Most finance job-seekers open to pay cuts

RELATED NEWS Americans turn to TV as recession hits spending Services sector to be the highest employer in Q1'10:Survey Watch more advertisements for a discount on products? Employees in recession are eyeing your top secrets

A majority of job-seekers in the finance sector would consider taking a pay cut since their job searches are taking longer than initially expected, according to a survey by an online career management company.

The survey by OneWire.com found 57 percent of people pursuing finance jobs would consider accepting a position that pays less than their most recent position, while 79 percent report a longer-than-anticipated job search.

About four in 10 said they are willing to settle for anything related to their field, double the number of people with minds set on a specific position or title, according to the online poll conducted last month and in early December.

Some job-seekers are souring on the finance profession as a result of the recession. Forty-one percent said they do not believe finance is as desirable a career path as they thought two years ago.

According to SIFMA, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, US securities industry headcount has dropped more than 10 percent from a peak of 869,600 in June, 2008 to 780,200 in August, the most recent data available.

Still, a majority of those surveyed said they expect total compensation at their next job will be the same or higher, and two-thirds are confident they will land a job in the next six months.

That confidence comes as finance firms have stepped up hiring in the past six months, said OneWire.com Chairman Skiddy von Stade.

"There has been a steady uptick in hiring activity and we remain cautiously optimistic that this trend will continue through 2010," von Stade said. "(But) it will be a while before we see a full rebound in the finance sector."

The most in-demand fields include leveraged finance, restructuring, corporate finance, asset management, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and compliance, according to OneWire.