Executive assistant to secretary
An executive assistant already meets 31% of what the secretary role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
70.3/ 100
1 How much of what a secretary is expected to do is already part of an executive 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 secretary role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A secretary role treats 8 of its required skills as things an executive assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate schedules to the people concerned
- company policies
- disseminate messages to people
- draft corporate emails
- manage personnel agenda
- process commissioned instructions
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 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secretary role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an executive assistant background worth leading with.
- already held communicate schedules to the people concerned communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held organise travel arrangements for staff communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage personnel agenda management skills
- already held draft corporate emails communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held disseminate messages to people management skills
- already held process commissioned instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
All 11 carried skills, including the 8 the secretary role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 32 missing skills fall into 5 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 handle mail required
- still to learn administer appointments required
- still to learn organise business documents required
- still to learn organise facilities for office personnel required
- still to learn perform office routine activities required
- optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
- optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held handle petty cash optional
- optional, not held manage accounts optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- still to learn file documents required
- still to learn fill out forms required
- still to learn keep task records required
- still to learn monitor staff absences required
- still to learn communicate by telephone required
- still to learn disseminate internal communications required
- still to learn maintain internal communication systems required
- optional, not held place orders for printed paper goods optional
- optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
- optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
- optional, not held liaise with typists optional
- optional, not held manage needs for stationery items optional
- optional, not held write meeting reports optional
- still to learn manage digital documents required
- still to learn use microsoft office required
- optional, not held manage online content optional
- optional, not held use personal organization software optional
- optional, not held labour law optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held education law optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a secretary role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 file documents practise this
- 02 handle mail practise this
- 03 administer appointments 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 11 skills that carry over
- already held communicate schedules to the people concerned skill
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held disseminate messages to people skill
- already held draft corporate emails skill
- already held manage personnel agenda skill
- already held process commissioned instructions skill
- already held use spreadsheets software skill
- already held use word processing software skill
- already held organise travel arrangements for staff skill
- already held prepare presentation material skill
- already held use office systems skill
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
- optional, not held labour law optional
- optional, not held manage online content optional
- optional, not held place orders for printed paper goods optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held deliver correspondence optional
- optional, not held demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
- optional, not held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held education law optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held handle petty cash optional
- optional, not held liaise with typists optional
- optional, not held manage accounts optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage needs for stationery items optional
- optional, not held use personal organization software optional
- optional, not held write meeting reports optional
30 held skills the secretary role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply information security policies skill
- not needed by the target role build business relationships 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 communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate events skill
- not needed by the target role create import-export commercial documentation skill
- not needed by the target role fix meetings skill
- not needed by the target role international import export regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role international tariffs knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with board members skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain register of shareholders skill
- not needed by the target role manage office facility systems skill
- not needed by the target role manage payroll reports skill
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role perform business research skill
- not needed by the target role perform clerical duties skill
- not needed by the target role plan schedule skill
- not needed by the target role prepare financial statements skill
- not needed by the target role prepare tax returns forms skill
- not needed by the target role revise drafts made by managers skill
- not needed by the target role show intercultural awareness skill
- not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
- not needed by the target role support development of annual budget skill
- not needed by the target role translate keywords into full texts skill
- not needed by the target role translate language concepts skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
- not needed by the target role work in an international environment skill
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 labour law optional
- optional, not held accounting techniques optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held education law optional
Common questions about this move
Can an executive assistant become a secretary?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An executive assistant already covers 31% of what a secretary is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 8 of which the secretary role treats as required.
What skills does an executive assistant need to become a secretary?
14 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is file documents.
How hard is the move from executive assistant to secretary?
Its learning distance is 70.3 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.