Administrative assistant to secretary
An administrative assistant already meets 71% of what the secretary role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
34.4/ 100
1 How much of what a secretary 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 secretary role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A secretary role treats 18 of its required skills as things an administrative assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- company policies
- disseminate internal communications
- disseminate messages to people
- draft corporate emails
- file documents
- fill out forms
What stands in the way is 4 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 26 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secretary 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 monitor staff absences information skills
- already held organise travel arrangements for staff communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use personal organization software working with computers
- already held organise facilities for office personnel management skills
- already held manage personnel agenda management skills
- already held draft corporate emails communication, collaboration and creativity
All 26 carried skills, including the 18 the secretary role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 4 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 communicate by telephone required
- optional, not held place orders for printed paper goods optional
- optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
- optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
- optional, not held liaise with typists optional
- optional, not held manage needs for stationery items optional
- optional, not held write meeting reports optional
- still to learn administer appointments required
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held manage accounts optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- still to learn use word processing software required
- optional, not held manage online content optional
- optional, not held labour law optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held education law optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a secretary role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 communicate schedules to the people concerned practise 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 26 skills that carry over
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held disseminate internal communications skill
- already held disseminate messages to people skill
- already held draft corporate emails skill
- already held file documents skill
- already held fill out forms skill
- already held handle mail skill
- already held keep task records skill
- already held maintain internal communication systems skill
- already held manage digital documents skill
- already held manage personnel agenda skill
- already held monitor staff absences skill
- already held organise business documents skill
- already held organise facilities for office personnel skill
- already held perform office routine activities skill
- already held process commissioned instructions skill
- already held use microsoft office skill
- already held use spreadsheets software skill
- already held accounting techniques knowledge
- already held deliver correspondence skill
- already held handle petty cash skill
- already held issue sales invoices skill
- already held organise travel arrangements for staff skill
- already held prepare presentation material skill
- already held use office systems skill
- already held use personal organization software skill
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held labour law optional
- optional, not held manage online content optional
- optional, not held place orders for printed paper goods optional
- optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
- optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held education law optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held liaise with typists optional
- optional, not held manage accounts optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage needs for stationery items optional
- optional, not held write meeting reports optional
15 held skills the secretary role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role business communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate events skill
- not needed by the target role create import-export commercial documentation skill
- not needed by the target role disseminate general corporate information skill
- not needed by the target role ensure proper document management skill
- not needed by the target role fix meetings skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers 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 perform business research skill
- not needed by the target role plan schedule 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 speak different languages skill
- not needed by the target role transcription methods knowledge
3 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 labour law optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held education law optional
Other moves recorded from administrative assistant
- office clerk 53% covered · moderate
- management assistant 50% covered · moderate
- executive assistant 49% covered · substantial
- 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 a secretary?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An administrative assistant already covers 71% of what a secretary is expected to do: 26 skills carry over, 18 of which the secretary role treats as required.
What skills does an administrative assistant need to become a secretary?
4 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is communicate schedules to the people concerned.
How hard is the move from administrative assistant to secretary?
Its learning distance is 34.4 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.