Advertising assistant to creative director
An advertising assistant already meets 32% of what the creative director role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
67.6/ 100
1 How much of what a creative director is expected to do is already part of an advertising 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 creative director role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A creative director role treats 5 of its required skills as things an advertising assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advertising techniques
- coordinate advertising campaigns
- examine advertisement layout
- identify customer's needs
- manage budgets
What stands in the way is 13 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 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A creative director role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an advertising assistant background worth leading with.
- already held examine advertisement layout information skills
- already held create advertisements communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held create media plan management skills
- already held media planning arts and humanities
- already held perform media outlets research information skills
- already held adobe creative suite information and communication technologies (icts)
All 14 carried skills, including the 5 the creative director role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 25 missing skills fall into 7 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 assess each stage of the creative process required
- still to learn define creative components required
- still to learn provide input to collaborators to guide their work required
- still to learn select artwork developed by staff members required
- still to learn brainstorm ideas required
- still to learn give live presentation required
- still to learn manage workflow processes required
- optional, not held approve advertising campaign optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- still to learn manage creative department required
- still to learn manage staff required
- optional, not held manage the handling of promotional materials optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held receive actors' resumes optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn meet expectations of target audience required
- optional, not held analyse consumer buying trends optional
- optional, not held analyse cultural trends optional
- still to learn copyright legislation required
- optional, not held design management optional
- still to learn desktop publishing required
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- still to learn graphic design required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a creative director role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 assess each stage of the creative process practise this
- 02 define creative components practise this
- 03 provide input to collaborators to guide their work 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 14 skills that carry over
- already held advertising techniques knowledge
- already held coordinate advertising campaigns skill
- already held examine advertisement layout skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held adobe creative suite knowledge
- already held create advertisements skill
- already held create media plan skill
- already held develop media strategy skill
- already held evaluate advertising campaign skill
- already held media planning knowledge
- already held perform market research skill
- already held perform media outlets research skill
- already held types of media knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
- optional, not held analyse consumer buying trends optional
- optional, not held analyse cultural trends optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held approve advertising campaign optional
- optional, not held manage the handling of promotional materials optional
- optional, not held perform project management optional
- optional, not held receive actors' resumes optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
18 held skills the creative director role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role collaborate in the development of marketing strategies skill
- not needed by the target role content marketing strategy knowledge
- not needed by the target role create content title skill
- not needed by the target role create media schedule skill
- not needed by the target role design graphics skill
- not needed by the target role develop creative ideas skill
- not needed by the target role develop digital content skill
- not needed by the target role digital media knowledge
- not needed by the target role file documents skill
- not needed by the target role implement marketing strategies skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with advertising agencies skill
- not needed by the target role monitor media industry research figures skill
- not needed by the target role perform business research skill
- not needed by the target role provide written content skill
- not needed by the target role support managers skill
- not needed by the target role use IT tools skill
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn copyright legislation required
- still to learn desktop publishing required
- still to learn graphic design required
- optional, not held design management optional
- optional, not held CAD software optional
Common questions about this move
Can an advertising assistant become a creative director?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An advertising assistant already covers 32% of what a creative director is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 5 of which the creative director role treats as required.
What skills does an advertising assistant need to become a creative director?
13 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is assess each stage of the creative process.
How hard is the move from advertising assistant to creative director?
Its learning distance is 67.6 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.