Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Communication manager to advertising manager

A communication manager already meets 56% of what the advertising manager role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From communication manager
56 % overlap
Partial match
To advertising manager
24 You already bring
11 Still to learn
55 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

53/ 100

1 How much of what an advertising manager is expected to do is already part of a communication manager’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 advertising manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An advertising manager role treats 22 of its required skills as things a communication manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • advise on public image
  • advise on public relations
  • analyse external factors of companies
  • communication principles
  • conduct public presentations
  • corporate social responsibility

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

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 24 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An advertising manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a communication manager background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held forming of public opinion business, administration and law
  • already held give interviews to media communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held organise press conferences management skills
  • already held develop public relations strategies management skills
  • already held establish relationship with the media communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held reputation management business, administration and law

All 24 carried skills, including the 22 the advertising manager role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 31 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 management skills 4 required, 7 supplementary
  • still to learn coordinate advertising campaigns required
  • still to learn coordinate marketing plan actions required
  • still to learn manage budgets required
  • still to learn perform project management required
  • optional, not held manage account department optional
  • optional, not held manage creative department optional
  • optional, not held manage media services department optional
  • optional, not held manage staff optional
  • optional, not held manage the handling of promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held receive actors' resumes optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
02 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn identify customer's needs required
  • still to learn develop creative ideas required
  • still to learn manage contracts required
  • optional, not held approve advertising campaign optional
  • optional, not held collaborate in the development of marketing strategies optional
  • optional, not held develop inclusive communication material optional
  • optional, not held give live presentation optional
03 information skills 2 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn draw conclusions from market research results required
  • still to learn provide cost benefit analysis reports required
  • optional, not held make price recommendations optional
  • optional, not held evaluate advertising campaign optional
  • optional, not held examine advertisement layout optional
  • optional, not held manage project metrics optional
  • optional, not held use analytics for commercial purposes optional
04 business, administration and law 2 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn advertising techniques required
  • still to learn copyright legislation required
  • optional, not held business strategy concepts optional
  • optional, not held pricing strategies optional
05 arts and humanities 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held graphic design optional
06 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held desktop publishing optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an advertising manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 24 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held advise on public image skill
  • already held advise on public relations skill
  • already held analyse external factors of companies skill
  • already held communication principles knowledge
  • already held conduct public presentations skill
  • already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
  • already held develop communications strategies skill
  • already held develop public relations strategies skill
  • already held diplomatic principles knowledge
  • already held draft press releases skill
  • already held establish relationship with the media skill
  • already held forming of public opinion knowledge
  • already held give interviews to media skill
  • already held integrate strategic foundation in daily performance skill
  • already held market research knowledge
  • already held organise press conferences skill
  • already held perform public relations skill
  • already held prepare presentation material skill
  • already held protect client interests skill
  • already held rhetoric knowledge
  • already held strategic planning knowledge
  • already held use different communication channels skill
  • already held advise on communication strategies skill
  • already held reputation management knowledge
20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held make price recommendations optional
  • optional, not held approve advertising campaign optional
  • optional, not held business strategy concepts optional
  • optional, not held collaborate in the development of marketing strategies optional
  • optional, not held desktop publishing optional
  • optional, not held develop inclusive communication material optional
  • optional, not held evaluate advertising campaign optional
  • optional, not held examine advertisement layout optional
  • optional, not held give live presentation optional
  • optional, not held graphic design optional
  • optional, not held manage account department optional
  • optional, not held manage creative department optional
  • optional, not held manage media services department optional
  • optional, not held manage project metrics optional
  • optional, not held manage staff optional
  • optional, not held manage the handling of promotional materials optional
  • optional, not held pricing strategies optional
  • optional, not held receive actors' resumes optional
  • optional, not held recruit employees optional
  • optional, not held use analytics for commercial purposes optional
37 held skills the advertising manager role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role analyse internal factors of companies skill
  • not needed by the target role apply diplomatic principles skill
  • not needed by the target role apply grammar and spelling rules skill
  • not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
  • not needed by the target role build community relations skill
  • not needed by the target role build international relations skill
  • not needed by the target role build trust skill
  • not needed by the target role business communication knowledge
  • not needed by the target role carry out forum moderation skill
  • not needed by the target role company policies knowledge
  • not needed by the target role compile content skill
  • not needed by the target role corporate sustainability knowledge
  • not needed by the target role develop professional network skill
  • not needed by the target role digital communication and collaboration skill
  • not needed by the target role disseminate internal communications skill
  • not needed by the target role establish communication with foreign cultures skill
  • not needed by the target role ethics of sharing work through social media knowledge
  • not needed by the target role follow the news skill
  • not needed by the target role government representation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role grammar knowledge
  • not needed by the target role identify clients' needs skill
  • not needed by the target role implement marketing strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role manage online communications skill
  • not needed by the target role manage visual communications skill
  • not needed by the target role media and information literacy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role office software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role organise participation in local or international events skill
  • not needed by the target role proofread text skill
  • not needed by the target role psychological concepts knowledge
  • not needed by the target role public relations knowledge
  • not needed by the target role share through digital technologies skill
  • not needed by the target role social media management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
  • not needed by the target role study communications channels for different employers/contractors skill
  • not needed by the target role use intranet skill
  • not needed by the target role use online tools to collaborate skill
  • not needed by the target role writing style guides knowledge
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn advertising techniques required
  • still to learn copyright legislation required
  • optional, not held business strategy concepts optional
  • optional, not held desktop publishing optional
  • optional, not held graphic design optional
  • optional, not held pricing strategies optional
Index

Other moves recorded from communication manager

Full index of moves from communication manager

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a communication manager become an advertising manager?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A communication manager already covers 56% of what an advertising manager is expected to do: 24 skills carry over, 22 of which the advertising manager role treats as required.

What skills does a communication manager need to become an advertising manager?

11 required skills are missing, plus 20 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is identify customer's needs.

How hard is the move from communication manager to advertising manager?

Its learning distance is 53 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.