the banking division of the 100km Oxfam Trailwalker in 2006!

His great passion now is sailing.

‘I started a luxury sailing charter business on Sydney Harbour in 2010,’ he said. ‘We’ve been involved in regattas in Sydney and Hamilton Island and featured in promotional work, photo shoots and even a movie, but mostly bespoke private charters,’ he said.

‘It stems from the fact that I was lucky enough to sail with my father when I was young. Our main aim is to offer people the opportunity to share quality time together.’

‘My role at Tardis Group has allowed me to draw on my own career experiences and observations to provide not only solutions for our client base but equally help guide and mentor candidates.’

Anthony Bell is the Sydney-based Director of Investment Banking for Tardis Group. He spent 30 years working in financial markets, spanning Debt Capital Markets, Fixed Income and Treasury largely with French investment bank Société Générale Australia.

If you are looking for a new challenge and would be open to a confidential discussion about your career progression, please do not hesitate to contact Anthony Bell directly on anthony.bell@tardis-group.com / Mob: +61 420 997 582.