The current situation of the job market in Luxemburg

Complianceforum.de talks with Stéphanie Reniers, Teamleader specialised in Compliance, Risk, Legal and Tax, Huxley Associates  

Complianceforum.de:
1)      How does the economic crisis influences the situation of the job market within the finance industry in Luxemburg?

Stéphanie Reniers:
There are now a lot of candidates looking for a job for only a few vacancies. This means that some candidates are willing to get a job at a lower salary. Therefore, there is a lot more competition than before to get a job.  However, employers are still looking for the right candidate at the right place rather than just the experience.

Complianceforum.de:
2)      How could employees protect their job? Would it be a good idea to do special trainings and financial education courses, for example?

Stéphanie Reniers:
 In Luxembourg, employees have had a difficult year in 2009 and a part of them lost their jobs. In my opinion, the best way to protect your job is to make your employers feel that you're "necessary" for the company. Therefore, a special training or course could only be relevant if it's an added value for the function the employee has.

Complianceforum.de:
3)      How can a recruiting specialist like you support people to find a stable job?

Stéphanie Reniers:
We can support people to find a stable job in different ways. First, we can definitely have a psychological support for the people who are looking for a job.  Unemployed people are facing a lot of issues as well on the professional side than on the psychological side. More than just helping them in the job searches, we are giving a weekly support to the candidates. Then, we're of course keeping the candidates aware on all the new opportunities in Luxembourg.  We are calling them to warn them but we're also sending newsletters with all the "hot jobs" of the moment. Finally, we can also help the candidates to prepare the interviews on the most efficient way so that they have more chance to get the job.  A candidate who is well prepared for an interview has more chance to get it.

Complianceforum.de:
4)      What should jobstarters do, students for example? Is a non-permanent contract a good option?

Stéphanie Reniers:
Jobstarters first need to decide in which domain they want to work as this will be the first experience on his cv and it will give the orientation. If they've chosen their domain, they can definitely accept a temporary contract. It's always good to have a first  experience, even if it's with a temporary contract. We're working with several candidates who have several experiences within missions.  

Complianceforum.de:
5)      What is your forecast for the next 12 months?

Stéphanie Reniers:
The first semester will be very important and will indicate us if companies will start to recruit actively again in the second semester.  We already see an improvement in Luxembourg and clients are starting to look for candidates again.

Christian Koch

Munich, 1st of March 2010