Sales Agents, Securities and Commodities

Buy and sell securities in investment and trading firms and develop and implement financial plans for individuals, businesses, and organizations.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Read corporate reports and calculate ratios to determine best prospects for profit on stock purchases and to monitor client accounts.

• Prepare financial reports to monitor client or corporate finances.

• Supply the latest price quotes on any security, as well as information on the activities and financial positions of the corporations issuing these securities.

• Calculate costs for billings and commissions purposes.

• Inform and advise concerned parties regarding fluctuations and securities transactions affecting plans or accounts.

• Explain stock market terms and trading practices to clients.

• Analyze market conditions in order to determine optimum times to execute securities transactions.

• Prepare documents needed to implement plans selected by clients.

• Contact prospective customers to determine customer needs, present information, and explain available services.

• Review financial periodicals, stock and bond reports, business publications and other material in order to identify potential investments for clients and to keep abreast of trends affecting market conditions.

Back to top

Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

• Experience: A minimum of two to four years of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

• Education: Most of these occupations require a four - year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

• Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

• Examples: Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include accountants, human resource managers, computer programmers, teachers, chemists, and police detectives.

• Svp range: (7.0 to < 8.0)

Back to top

Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• Clerical
  Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

• Economics and Accounting
  Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• Sales and Marketing
  Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Back to top

Skills

Browse Skills

• Active Listening
  Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Persuasion
  Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Speaking
  Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Social Perceptiveness
  Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

• Monitoring
  Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

• Time Management
  Managing one's own time and the time of others.

• Judgment and Decision Making
  Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

• Critical Thinking
  Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

• Instructing
  Teaching others how to do something.

Back to top

Abilities

Browse Abilities

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Problem Sensitivity
  The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

• Fluency of Ideas
  The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

• Number Facility
  The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.

• Speech Recognition
  The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• Category Flexibility
  The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Back to top

Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Selling or Influencing Others
  Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.

• Communicating with Persons Outside Organization
  Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
  Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
  Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

• Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others
  Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Getting Information
  Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Back to top

Work Context

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Electronic Mail
  How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

• Deal With External Customers
  How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?

• Spend Time Sitting
  How much does this job require sitting?

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
  How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Level of Competition
  To what extent does this job require the worker to compete or to be aware of competitive pressures?

Back to top

Interests

Browse Interests

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Back to top

Work Styles

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Initiative
  Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Analytical Thinking
  Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

• Independence
  Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

• Adaptability/Flexibility
  Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

• Concern for Others
  Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

• Achievement/Effort
  Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

Back to top

Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Compensation
  Workers on this job are paid well in comparison with other workers.

• Recognition
  Workers on this job receive recognition for the work they do.

• Working Conditions
  Workers on this job have good working conditions.

• Responsibility
  Workers on this job make decisions on their own.

• Autonomy
  Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.

• Ability Utilization
  Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.

• Independence-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

• Social Status
  Workers on this job are looked up to by others in their company and their community.

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Activity
  Workers on this job are busy all the time.

Back to top