During the COVID-19 pandemic, professionals within the commerce and finance sector stayed put in their jobs out of a desire for job security. That has since changed as Singapore transitions to an endemic phase, and candidates have followed suit by expressing more openness towards exploring new job opportunities. “In the tail end of 2022, we see more companies opening up contract roles to fill headcount amidst cost cutting exercises,” shares Anarane Thng, Manager of Commerce Contract at Robert Walters Singapore. 

Read on to find out more as Anarane shares her expectations of the labour market and hiring trends for Commerce and Finance professionals in 2023, with an emphasis on contracting roles.

Going digital to stand out

“Generally, candidates who don’t shy away from digitalisation will be sought after in 2023. We’ve seen recently in this space that increasingly, candidates who possess hands-on experience with analytics software tend to be very successful within the job market,” Anarane states. “Those with great soft skills will also continue to rise above the crowd.”

Automation and revenue drivers to prevail

Budget cuts will have a significant influence on the types of roles and skill sets that are in demand in 2023.

“Now that businesses are more cost-conscious, they will look to combine reviewing and reporting into a single role. The result is that in the year ahead, we’ll see more roles that are a hybrid of financial accounting and management reporting,” Anarane shares. “To reduce headcount for manual roles, companies will seek out candidates with digital transformation experience in finance to fill roles related to automation and process improvement.”

She adds, “Companies will also place more emphasis on finance business partnering roles as these roles will serve as revenue drivers for the business.” For the same reason, financial planning and analysis (FP&A) roles will also be in demand.

Keeping up with hiring trends

“Post-COVID, candidates have gotten accustomed to a different way of working. My advice to hiring managers in 2023 is to explore hybrid work arrangements. In addition, good candidates are in high demand, especially now that candidates are more open to exploring new opportunities so it is important to offer competitive salary packages. Lastly, instead of trying to find candidates that fit all of the criteria you’re looking for, be open to hiring a candidate based on their potential,” Anarane advises.

Be open to hiring a candidate based on their potential.

Salary to remain stable

Anarane highlights, “We expect salaries to remain stable across the board in 2023 given that businesses are now watching their budgets closely.”

Find out more

Request access to our 2023 Salary Survey to benchmark salaries and to find out more about key hiring trends for Commerce Finance contract professionals in Singapore.