Editorial assistant to fact checker
An editorial assistant already meets 34% of what the fact checker role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
57/ 100
1 How much of what a fact checker 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 fact checker role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A fact checker role treats 3 of its required skills as things an editorial assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- consult information sources
- search databases
- search engines
What stands in the way is 7 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 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A fact checker 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 search engines social sciences, journalism and information
- already held search databases working with computers
- already held press law business, administration and law
- already held writing techniques arts and humanities
- already held use word processing software working with computers
- already held consult information sources information skills
All 7 carried skills, including the 3 the fact checker role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 11 missing skills fall into 4 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 communicate by telephone required
- still to learn develop professional network required
- still to learn proofread text required
- optional, not held rewrite manuscripts optional
- optional, not held consult with editor optional
- still to learn perform background research on writing subject required
- still to learn read manuscripts required
- still to learn review unpublished articles required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a fact checker role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 perform background research on writing subject practise this
- 02 read manuscripts practise this
- 03 review unpublished articles 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 7 skills that carry over
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held search databases skill
- already held search engines knowledge
- already held interview people skill
- already held press law knowledge
- already held use word processing software skill
- already held writing techniques knowledge
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held rewrite manuscripts optional
- optional, not held consult with editor optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
21 held skills the fact checker role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt to type of media skill
- 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 check correctness of information skill
- not needed by the target role database management systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role desktop publishing knowledge
- not needed by the target role digital content creation skill
- not needed by the target role digital journalism knowledge
- not needed by the target role edit scripts skill
- not needed by the target role editorial standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role evaluate interview reports skill
- not needed by the target role follow newspaper house style 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 participate in editorial meetings skill
- 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 specific writing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
3 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 scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held media and information literacy optional
- optional, not held interview techniques optional
Common questions about this move
Can an editorial assistant become a fact checker?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An editorial assistant already covers 34% of what a fact checker is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 3 of which the fact checker role treats as required.
What skills does an editorial assistant need to become a fact checker?
7 required skills are missing, plus 4 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is perform background research on writing subject.
How hard is the move from editorial assistant to fact checker?
Its learning distance is 57 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.