There’s no doubt that 2018 has been off to a strong start. According to the most recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2018 marked the 90^th consecutive month of job growth in the U.S. For professionals in the financial services industry, this not only means more opportunities, but in addition to that, business is booming—especially for hedge funds.

In particular, macro hedge funds have seen some nice returns in Q1, and they’re responding by increasing their hiring to keep up with business demands. “Our economy is finally seeing an uptick in interest rates, which should help returns for macro hedge funds as the markets see increased volatility,” says Ryan Murphy, a Senior Managing Director within The Execu|Search Group’s Financial Services division.

Macro funds, which bet on macroeconomic trends using currencies, bonds, rates, and stock futures, have been outperforming the broader industry for over a year, becoming a top hedge fund strategy among investors. “Because of this increasing demand, macro hedge funds in particular are scaling up their businesses and substantially expanding their hiring efforts,” explains Ryan. “We haven’t seen hiring like this before.”

This trend includes bolstering back office departments like internal auditing and fund administration in order to address current business needs. As a result, professionals who specialize in these roles may find many lucrative opportunities in the job market. “Opening new jobs in back office roles allows for these hedge funds to build a solid infrastructure for their operations,” says Ryan.

For financial services professionals who work in the back office, Ryan suggests that you take a look at job openings, even if you’re happy in your current role. “With so many opportunities out there and the job market thriving, you may miss out on an excellent opportunity if you don’t learn what’s available to you,” he says. To get a feel for the market, consider consulting a recruiter who can give you more insight into your market value in the financial services industry.

Additionally, these hedge funds are making efforts to attract top talent. As they continue to struggle to find high quality hires in this competitive job market, they’ve begun to increase compensation to entice top performers. “We’ve seen higher than usual base salary offers with pay equity at hedge funds lately,” explains Ryan. “As a result, if you’re not sure you’re being compensated fairly in your current role, now is the time to look at your options—you may be surprised at how much your base salary could increase in your next role!”

Coupled with unprecedented hiring, this candidate-driven market is giving financial services professionals a lot of leverage in the hiring process. “Many professionals may not realize how valuable their skillset is until they get into the job market,” says Ryan. “We’ve seen many of our recent candidates receive multiple offers, and this has allowed them more opportunities to negotiate for everything they want in their next role.”