Marketing assistant to executive assistant
A marketing assistant already meets 27% of what the executive assistant role asks for. The move turns on 18 required skills not yet in the profile.
73.6/ 100
1 How much of what an executive assistant is expected to do is already part of a marketing 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 7 of its required skills as things a marketing assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- build business relationships
- communicate schedules to the people concerned
- draft corporate emails
- manage personnel agenda
- perform business research
- process commissioned instructions
What stands in the way is 18 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. An executive assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a marketing assistant background worth leading with.
- already held communicate schedules to the people concerned communication, collaboration and creativity
- 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 perform business research information skills
- already held process commissioned instructions communication, collaboration and creativity
All 11 carried skills, including the 7 the executive assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 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 coordinate events required
- still to learn disseminate messages to people required
- still to learn fix meetings required
- still to learn perform clerical duties required
- still to learn plan schedule required
- still to learn use office systems required
- optional, not held support development of annual budget optional
- still to learn build trust required
- still to learn liaise with managers required
- still to learn organise travel arrangements for staff required
- optional, not held liaise with board members 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 show intercultural awareness optional
- still to learn manage office facility systems required
- still to learn use spreadsheets software required
- still to learn use word processing software required
- still to learn maintain register of shareholders 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 apply information security policies required
- still to learn observe confidentiality required
- still to learn company policies required
- optional, not held international import export regulations optional
- optional, not held international tariffs optional
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 company policies study 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 11 skills that carry over
- already held build business relationships skill
- already held communicate schedules to the people concerned skill
- already held draft corporate emails skill
- already held manage personnel agenda skill
- already held perform business research skill
- already held process commissioned instructions skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held prepare presentation material 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
- still to learn business communication required
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held international import export regulations optional
- optional, not held international tariffs optional
- optional, not held liaise with board members 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 tax returns forms optional
- optional, not held show intercultural awareness optional
41 held skills the executive assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accounting knowledge
- not needed by the target role adobe creative suite knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply social media marketing skill
- not needed by the target role assist in developing marketing campaigns skill
- not needed by the target role attend trade fairs skill
- not needed by the target role collaborate in the development of marketing strategies skill
- not needed by the target role commercial law knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct public presentations skill
- not needed by the target role contact customers skill
- not needed by the target role customer relationship management knowledge
- not needed by the target role design questionnaires skill
- not needed by the target role develop digital content skill
- not needed by the target role draft press releases skill
- not needed by the target role execute email marketing skill
- not needed by the target role follow the statutory obligations skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with advertising agencies skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with financiers skill
- not needed by the target role manage the handling of promotional materials skill
- not needed by the target role manage website skill
- not needed by the target role market research knowledge
- not needed by the target role marketing analytics knowledge
- not needed by the target role marketing department processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role marketing management knowledge
- not needed by the target role online ads campaign techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise business documents skill
- not needed by the target role perform market research skill
- not needed by the target role perform mystery shopping skill
- not needed by the target role perform office routine activities skill
- not needed by the target role persuade clients with alternatives skill
- not needed by the target role prepare exhibition marketing plan skill
- not needed by the target role prepare visual data skill
- not needed by the target role public relations knowledge
- not needed by the target role relationship marketing knowledge
- not needed by the target role revise questionnaires skill
- not needed by the target role services marketing knowledge
- not needed by the target role social media management knowledge
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role support managers skill
- not needed by the target role tabulate survey results skill
- not needed by the target role update budget skill
1 further entry not listed here
4 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 company policies required
- 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 marketing assistant become an executive assistant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A marketing assistant already covers 27% of what an executive assistant is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 7 of which the executive assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a marketing assistant need to become an executive assistant?
18 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is apply information security policies.
How hard is the move from marketing assistant to executive assistant?
Its learning distance is 73.6 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.