Letting agent to property assistant
A letting agent already meets 46% of what the property assistant role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
57.8/ 100
1 How much of what a property assistant is expected to do is already part of a letting agent’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 property assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A property assistant role treats 10 of its required skills as things a letting agent already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- collect property financial information
- communicate with customers
- fix meetings
- identify customer's needs
- inform on renting agreements
- obtain financial information
What stands in the way is 10 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 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A property assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a letting agent background worth leading with.
- already held prepare inventory of properties information skills
- already held organise property viewing management skills
- already held inform on renting agreements communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held concurrent estate business, administration and law
- already held advise on property value communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held examine the conditions of buildings information skills
All 20 carried skills, including the 10 the property assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 27 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 administer appointments required
- still to learn handle financial transactions required
- still to learn organise business documents required
- still to learn perform office routine activities required
- optional, not held create a financial plan optional
- optional, not held organise a damage assessment optional
- optional, not held plan buildings maintenance work optional
- still to learn communicate by telephone required
- still to learn process commissioned instructions required
- optional, not held advise on investment optional
- optional, not held handle tenant changeover optional
- optional, not held liaise with property owners optional
- optional, not held negotiate on asset value optional
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- still to learn maintain records of financial transactions required
- optional, not held prepare sales checks optional
- optional, not held estimate profitability optional
- optional, not held maintain inventory of office supplies optional
- optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
- optional, not held trace financial transactions optional
- optional, not held value properties optional
- still to learn customer service required
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held marketing principles optional
- still to learn electronic communication required
- still to learn office software required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a property assistant 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 administer appointments practise this
- 03 communicate by telephone 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 20 skills that carry over
- already held collect property financial information skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held fix meetings skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held inform on renting agreements skill
- already held obtain financial information skill
- already held prepare inventory of properties skill
- already held provide information on properties skill
- already held real estate market knowledge
- already held use office systems skill
- already held advertising techniques knowledge
- already held advise on property value skill
- already held attend trade fairs skill
- already held compare property values skill
- already held concurrent estate knowledge
- already held examine the conditions of buildings skill
- already held organise property viewing skill
- already held perform property market research skill
- already held property law knowledge
- already held prospect new customers skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held assist in loan applications optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on investment optional
- optional, not held handle tenant changeover optional
- optional, not held liaise with property owners optional
- optional, not held negotiate on asset value optional
- optional, not held prepare sales checks optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held assist in loan applications optional
- optional, not held create a financial plan optional
- optional, not held estimate profitability optional
- optional, not held liaise with local authorities optional
- optional, not held maintain inventory of office supplies optional
- optional, not held marketing principles optional
- optional, not held organise a damage assessment optional
- optional, not held plan buildings maintenance work optional
- optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
- optional, not held trace financial transactions optional
- optional, not held value properties optional
14 held skills the property assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role building codes knowledge
- not needed by the target role check construction compliance skill
- not needed by the target role collect customer data skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with tenants skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate advertising campaigns skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate events skill
- not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
- not needed by the target role examine credit ratings skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with advertising agencies skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role office administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role plan marketing campaigns skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports 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
- still to learn office software required
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held marketing principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a letting agent become a property assistant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A letting agent already covers 46% of what a property assistant is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 10 of which the property assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a letting agent need to become a property assistant?
10 required skills are missing, plus 17 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 letting agent to property assistant?
Its learning distance is 57.8 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.