This has been another period of progress in the return to normality in most worldwide markets, so let’s have a look around.

The market and day to day activity is returning to normal far faster than in the EU, due in part to the faster vaccine rollout, although this is somewhat State dependant. Some States including New York (except for PE investment) are lagging behind.

The UK market is broadly more positive as a result of the rapid vaccine rollout, although there is evidence of a squeeze on salaries and it is slightly more complicated following Brexit for those coming in from the EU at more junior levels.

In FS demand is strongest in Fintech, Wealth Management and particularly PE where one specialist firm is reporting their best quarter ever. In Professional Services demand is in consulting for strategy and advisory rather than implementation.

There is heavy emphasis for Boards to focus on diversity and gender balancing throughout Europe.

Markets generally are picking up despite Covid and are seeing growing demand in Healthcare/Pharma/Life Sciences, Supply Chain and Start-up, particularly Blockchain and Crypto, and even travel for business purposes is once again feasible.

In Switzerland there is activity in Single Family Offices and Multiple Family Office businesses, but Germany, where Tech is currently very strong, may be benefiting most following Brexit in that it is making sense to have a European hub and to locate it in Germany.

The market feeling is that there will be huge growth around the end of the 2nd quarter as the vaccination rollout catches up.

The Covid wave in India is having the predictable effect of limiting the number of opportunities being created.

APAC is seeing large numbers of opportunities arising, particularly for Singapore and Malaysia around Technology and Healthcare, but a recurring theme is a preference for locals, much more so than a couple of years ago.

The anticipated stream of opportunities leaving Hong Kong has not yet started, but with businesses moving there is good logic to say that they must follow and with many senior roles currently being often ‘candidate short’, they should not be ignored.

In Hong Kong itself Corporate activity is patchy, but light is appearing at the end of the tunnel that the pandemic will soon subside.

It sounds repetitive; to get into the market – but let’s look at the logic.

In the UK vaccination and lockdown have nearly settled everything down, North America is catching up and Europe is only about a month or so behind; much of Asia is well ahead.

When everything is settled down the Search Consultants will have better things to do than to want to look at candidates and will revert, indeed it is already happening, to their normal stance of being ‘assignment driven’ or to put it another way ‘don’t call us we will call you’, so the ease of approach created by Covid will soon be over.

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