Editorial assistant to editor-in-chief
An editorial assistant already meets 28% of what the editor-in-chief role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
73.6/ 100
1 How much of what an editor-in-chief 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 editor-in-chief role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An editor-in-chief role treats 6 of its required skills as things an editorial assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt to type of media
- consult information sources
- digital journalism
- editorial standards
- participate in editorial meetings
- press law
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. An editor-in-chief 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 press law business, administration and law
- already held use specific writing techniques communication, collaboration and creativity
All 12 carried skills, including the 6 the editor-in-chief role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 missing skills fall into 8 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 create editorial board required
- still to learn ensure consistency of published articles required
- still to learn work closely with news teams required
- still to learn adapt to changing situations required
- still to learn develop professional network required
- still to learn implement strategic planning required
- optional, not held create online news content optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- optional, not held apply grammar and spelling rules optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- still to learn manage budgets required
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- optional, not held write to a deadline optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn check stories required
- still to learn follow the news required
- optional, not held study relevant writing optional
- optional, not held document interviews optional
- still to learn follow ethical code of conduct of journalists required
- still to learn copyright legislation required
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an editor-in-chief 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 check stories practise this
- 03 create editorial board 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 adapt to type of media skill
- 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 press law knowledge
- 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 use specific writing techniques skill
- already held writing techniques knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held grammar optional
- optional, not held graphic design optional
- optional, not held photography optional
- optional, not held spelling optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held create online news content optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held study relevant writing optional
- optional, not held write to a deadline optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held apply grammar and spelling rules optional
- optional, not held document interviews optional
- optional, not held grammar optional
- optional, not held graphic design optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
- optional, not held photography optional
- optional, not held proofread text optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- optional, not held spelling optional
16 held skills the editor-in-chief 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
6 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
- optional, not held grammar optional
- optional, not held graphic design optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
- optional, not held photography optional
- optional, not held spelling optional
Other moves recorded from editorial assistant
Common questions about this move
Can an editorial assistant become an editor-in-chief?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An editorial assistant already covers 28% of what an editor-in-chief is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 6 of which the editor-in-chief role treats as required.
What skills does an editorial assistant need to become an editor-in-chief?
14 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 8 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 editor-in-chief?
Its learning distance is 73.6 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.