Secretary to administrative assistant
A secretary already meets 69% of what the administrative assistant role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
35.1/ 100
1 How much of what an administrative assistant is expected to do is already part of a secretary’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 administrative assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An administrative assistant role treats 15 of its required skills as things a secretary already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- company policies
- disseminate internal communications
- disseminate messages to people
- draft corporate emails
- file documents
- fill out forms
What stands in the way is 5 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 26 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An administrative assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a secretary background worth leading with.
- already held monitor staff absences information skills
- already held organise travel arrangements for staff communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use personal organization software working with computers
- already held organise facilities for office personnel management skills
- already held manage personnel agenda management skills
- already held draft corporate emails communication, collaboration and creativity
All 26 carried skills, including the 15 the administrative assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 missing skills fall into 6 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 perform business research required
- still to learn ensure proper document management required
- still to learn maintain statutory books required
- optional, not held maintain inventory of office supplies optional
- still to learn disseminate general corporate information required
- optional, not held create import-export commercial documentation optional
- optional, not held liaise with managers optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
- still to learn plan schedule required
- optional, not held coordinate events optional
- optional, not held fix meetings optional
- optional, not held respect data protection principles optional
- optional, not held provide customer follow-up services optional
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
- optional, not held business communication optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an administrative assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 perform business research practise this
- 02 disseminate general corporate information practise this
- 03 ensure proper document management 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 26 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 file documents skill
- already held fill out forms skill
- already held handle mail skill
- already held keep task records skill
- already held manage digital documents skill
- already held organise business documents skill
- already held organise facilities for office personnel skill
- already held perform office routine activities skill
- already held use microsoft office skill
- already held use office systems skill
- already held use spreadsheets software skill
- already held accounting techniques knowledge
- already held deliver correspondence skill
- already held handle petty cash skill
- already held issue sales invoices skill
- already held maintain internal communication systems skill
- already held manage personnel agenda skill
- already held monitor staff absences skill
- already held organise travel arrangements for staff skill
- already held prepare presentation material skill
- already held process commissioned instructions skill
- already held use personal organization software skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held respect data protection principles optional
- optional, not held business communication optional
- optional, not held coordinate events optional
- optional, not held create import-export commercial documentation optional
- optional, not held fix meetings optional
- optional, not held liaise with managers optional
- optional, not held maintain inventory of office supplies optional
- optional, not held provide customer follow-up services optional
- optional, not held speak different languages optional
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
17 held skills the administrative assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role administer appointments skill
- not needed by the target role communicate by telephone skill
- not needed by the target role communicate schedules to the people concerned skill
- not needed by the target role demonstrate professional attitude to clients skill
- not needed by the target role develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements skill
- not needed by the target role education administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role education law knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle financial transactions skill
- not needed by the target role labour law knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with typists skill
- not needed by the target role manage accounts skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage needs for stationery items skill
- not needed by the target role manage online content skill
- not needed by the target role place orders for printed paper goods skill
- not needed by the target role use word processing software skill
- not needed by the target role write meeting reports skill
2 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 business communication optional
- optional, not held transcription methods optional
Common questions about this move
Can a secretary become an administrative assistant?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A secretary already covers 69% of what an administrative assistant is expected to do: 26 skills carry over, 15 of which the administrative assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a secretary need to become an administrative assistant?
5 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is perform business research.
How hard is the move from secretary to administrative assistant?
Its learning distance is 35.1 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.