Foreign correspondent to business journalist
A foreign correspondent already meets 80% of what the business journalist role asks for. The move turns on 2 required skills not yet in the profile.
27.2/ 100
1 How much of what a business journalist is expected to do is already part of a foreign correspondent’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 business journalist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A business journalist role treats 20 of its required skills as things a foreign correspondent already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply grammar and spelling rules
- build contacts to maintain news flow
- consult information sources
- copyright legislation
- develop professional network
- editorial standards
What stands in the way is 2 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 42 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A business journalist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a foreign correspondent background worth leading with.
- already held follow directions of on-site director communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held rewrite articles communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held present during live broadcasts communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held promote one's writings communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held write captions communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held stay up to date with social media information skills
All 42 carried skills, including the 20 the business journalist 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 digital journalism required
- still to learn economics required
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
- optional, not held corporate law optional
- optional, not held financial jurisdiction optional
- optional, not held stock market optional
- optional, not held tax legislation optional
- optional, not held ask questions at events optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- optional, not held attend trade fairs optional
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
- optional, not held analyse market financial trends optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 2 entries a business journalist 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 42 skills that carry over
- already held apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- already held build contacts to maintain news flow skill
- already held consult information sources skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held editorial standards knowledge
- already held evaluate writings in response to feedback skill
- already held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists skill
- already held follow the news skill
- already held grammar knowledge
- already held interview people skill
- already held interview techniques knowledge
- already held participate in editorial meetings skill
- already held rhetoric knowledge
- already held spelling knowledge
- already held stay up to date with social media skill
- already held study topics skill
- already held use specific writing techniques skill
- already held write to a deadline skill
- already held writing techniques knowledge
- already held ICT software specifications knowledge
- already held adapt to changing situations skill
- already held adapt to type of media skill
- already held apply desktop publishing techniques skill
- already held check correctness of information skill
- already held communicate by telephone skill
- already held create online news content skill
- already held desktop publishing knowledge
- already held document interviews skill
- already held follow directions of on-site director skill
- already held manage personal finances skill
- already held manage writing administration skill
- already held multimedia systems knowledge
- already held present during live broadcasts skill
- already held press law knowledge
- already held promote one's writings skill
- already held pronunciation techniques knowledge
- already held proofread text skill
- already held provide written content skill
- already held rewrite articles skill
- already held write captions skill
- already held write headlines skill
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ask questions at events optional
- optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
- optional, not held edit negatives optional
- optional, not held edit photographs optional
- optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
- optional, not held perform video editing optional
- optional, not held analyse market financial trends optional
- optional, not held attend trade fairs optional
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
- optional, not held corporate law optional
- optional, not held financial jurisdiction optional
- optional, not held perform image editing optional
- optional, not held stock market optional
- optional, not held tax legislation optional
6 held skills the business journalist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role do historical research skill
- not needed by the target role observe new developments in foreign countries skill
- not needed by the target role provide context to news stories 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 study cultures skill
7 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 digital journalism required
- still to learn economics required
- optional, not held audio editing software optional
- optional, not held corporate law optional
- optional, not held financial jurisdiction optional
- optional, not held stock market optional
- optional, not held tax legislation optional
Other moves recorded from foreign correspondent
Common questions about this move
Can a foreign correspondent become a business journalist?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A foreign correspondent already covers 80% of what a business journalist is expected to do: 42 skills carry over, 20 of which the business journalist role treats as required.
What skills does a foreign correspondent need to become a business journalist?
2 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by social sciences, journalism and information. The single most important is digital journalism.
How hard is the move from foreign correspondent to business journalist?
Its learning distance is 27.2 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.