With billion pound bank bail-out packages on both sides of the Atlantic, and worldwide equities markets in turmoil, the City job market has rarely looked grimmer.

Few jobs are available, redundancies have put many people on the street and even the best candidates have to worry about shrinking earnings potential, at least in the short term. Not only has Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an attack on the bonus culture a key part of his financial rescue plan, but banks themselves will have less money to give.