​Hiring in Asset Finance: Expectations vs Reality

Why “remote” roles, opaque salary messaging, and phantom job adverts are reshaping candidate trust and recruitment outcomes

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As asset finance hiring evolves, the challenge is no longer simply finding talent but aligning expectations, transparency, and reality in an increasingly selective market.

By Jane Theobald, Director at New Leaf Search, a specialist executive search firm focused exclusively on asset finance and leasing recruitment across the UK and EMEA markets.

​In today’s asset finance hiring market, there is a growing gap between how roles are advertised and how candidates actually experience the recruitment process.

Across the sector, a common question continues to arise: is there genuinely a shortage of talent, or are hiring outcomes being shaped by changing expectations around flexibility, transparency, and organisational decision making? As working models evolve and senior professionals become more selective about new opportunities, understanding this “flexibility gap” is becoming increasingly important for organisations looking to attract and retain high calibre talent.

Recent industry discussions highlight several recurring themes, including geographic flexibility, salary transparency, and the widening disconnect between job advertisements and market reality.

The Talent Shortage Debate

One of the most debated questions within the sector is whether there is genuinely a shortage of talent or whether recruitment outcomes are shaped more by how roles are structured and communicated.

Across the asset finance market, the reality sits somewhere in between. The pool of professionals with deep sector expertise remains finite, particularly at senior leadership and specialist technical levels. However, hiring processes, organisational expectations, and role presentation can significantly influence how accessible that talent becomes.

In many cases, the challenge is less about identifying capable individuals and more about aligning expectations with candidates who are already successful, well compensated, and highly selective about new opportunities. Increasingly, it is not only hiring strategies that influence outcomes, but also how opportunities are presented to the market and how clearly candidates understand whether a role represents a defined mandate or exploratory engagement. In recent searches, candidates have declined otherwise strong opportunities primarily due to unclear flexibility expectations or lack of upfront remuneration clarity.

The “Remote but Not Really” Challenge

Over recent years, job descriptions increasingly reference remote, flexible, or hybrid working arrangements. Yet candidates frequently report that geographic expectations emerge later in the process.

This dynamic rarely reflects intentional misrepresentation. More often, it highlights an internal tension between formal policy and operational reality. Organisations may genuinely support flexible working models, but leadership proximity continues to influence decision making. Access to senior stakeholders, ease of collaboration, and established organisational culture can create an implicit preference for candidates located within certain regions.

While pragmatic from an organisational perspective, this can appear inconsistent to candidates, particularly when roles are marketed nationally. The result is frustration on both sides and, ultimately, a narrower talent pool than originally intended.

​Salary Transparency and Internal Constraints

The absence of clearly advertised salary ranges remains another recurring topic. Candidates increasingly expect upfront clarity, particularly at senior levels where engaging in a recruitment process represents a significant investment of time and professional capital.

However, organisations often face internal constraints that are less visible externally. Pay equity considerations, internal benchmarking, and the need to maintain consistency across existing teams frequently influence whether salary details can be disclosed publicly. In some cases, compensation structures remain deliberately flexible until the right candidate profile emerges.

While understandable, market expectations are shifting. High calibre candidates are increasingly selective about engaging with roles where remuneration and expectations remain unclear. The balance between internal governance and external transparency is therefore becoming a strategic hiring consideration.

Recruitment Advertising, Phantom Roles, and Market Perception

A further nuance increasingly discussed within the industry is how recruitment processes and advertising practices shape market perception. In some situations, organisations may run external searches not solely to identify a new hire, but to benchmark the external market against a preferred or emerging internal candidate. Governance requirements, fairness considerations, or succession planning can make such exercises necessary, and the decision to pursue them ultimately sits with the hiring organisation rather than the recruitment partner.

Alongside this, recruitment advertising practices themselves can also influence candidate trust. In some cases, roles are promoted without a confirmed mandate, either to build candidate pipelines, test market availability, or support longer term business development objectives.

Neither approach is inherently problematic when managed transparently. However, both can carry hidden costs. Recruitment firms and candidates invest significant time and energy, and when opportunities prove primarily exploratory or speculative, it can place strain on relationships, particularly at senior level where engagement relies heavily on trust and credibility. Over time, repeated experiences of this nature may contribute to growing scepticism among candidates and influence how the wider recruitment market is perceived.

Clear communication around intent, realistic expectation setting, and transparent advertising therefore become essential. Distinguishing between live assignments and exploratory market mapping helps maintain credibility and fosters stronger long term relationships between recruiters, candidates, and hiring organisations. These themes were explored further in the blog “Phantom Job Adverts – What to look out for!”, which highlights how clarity in advertising supports confidence across the asset finance recruitment ecosystem.

The Impact of Recruitment Messaging

How roles are positioned within recruitment advertising plays a significant role in shaping candidate engagement. In a competitive talent market, clarity around the nature and maturity of an opportunity is becoming as important as the opportunity itself. Vague descriptions, overly broad flexibility claims, or ambiguous salary messaging can unintentionally signal uncertainty, even when opportunities are strong.

Clear role definition, realistic expectations, and transparent communication enhance candidate experience while improving hiring outcomes by attracting individuals whose motivations genuinely align with organisational needs.

Bridging the Expectation Gap

The evolving asset finance landscape places increasing emphasis on alignment. Hiring leaders are navigating changing working models, technological transformation, and competitive talent dynamics, while candidates reassess priorities around flexibility, career progression, and organisational culture.

Ultimately, successful hiring within asset finance is less about adopting a single “correct” approach and more about clarity. When expectations are articulated transparently and decisions are made decisively, the likelihood of sustainable matches increases significantly.

​Looking Ahead

The conversations taking place across the industry signal evolution rather than fundamental disruption. As expectations around flexibility and transparency continue to mature, organisations that adapt their recruitment strategies accordingly will gain a competitive advantage.

Asset finance remains a relationship driven sector built on trust and credibility. Organisations that communicate expectations clearly and act decisively will attract the strongest talent. In an increasingly transparent market, clarity itself has become a competitive advantage.