Communication manager to public relations officer
A communication manager already meets 84% of what the public relations officer role asks for. The move turns on 1 required skill not yet in the profile.
22.5/ 100
1 How much of what a public relations officer 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 public relations officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A public relations officer role treats 27 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
- build trust
- business communication
- communication principles
What stands in the way is 1 required skill 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 44 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A public relations officer 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.
- already held carry out forum moderation communication, collaboration and creativity
- 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 ethics of sharing work through social media arts and humanities
- already held psychological concepts social sciences, journalism and information
All 44 carried skills, including the 27 the public relations officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 16 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 develop digital content required
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- optional, not held work closely with news teams optional
- optional, not held develop creative ideas optional
- optional, not held develop promotional tools optional
- optional, not held give live presentation optional
- optional, not held liaise with politicians optional
- optional, not held liaise with quality assurance optional
- optional, not held cost management optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held perform business analysis optional
- optional, not held use analytics for commercial purposes optional
- optional, not held coordinate advertising campaigns optional
- optional, not held plan marketing campaigns optional
- optional, not held types of media optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 1 entries a public relations officer 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 · The rest of the record
All 44 skills that carry over
- already held advise on public image skill
- already held advise on public relations skill
- already held analyse external factors of companies skill
- already held build trust skill
- already held business communication knowledge
- already held communication principles knowledge
- already held conduct public presentations skill
- already held corporate social responsibility knowledge
- already held corporate sustainability knowledge
- already held develop communications strategies skill
- already held develop public relations strategies skill
- already held digital communication and collaboration 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 reputation management knowledge
- 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 analyse internal factors of companies skill
- already held apply diplomatic principles skill
- already held build business relationships skill
- already held build community relations skill
- already held build international relations skill
- already held carry out forum moderation skill
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held compile content skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held ethics of sharing work through social media knowledge
- already held follow the news skill
- already held government representation knowledge
- already held implement marketing strategies skill
- already held psychological concepts knowledge
- already held social media management knowledge
- already held speak different languages skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held cost management optional
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- optional, not held work closely with news teams optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held coordinate advertising campaigns optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held develop creative ideas optional
- optional, not held develop promotional tools optional
- optional, not held give live presentation optional
- optional, not held liaise with politicians optional
- optional, not held liaise with quality assurance optional
- optional, not held perform business analysis optional
- optional, not held plan marketing campaigns optional
- optional, not held types of media optional
- optional, not held use analytics for commercial purposes optional
17 held skills the public relations officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply grammar and spelling rules 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 grammar knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify clients' needs 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 public relations knowledge
- not needed by the target role share through digital technologies 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
4 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 cost management optional
- optional, not held content marketing strategy optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held types of media optional
Common questions about this move
Can a communication manager become a public relations officer?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A communication manager already covers 84% of what a public relations officer is expected to do: 44 skills carry over, 27 of which the public relations officer role treats as required.
What skills does a communication manager need to become a public relations officer?
1 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with computers. The single most important is develop digital content.
How hard is the move from communication manager to public relations officer?
Its learning distance is 22.5 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.