We don't need things to get better; we just need to know that they're not going to get worse!

The current situation is one that the experts are struggling to get to grips with because it has no real precedent. Yes, there have been bear markets, Black Mondays, recessions, depressions and Winters of Discontent, but such a crisis in confidence after such a lengthy period of economic growth is unprecedented in modern times.

The single most crippling thing about the current situation is the uncertainty. Until the market is reasonably certain that things are not going to get significantly worse everyone – including those in relatively strong positions – will be reluctant to make decisions. That lack of decisiveness creates more uncertainty still, ad infinitum.

The good news is that the investment banks have now adopted a very sensible worst-case scenario approach in announcing their potential losses. By writing down more now, when the market is braced for bad news, they will hopefully be able to announce better than anticipated results in the future.

The even better news is that this credit crisis has been so immediate and severe that we may well have seen the worst of it already. As George Soros once said, "The worse a situation becomes the less it takes to turn it around, the bigger the upside."

The recruitment angle to all this is that we need the uncertainty to lift so that those waiting on the sidelines can take advantage of the value that is out there.

'Taking advantage' generally involves recruitment. Organisations with a relatively intact balance sheet to lend from, or with a pot of equity to invest, will need to hire to utilise either effectively. We predict that in a market where credit will be tighter for some time to come, people with the ability to source and structure debt to fund real estate investment and development will be increasingly sought after.

As the uncertainty lifts the value of assets will also become clearer, and those with portfolios to manage will be able to refinance more easily and start planning for the future. It will be some time before we hear phrases such as 'aggressive expansion' or 'recruitment drive' in the real estate sector, but 'cautious growth' and 'opportunistic hires' may not be too far away.

Timothy Rowe is joint managing director of Cobalt Recruitment.

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