Back office specialist to investment clerk
A back office specialist already meets 50% of what the investment clerk role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
50.9/ 100
1 How much of what an investment clerk is expected to do is already part of a back office specialist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the investment clerk role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An investment clerk role treats 10 of its required skills as things a back office specialist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- banking activities
- handle financial transactions
- handle paperwork
- maintain records of financial transactions
- offer financial services
- office software
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An investment clerk role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a back office specialist background worth leading with.
- already held handle paperwork management skills
- already held offer financial services communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held provide financial product information communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use office systems management skills
- already held office software information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held maintain records of financial transactions information skills
All 15 carried skills, including the 10 the investment clerk role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn handle mail required
- still to learn disseminate messages to people required
- still to learn organise business documents required
- still to learn perform office routine activities required
- optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
- optional, not held organise facilities for office personnel optional
- still to learn follow written instructions required
- still to learn use different communication channels required
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- still to learn customer service required
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held financial markets optional
- still to learn electronic communication required
- optional, not held ensure proper document management optional
- optional, not held economics optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an investment clerk role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 customer service study this
- 02 handle mail practise this
- 03 disseminate messages to people practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 15 skills that carry over
- already held banking activities knowledge
- already held handle financial transactions skill
- already held handle paperwork skill
- already held maintain records of financial transactions skill
- already held offer financial services skill
- already held office software knowledge
- already held perform clerical duties skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held provide financial product information skill
- already held use office systems skill
- already held communicate with banking professionals skill
- already held financial products knowledge
- already held obtain financial information skill
- already held securities knowledge
- already held trace financial transactions skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held digitise documents optional
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
- optional, not held digitise documents optional
- optional, not held economics optional
- optional, not held ensure proper document management optional
- optional, not held financial markets optional
- optional, not held organise facilities for office personnel optional
20 held skills the investment clerk role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on financial matters skill
- not needed by the target role apply company policies skill
- not needed by the target role business processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role comply with legal regulations skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate operational activities skill
- not needed by the target role financial management knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain contract administration skill
- not needed by the target role manage administrative systems skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role manage financial aspects of a company skill
- not needed by the target role manage loan administration skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role monitor company policy skill
- not needed by the target role office administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role principles of insurance knowledge
- not needed by the target role process payments skill
- not needed by the target role project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide support in financial calculation skill
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn customer service required
- still to learn electronic communication required
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held economics optional
- optional, not held financial markets optional
Common questions about this move
Can a back office specialist become an investment clerk?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A back office specialist already covers 50% of what an investment clerk is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 10 of which the investment clerk role treats as required.
What skills does a back office specialist need to become an investment clerk?
9 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is customer service.
How hard is the move from back office specialist to investment clerk?
Its learning distance is 50.9 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.