Foreign language correspondence clerk to secretary
A foreign language correspondence clerk already meets 41% of what the secretary role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
61.6/ 100
1 How much of what a secretary is expected to do is already part of a foreign language correspondence clerk’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 11 of its required skills as things a foreign language correspondence clerk already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- communicate by telephone
- company policies
- disseminate internal communications
- draft corporate emails
- file documents
- handle mail
What stands in the way is 11 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 14 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 a foreign language correspondence clerk background worth leading with.
- already held liaise with typists communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held draft corporate emails communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held file documents information skills
- already held disseminate internal communications communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held handle mail management skills
- already held deliver correspondence management skills
All 14 carried skills, including the 11 the secretary role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 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 administer appointments required
- still to learn disseminate messages to people required
- still to learn manage personnel agenda required
- still to learn organise facilities for office personnel required
- optional, not held issue sales invoices 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 communicate schedules to the people concerned required
- still to learn maintain internal communication systems required
- still to learn process commissioned instructions 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 manage needs for stationery items optional
- optional, not held organise travel arrangements for staff optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
- optional, not held write meeting reports optional
- still to learn fill out forms required
- still to learn keep task records required
- still to learn monitor staff absences 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 communicate schedules to the people concerned practise this
- 02 administer appointments practise this
- 03 disseminate messages to people 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 14 skills that carry over
- already held communicate by telephone skill
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held disseminate internal communications skill
- already held draft corporate emails skill
- already held file documents skill
- already held handle mail skill
- already held manage digital documents skill
- already held organise business documents skill
- already held perform office routine activities skill
- already held use spreadsheets software skill
- already held use word processing software skill
- already held deliver correspondence skill
- already held liaise with typists 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 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 manage accounts optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage needs for stationery items optional
- optional, not held organise travel arrangements for staff optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
- optional, not held use personal organization software optional
- optional, not held write meeting reports optional
12 held skills the secretary role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply grammar and spelling rules skill
- not needed by the target role communicate commercial and technical issues in foreign languages skill
- not needed by the target role ensure proper document management skill
- not needed by the target role grammar knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with managers skill
- not needed by the target role master language rules skill
- not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
- not needed by the target role spelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role translate foreign language skill
- not needed by the target role translate language concepts skill
- not needed by the target role translate spoken language skill
- not needed by the target role use an application-specific interface 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
Other moves recorded from foreign language correspondence clerk
- administrative assistant 44% covered · substantial
- office clerk 38% covered · substantial
- typist 29% covered · substantial
- subtitler 27% covered · substantial
Full index of moves from foreign language correspondence clerk
Common questions about this move
Can a foreign language correspondence clerk become a secretary?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A foreign language correspondence clerk already covers 41% of what a secretary is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 11 of which the secretary role treats as required.
What skills does a foreign language correspondence clerk need to become a secretary?
11 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 communicate schedules to the people concerned.
How hard is the move from foreign language correspondence clerk to secretary?
Its learning distance is 61.6 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.