Management assistant to secretary
A management assistant already meets 30% of what the secretary role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
71.5/ 100
1 How much of what a secretary 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 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 a management assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- company policies
- disseminate internal communications
- disseminate messages to people
- draft corporate emails
- maintain internal communication systems
- manage personnel agenda
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 10 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 management assistant background worth leading with.
- already held manage personnel agenda management skills
- already held draft corporate emails communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held write meeting reports communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held disseminate internal communications communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held disseminate messages to people management skills
- already held process commissioned instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
All 10 carried skills, including the 8 the secretary role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 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 manage digital documents required
- still to learn use microsoft office required
- still to learn use word processing software required
- optional, not held manage online content optional
- optional, not held use personal organization software optional
- still to learn communicate schedules to the people concerned required
- still to learn communicate by telephone 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 organise travel arrangements for staff optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material 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 file documents practise this
- 03 handle mail 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 10 skills that carry over
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held disseminate internal communications skill
- already held disseminate messages to people skill
- already held draft corporate emails skill
- already held maintain internal communication systems skill
- already held manage personnel agenda skill
- already held process commissioned instructions skill
- already held use spreadsheets software skill
- already held use office systems skill
- already held write meeting reports skill
19 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 organise travel arrangements for staff optional
- optional, not held prepare presentation material optional
- optional, not held use personal organization software optional
31 held skills the secretary 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 build business relationships skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate events 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 fix meetings skill
- 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 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 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 business research skill
- not needed by the target role perform clerical duties skill
- 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 revise drafts made by managers skill
- not needed by the target role sales department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role speak different languages skill
- 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 translate language concepts skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
- not needed by the target role use free typing techniques skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports 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 a management assistant become a secretary?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A management assistant already covers 30% of what a secretary is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 8 of which the secretary role treats as required.
What skills does a management assistant need to become a secretary?
14 required skills are missing, plus 19 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 management assistant to secretary?
Its learning distance is 71.5 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.