What’s the fastest route from admin to paraplanner?

Hi guys, I currently do a hybrid role of some admin & some basic Suitability Letters and my employer’s aim is to get me to Paraplanner by introducing more complex stuff ongoing.

I have DipPFS but not much experience but I’m learning fast!

What would you guys do to speed up a promotion?

I’d like the salary increase! My partner and I want to travel more so it’s needed :smiley:

Comments

  • Hi Rick,

    You are not the first person to have this thought; and also won't be the last.

    I think a lot of the time it depends on the Employer... if you have the Diploma it's all about when they consider you have the necessary experience to start to tackle more complex cases. I think the only thing you can do is explain to them that you are ready to tackle more complex cases/Paraplanning duties as and when they consider that suitable (no pun intended). I'd recommend watching webinars, and the assemblies on here, and picking up more and more information as you go so that when they start to pass you said more complex matters you have an even better foundation to tackle them.

    The only other thing I would stress is to make sure you don't run before before you walk. There's a lot to be said for learning the ropes one rung at a time and whilst in the short term the salary increase would be brilliant (and don't we all need it!) over the long term a 'blood and thunder' approach may actually hinder you for the sake of rushing...

    I hope the above helps.

  • It would probably help you to have a detailed job description/role expectation for the Paraplanning job as a starting point.
    This gives you (& your employer) clarity as to what you both think the role entails. This, in turn, will give you pointers on technical areas to start learning about.
    See what tech area you are interested in, see if adviser has done a case related to that in the past and then, having read up about the tech area see if you can produce a SR for that area for the cleint so you can comapre your SR to the one actually issued.
    If your advisers use cash flow modeling is this something you are familiar with? If not, again, start wokring on that areas as well.

  • I don't think there is a 'quick' solution as such, and trying to rush because you need the money could well end in tears.

    It's great that you're a fast learner as this will certainly help. Assuming that there are other paraplanners where you work, lean on them and learn from them what you can. The role of paraplanner differs from firm to firm, and, as others have said, you need to fully understand what your employer perceives as the role of a paraplanner where you work.

    As Richard has suggested, a detailed job description will help, and a chat with your employer where you can set clear timescales for what you want to achieve, and their thoughts on what they think you should do to be considered for a promotion/salary review.

    Are you also continuing your studies? DipPFS opened many doors for me, and AFPS will open even more, so that should definitely be in your long term plan

  • Make sure the paraplanning log details the case type. I was chucked in at the deep end in my first proper paraplanning job. The way I learnt was every time I was given a case, I scanned the log for a similar case(s) and replicated it. I was fortunate that the guy who had filled the role before me was very good at showing his working and saving everything down. We also had PPOL which is crap but a good starting point if you don't have much in house material. It's a big ask for anyone to write from scratch - what templates / report writing software do you have?

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