Administrative assistant to executive assistant
An administrative assistant already meets 49% of what the executive assistant role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.8/ 100
1 How much of what an executive assistant is expected to do is already part of an administrative assistant’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 executive assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An executive assistant role treats 14 of its required skills as things an administrative assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- business communication
- company policies
- coordinate events
- disseminate messages to people
- draft corporate emails
- fix meetings
What stands in the way is 11 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 17 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An executive assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an administrative assistant background worth leading with.
- already held organise travel arrangements for staff communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage personnel agenda management skills
- already held draft corporate emails communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held disseminate messages to people management skills
- already held perform business research information skills
- already held process commissioned instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
All 17 carried skills, including the 14 the executive assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 missing skills fall into 6 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 communicate schedules to the people concerned required
- still to learn build business relationships required
- still to learn build trust required
- still to learn use different communication channels required
- optional, not held liaise with board members optional
- optional, not held work in an international environment optional
- optional, not held build international relations optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held show intercultural awareness optional
- optional, not held translate language concepts optional
- still to learn maintain register of shareholders required
- still to learn translate keywords into full texts required
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
- optional, not held prepare tax returns forms optional
- optional, not held revise drafts made by managers optional
- still to learn apply information security policies required
- still to learn observe confidentiality required
- still to learn manage office facility systems required
- still to learn use word processing software required
- still to learn perform clerical duties required
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- optional, not held international import export regulations optional
- optional, not held international tariffs optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an executive assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply information security policies practise this
- 02 communicate schedules to the people concerned practise this
- 03 build business relationships 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 17 skills that carry over
- already held business communication knowledge
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held coordinate events skill
- already held disseminate messages to people skill
- already held draft corporate emails skill
- already held fix meetings skill
- already held liaise with managers skill
- already held manage personnel agenda skill
- already held organise travel arrangements for staff skill
- already held perform business research skill
- already held plan schedule skill
- already held process commissioned instructions skill
- already held use office systems skill
- already held use spreadsheets software skill
- already held create import-export commercial documentation skill
- already held prepare presentation material skill
- already held speak different languages skill
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held international import export regulations optional
- optional, not held international tariffs optional
- optional, not held liaise with board members optional
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- optional, not held work in an international environment optional
- optional, not held build international relations optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
- optional, not held prepare tax returns forms optional
- optional, not held revise drafts made by managers optional
- optional, not held show intercultural awareness optional
- optional, not held translate language concepts optional
24 held skills the executive assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role deliver correspondence skill
- not needed by the target role disseminate general corporate information skill
- not needed by the target role disseminate internal communications skill
- not needed by the target role ensure proper document management skill
- not needed by the target role file documents skill
- not needed by the target role fill out forms skill
- not needed by the target role handle mail skill
- not needed by the target role handle petty cash skill
- not needed by the target role issue sales invoices skill
- not needed by the target role keep task records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain internal communication systems skill
- not needed by the target role maintain inventory of office supplies skill
- not needed by the target role maintain statutory books skill
- not needed by the target role manage digital documents skill
- not needed by the target role monitor staff absences 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 provide customer follow-up services skill
- not needed by the target role respect data protection principles skill
- not needed by the target role transcription methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role use microsoft office skill
- not needed by the target role use personal organization software skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held international import export regulations optional
- optional, not held international tariffs optional
Other moves recorded from administrative assistant
- secretary 71% covered · moderate
- office clerk 53% covered · moderate
- management assistant 50% covered · moderate
- foreign language correspondence clerk 44% covered · moderate
- file clerk 40% covered · substantial
- receptionist 33% covered · substantial
- supply chain assistant 32% covered · substantial
- billing clerk 29% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can an administrative assistant become an executive assistant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An administrative assistant already covers 49% of what an executive assistant is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 14 of which the executive assistant role treats as required.
What skills does an administrative assistant need to become an executive assistant?
11 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is apply information security policies.
How hard is the move from administrative assistant to executive assistant?
Its learning distance is 55.8 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.