The skill requirements across the various parts of an investment bank can vary despite a number of common themes. Notably, given that an M&A deal can take several months to pull together, there's necessarily a significant focus on organization and teamworking. This contrasts with research where there is a stronger focus on responding to market data, requiring strong comms skills and the ability to process data quickly. Risk management also stands out as a middle office function, which requires significant negotiation skills. Professionals have to convince the front office to stay within risk limits while enabling them to make the most out of lucrative deals. These skills are, of course, broad themes, which give you a general impression of the differences in their main roles.