Editorial assistant to columnist
An editorial assistant already meets 28% of what the columnist role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
73.8/ 100
1 How much of what a columnist is expected to do is already part of an editorial 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 columnist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A columnist role treats 6 of its required skills as things an editorial assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- consult information sources
- digital journalism
- editorial standards
- participate in editorial meetings
- use specific writing techniques
- writing techniques
What stands in the way is 14 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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A columnist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an editorial assistant background worth leading with.
- already held follow newspaper house style assisting and caring
- already held digital journalism social sciences, journalism and information
- already held participate in editorial meetings communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held editorial standards social sciences, journalism and information
- already held use specific writing techniques communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held press law business, administration and law
All 12 carried skills, including the 6 the columnist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 missing skills fall into 9 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 build contacts to maintain news flow required
- still to learn evaluate writings in response to feedback required
- still to learn apply grammar and spelling rules required
- still to learn develop professional network required
- still to learn present arguments persuasively required
- optional, not held create online news content optional
- optional, not held ensure consistency of published articles optional
- optional, not held promote one's writings optional
- optional, not held rewrite articles optional
- optional, not held write captions optional
- optional, not held write headlines optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- optional, not held provide written content optional
- still to learn follow the news required
- still to learn stay up to date with social media required
- still to learn study topics required
- optional, not held manage writing administration optional
- optional, not held document interviews optional
- still to learn grammar required
- still to learn spelling required
- optional, not held multimedia systems optional
- still to learn rhetoric required
- optional, not held economics optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held political parties optional
- optional, not held political science optional
- still to learn copyright legislation required
- optional, not held stock market optional
- still to learn write to a deadline required
- optional, not held manage personal finances optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a columnist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 build contacts to maintain news flow practise this
- 02 evaluate writings in response to feedback practise this
- 03 follow ethical code of conduct of journalists 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 12 skills that carry over
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held digital journalism knowledge
- already held editorial standards knowledge
- already held participate in editorial meetings skill
- already held use specific writing techniques skill
- already held writing techniques knowledge
- already held adapt to type of media skill
- already held check correctness of information skill
- already held desktop publishing knowledge
- already held follow newspaper house style skill
- already held interview people skill
- already held press law knowledge
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn follow ethical code of conduct of journalists required
- optional, not held ICT software specifications optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ICT software specifications optional
- optional, not held create online news content optional
- optional, not held ensure consistency of published articles optional
- optional, not held manage personal finances optional
- optional, not held manage writing administration optional
- optional, not held promote one's writings optional
- optional, not held rewrite articles optional
- optional, not held write captions optional
- optional, not held write headlines optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held document interviews optional
- optional, not held economics optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held multimedia systems optional
- optional, not held political parties optional
- optional, not held political science optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- optional, not held provide written content optional
- optional, not held stock market optional
16 held skills the columnist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role answer incoming calls skill
- not needed by the target role audio editing software knowledge
- not needed by the target role authoring software knowledge
- not needed by the target role database management systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role digital content creation skill
- not needed by the target role edit scripts skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate interview reports skill
- not needed by the target role linguistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage information sources skill
- not needed by the target role media law knowledge
- not needed by the target role search databases skill
- not needed by the target role search engines knowledge
- not needed by the target role select scripts skill
- not needed by the target role structure information skill
- not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
- not needed by the target role use word processing software skill
11 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 grammar required
- still to learn rhetoric required
- still to learn spelling required
- optional, not held ICT software specifications optional
- optional, not held economics optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held multimedia systems optional
- optional, not held political parties optional
- optional, not held political science optional
- optional, not held stock market optional
Common questions about this move
Can an editorial assistant become a columnist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An editorial assistant already covers 28% of what a columnist is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 6 of which the columnist role treats as required.
What skills does an editorial assistant need to become a columnist?
14 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is build contacts to maintain news flow.
How hard is the move from editorial assistant to columnist?
Its learning distance is 73.8 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.