100% Retention Across Three Cities for Underwriting Team

Key takeaways

The challenge

Our client, a prominent financial services firm specializing in direct lending, needed to build an Investment Underwriting team across three high-profile city locations - Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago. Due to the competitive nature of these markets, the client faced difficulties identifying experienced underwriters who were the right cultural and skill fit for each location. The dispersed nature of these roles added complexity, as each city presented unique hiring challenges and regional expectations.

Recognizing this as a barrier to the firm’s growth, we were committed to finding specialized candidates capable of adapting to the firm’s unique underwriting needs and able to thrive in a multi-location setup.

The solution

Selby Jennings leveraged its deep, global network of finance professionals and understanding of regional markets to deliver a targeted, high-quality candidate pool for each city. Our approach involved:

• Tailored talent sourcing which focused on finding underwriters with expertise in direct lending who could seamlessly adapt to the firm’s standards and culture across different offices.
  
  
• Multi-location coordination between our on-the-ground offices in Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago, meant that our talent teams collaborated closely to understand the local market better, ensuring consistent candidate experiences and alignment with the client’s goals while streamlining the hiring process across all three locations.
  
  
• We also shared consultative insights on market expectations in each city, providing guidance on competitive compensation and benefits to help attract the best candidates.

By sending 25 qualified candidates, we ensured that the client had a strong pool of talent to choose from.

Results

Through this targeted approach Selby Jennings achieved 10 candidates moving forward to first-round interviews, and ultimately, 3 accepted offers across the three locations, joining the underwriting teams across LA, NYC, and Chicago.

All placed candidates have remained with the firm, showcasing a remarkable 100% retention rate and contributing significantly to the team’s goals. Impressed with our success, the client has also continued to engage with Selby Jennings for future expansion and talent needs.

Summary

This multi-location recruitment project highlights Selby Jennings' expertise in delivering tailored solutions for complex, geographically diverse hiring needs, reinforcing our role as a true talent partner in the competitive financial services industry.