Investment clerk to back office specialist
An investment clerk already meets 45% of what the back office specialist role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.6/ 100
1 How much of what a back office specialist is expected to do is already part of an investment clerk’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 back office specialist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A back office specialist role treats 8 of its required skills as things an investment clerk already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- banking activities
- handle paperwork
- maintain records of financial transactions
- offer financial services
- office software
- perform clerical duties
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. A back office specialist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an investment clerk 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 8 the back office specialist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 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 manage administrative systems required
- still to learn coordinate operational activities required
- still to learn manage financial aspects of a company required
- still to learn process payments required
- optional, not held manage loan administration optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- still to learn office administration required
- still to learn business processes required
- still to learn financial management required
- optional, not held principles of insurance optional
- optional, not held project management optional
- still to learn monitor company policy required
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held provide support in financial calculation optional
- still to learn comply with legal regulations required
- optional, not held apply company policies optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a back office specialist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manage administrative systems practise this
- 02 office administration study this
- 03 business processes study 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 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 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 handle financial transactions skill
- already held obtain financial information skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held securities knowledge
- already held trace financial transactions skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held manage loan administration optional
- optional, not held principles of insurance optional
- optional, not held project management optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- optional, not held apply company policies optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held provide support in financial calculation optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
17 held skills the back office specialist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
- not needed by the target role deliver correspondence skill
- not needed by the target role digitise documents skill
- not needed by the target role disseminate messages to people skill
- not needed by the target role economics knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure proper document management skill
- not needed by the target role financial markets knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow written instructions skill
- not needed by the target role handle mail skill
- not needed by the target role organise business documents skill
- not needed by the target role organise facilities for office personnel skill
- not needed by the target role perform office routine activities skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
6 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 office administration required
- still to learn business processes required
- still to learn financial management required
- optional, not held principles of insurance optional
- optional, not held project management optional
- optional, not held statistics optional
Common questions about this move
Can an investment clerk become a back office specialist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An investment clerk already covers 45% of what a back office specialist is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 8 of which the back office specialist role treats as required.
What skills does an investment clerk need to become a back office specialist?
9 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is manage administrative systems.
How hard is the move from investment clerk to back office specialist?
Its learning distance is 55.6 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.