Receptionist to secretary
A receptionist already meets 38% of what the secretary role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
64.2/ 100
1 How much of what a secretary is expected to do is already part of a receptionist’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 9 of its required skills as things a receptionist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- administer appointments
- communicate by telephone
- company policies
- disseminate internal communications
- disseminate messages to people
- file documents
What stands in the way is 13 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 15 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 receptionist background worth leading with.
- already held organise facilities for office personnel management skills
- already held file documents information skills
- already held disseminate internal communications communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held disseminate messages to people management skills
- already held handle mail management skills
All 15 carried skills, including the 9 the secretary role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 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 communicate schedules to the people concerned required
- still to learn draft corporate emails 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 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 write meeting reports optional
- still to learn manage personnel agenda required
- still to learn organise business documents required
- still to learn perform office routine activities required
- optional, not held handle financial transactions optional
- optional, not held manage accounts optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- still to learn manage digital documents required
- still to learn use spreadsheets software 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 fill out forms required
- still to learn keep task records required
- still to learn monitor staff absences required
- optional, not held labour law 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 draft corporate emails practise this
- 03 fill out forms 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 15 skills that carry over
- already held administer appointments skill
- already held communicate by telephone skill
- already held company policies knowledge
- already held disseminate internal communications skill
- already held disseminate messages to people skill
- already held file documents skill
- already held handle mail skill
- already held organise facilities for office personnel skill
- already held use microsoft office skill
- already held accounting techniques knowledge
- already held deliver correspondence skill
- already held develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements skill
- already held handle petty cash skill
- already held issue sales invoices skill
- already held use office systems skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- 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 demonstrate professional attitude to clients optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held education law optional
- optional, not held handle financial transactions 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
- optional, not held write meeting reports optional
20 held skills the secretary role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role assist at check-in skill
- not needed by the target role check tickets at venue entry skill
- not needed by the target role communicate verbal instructions skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
- not needed by the target role greet guests skill
- not needed by the target role handle customer complaints skill
- not needed by the target role keep personal administration skill
- not needed by the target role maintain correspondence records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain logbooks skill
- not needed by the target role maintain reception area skill
- not needed by the target role office administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role process booking skill
- not needed by the target role process data skill
- not needed by the target role process payments skill
- not needed by the target role register visitors skill
- not needed by the target role respond to customers' inquiries skill
- not needed by the target role screen clients skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels 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.
- optional, not held labour law optional
- optional, not held education administration optional
- optional, not held education law optional
Other moves recorded from receptionist
- office clerk 42% covered · substantial
- administrative assistant 34% covered · substantial
- post office counter clerk 30% covered · substantial
- investment clerk 27% covered · substantial
- hotel concierge 27% covered · substantial
- hospitality establishment receptionist 25% covered · substantial
- usher 23% covered · substantial
- veterinary receptionist 22% covered · career change
Common questions about this move
Can a receptionist become a secretary?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A receptionist already covers 38% of what a secretary is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 9 of which the secretary role treats as required.
What skills does a receptionist need to become a secretary?
13 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is communicate schedules to the people concerned.
How hard is the move from receptionist to secretary?
Its learning distance is 64.2 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.