eFinancialCareers

Poaching, fast-track promotions, lock-in bonuses and a scarcity of experienced talent – welcome to the world of oil trading.

As the credit crunch tightens margins across the board and oil prices push $100 a barrel, banks are now hungrily eyeing the safe haven of commodities. Skilled oil traders have never been so valued.

The Middle East, as the heart of the oil production world, is also now becoming a hot spot for trading it. Justin Pearson, managing director of search firm Human Capital, says: “International migration is now the norm, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, regions with almost no natural candidate base and a tremendous need for talent.”

And the lack of local talent means traders still wet behind the ears are getting a look in. Russell Adam, managing director at recruitment firm Akamai Financial Markets, says: “We’ve seen people coming in with one or two years’ experience, or indeed from the middle office. And there’s an aggressive bidding war for these sorts of candidates.”

But Pearson reckons salaries aren't the big motivator, and while sign-on bonuses sway candidates into short-term loyalty, tantalising career prospects and the lure of working for a reputable company are the main motivators. It seems firms need to do all they can to discourage job-hopping.

“In 2007, there were several instances of candidates being poached while on ‘gardening leave’ prior to joining a new company,” he says.

The pay packets of oil traders in the Middle East are a particularly murky area.

Michael Ketley, managing director of recruiters MRK, says: “It depends on whether you’re working for an international bank or a local bank, whether you have experience, what nationality you are…one firm I work for calculates salary using a spreadsheet format to see how slim an increase on a previous salary it can get away with. It’s also largely performance based, and some base salaries are peanuts.”

As Pearson puts it: “Talented candidates are not fools. They are attracted to firms with competitive and well-thought out business models – firms that will provide them with a healthy platform to earn significantly year after year.”