Management assistant to executive assistant
A management assistant already meets 54% of what the executive assistant role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
51.8/ 100
1 How much of what an executive assistant is expected to do is already part of a management 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 executive assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An executive assistant role treats 15 of its required skills as things a management assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- build business relationships
- company policies
- coordinate events
- disseminate messages to people
- draft corporate emails
- fix meetings
What stands in the way is 10 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 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An executive assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a management assistant background worth leading with.
- already held maintain register of shareholders information skills
- already held revise drafts made by managers information skills
- 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 perform business research information skills
All 19 carried skills, including the 15 the executive assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 7 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 schedules to the people concerned required
- still to learn build trust required
- still to learn organise travel arrangements for staff required
- optional, not held work in an international environment optional
- optional, not held build international relations optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held create import-export commercial documentation optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
- optional, not held show intercultural awareness optional
- still to learn apply information security policies required
- still to learn observe confidentiality required
- still to learn manage office facility systems required
- still to learn use word processing software required
- still to learn translate keywords into full texts required
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
- optional, not held prepare tax returns forms optional
- still to learn plan schedule required
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- still to learn business communication required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an executive assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply information security policies practise this
- 02 communicate schedules to the people concerned practise this
- 03 build trust 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 19 skills that carry over
- already held build business relationships skill
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held coordinate events skill
- already held disseminate messages to people skill
- already held draft corporate emails skill
- already held fix meetings skill
- already held liaise with managers skill
- already held maintain register of shareholders skill
- already held manage personnel agenda skill
- already held perform business research skill
- already held perform clerical duties skill
- already held process commissioned instructions skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held use office systems skill
- already held use spreadsheets software skill
- already held liaise with board members skill
- already held revise drafts made by managers skill
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held translate language concepts skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held international import export regulations optional
- optional, not held international tariffs optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held international import export regulations optional
- optional, not held international tariffs optional
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- optional, not held work in an international environment optional
- optional, not held build international relations optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held create import-export commercial documentation optional
- optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
- optional, not held prepare financial statements optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
- optional, not held prepare tax returns forms optional
- optional, not held show intercultural awareness optional
22 held skills the executive assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply statistical analysis techniques skill
- not needed by the target role assist visitors skill
- not needed by the target role disseminate internal communications skill
- not needed by the target role draft press releases skill
- not needed by the target role financial department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role human resources department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role legal department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain internal communication systems skill
- not needed by the target role maintain statutory books skill
- not needed by the target role management department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role marketing department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role operations department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform cost accounting activities skill
- not needed by the target role personnel management knowledge
- not needed by the target role public relations knowledge
- not needed by the target role sales department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role support managers skill
- not needed by the target role track key performance indicators skill
- not needed by the target role use free typing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role write meeting reports skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports 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 business communication required
- optional, not held international import export regulations optional
- optional, not held international tariffs optional
Common questions about this move
Can a management assistant become an executive assistant?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A management assistant already covers 54% of what an executive assistant is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 15 of which the executive assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a management assistant need to become an executive assistant?
10 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is apply information security policies.
How hard is the move from management assistant to executive assistant?
Its learning distance is 51.8 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.