It seems a lot of firms are looking for new Paraplanners.

In some cases, employers are expanding an already established paraplanner team and in others, advisers are looking for that one person who can help to ease their workload.

I see adverts for Paraplanner jobs frequently - in the press, emails, online forums and on social media. There's no denying that Paraplanners are in demand. Each of these adverts comes with its own (long) list of specific skills that the perfect member of staff should have in order to fit the bill. And why wouldn’t they? Of course, employers want to find someone who easily fits in with their existing team, processes and Financial Planning style.

Employers appear to ask for all sorts of talents such as qualification levels, familiarity with a specific piece of software or a penchant for cash flow planning. There’s often a catch-all requirement such as ‘be great at anything else that might be expected of you’ - just to cover off every skill that could possibly be required.

Perhaps this is why we see that advisers and business owners are finding it difficult to find the right person and we hear that even those being interviewed are failing to "hit the mark".

See this story for what I mean:

http://bit.ly/1TRicFv

Given such a tight specification attached to each vacancy, is it any wonder you can’t find the perfect candidate? In truth, it’s possible that the perfect candidate doesn't yet exist.

Let's look at this from another perspective. Those Paraplanners that already meet such a specification are likely to be happily ensconced in their comfortable offices and are unlikely to be applying for another position without good reason.

How about employing someone who's nearly there? Someone who, when interviewed, demonstrates their passion for improvement and enthusiasm for learning from a successful financial planning firm on their route to becoming a valuable team member.

Perhaps employers should change their strategy and look for someone taking their first tentative steps into the Financial Planning world. Someone who can be shaped to fit the team you already have.

Maybe you don’t physically need a new Paraplanner in your office at all. I have found that out-sourced firms are usually happy to work alongside in-house paraplanners and can be used to take off some of the pressure at times when the work keeps piling up. Consider speaking to one of the established out-sourced firms to see if they can help.

The Paraplanning profession is growing. But demand is currently outweighing supply.

More advisers should consider training someone up who has the potential to be a star, to help them understand how Financial Planning works for their clients, rather than expecting your Paraplanner to be perfect from the start.

• Joanna Hague is a Paraplanner at Investment for Life in Doncaster. Views are personal.

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