Recruiters at financial advisory firms need to think outside the box when looking for job candidates for their firms, advises Brie Williams, head of practice management at State Street Global Advisors, a Boston-based asset manager with more than $2.4 trillion in client assets.

Instead of looking just at business school and financial planning graduates, recruiters should look for good candidates from other backgrounds as well, she says.

“The head count for financial advisors will drop by 2020 and within 14 years half of the advisors active now will exit the business,” says Williams. “There also is a lack of diversity in the industry.”

To counter both trends, firms need to bring in more young people, women and minorities. To facilitate that, firms should look at all types of resumes, including those from people outside the financial field.

“Look for people who will be good employees for the long term,” she says. That will be attractive to investors who are looking for someone to follow them through their whole lives and through multiple generations.

The industry is making headway in hiring women, young people and minorities, “but there is a lot of work to be done yet,” says Williams, adding that the retirement of so many advisors in the next few years is an opportunity to bring in diverse talent.

“As an industry, we can do a better job of working with universities to promote the field,” she says. “At the same time, as recruiters, we can look to other academic majors for candidates. Look at the pool of candidates for positions and for internships to see if the candidates are a diverse group.”