Table 1Transition record

editorial assistanttoeditor-in-chief

A editorial assistant already meets 28% of what the editor-in-chief role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.

From editorial assistant

28%

Overlap1

To editor-in-chief

12 Skills carried over

14 Required, not held

73.6 Difficulty2

adjacent 0–30

moderate 30–55

substantial 55–75

career change 75–100

this move, 73.6

This move: 73.6 of 100 · substantial

1 Share of the editor-in-chief role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the editorial assistant profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A editor-in-chief role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a editorial assistant background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held follow newspaper house style assisting and caring
already held digital journalism social sciences, journalism and information
already held participate in editorial meetings communication, collaboration and creativity
already held editorial standards social sciences, journalism and information
already held press law business, administration and law
already held use specific writing techniques communication, collaboration and creativity

All 12 carried skills, including the 6 the editor-in-chief role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 33 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier

01 communication, collaboration and creativity 7 required, 5 supplementary

required, not held build contacts to maintain news flow required
required, not held create editorial board required
required, not held ensure consistency of published articles required
required, not held work closely with news teams required
required, not held adapt to changing situations required
required, not held develop professional network required
required, not held implement strategic planning required

optional, not held create online news content optional
optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
optional, not held apply grammar and spelling rules optional
optional, not held manage contracts optional
optional, not held proofread text optional

02 management skills 3 required, 2 supplementary

required, not held manage budgets required
required, not held manage staff required
required, not held meet deadlines required

optional, not held write to a deadline optional
optional, not held recruit employees optional

03 information skills 2 required, 2 supplementary

required, not held check stories required
required, not held follow the news required

optional, not held study relevant writing optional
optional, not held document interviews optional

04 assisting and caring 1 required

required, not held follow ethical code of conduct of journalists required

05 business, administration and law 1 required

required, not held copyright legislation required

06 working with computers 5 supplementary

optional, not held edit negatives optional
optional, not held edit photographs optional
optional, not held perform video editing optional
optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
optional, not held perform image editing optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a editor-in-chief role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 12 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held adapt to type of media skill
already held consult information sources skill
already held digital journalism knowledge
already held editorial standards knowledge
already held participate in editorial meetings skill
already held press law knowledge
already held check correctness of information skill
already held desktop publishing knowledge
already held follow newspaper house style skill
already held interview people skill
already held use specific writing techniques skill
already held writing techniques knowledge

The 2 learning areas not shown above

Skill to acquire Tier

07 arts and humanities 4 supplementary

optional, not held grammar optional
optional, not held graphic design optional
optional, not held photography optional
optional, not held spelling optional

08 social sciences, journalism and information 1 supplementary

optional, not held interview techniques optional

19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held create online news content optional
optional, not held edit digital moving images optional
optional, not held edit negatives optional
optional, not held edit photographs optional
optional, not held perform video editing optional
optional, not held study relevant writing optional
optional, not held write to a deadline optional
optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
optional, not held apply grammar and spelling rules optional
optional, not held document interviews optional
optional, not held grammar optional
optional, not held graphic design optional
optional, not held interview techniques optional
optional, not held manage contracts optional
optional, not held perform image editing optional
optional, not held photography optional
optional, not held proofread text optional
optional, not held recruit employees optional
optional, not held spelling optional

16 held skills the editor-in-chief role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role answer incoming calls skill
not needed by the target role audio editing software knowledge
not needed by the target role authoring software knowledge
not needed by the target role database management systems knowledge
not needed by the target role digital content creation skill
not needed by the target role edit scripts skill
not needed by the target role evaluate interview reports skill
not needed by the target role linguistics knowledge
not needed by the target role manage information sources skill
not needed by the target role media law knowledge
not needed by the target role search databases skill
not needed by the target role search engines knowledge
not needed by the target role select scripts skill
not needed by the target role structure information skill
not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
not needed by the target role use word processing software skill

6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier

required, not held copyright legislation required
optional, not held grammar optional
optional, not held graphic design optional
optional, not held interview techniques optional
optional, not held photography optional
optional, not held spelling optional

Index

Other moves recorded from editorial assistant

Full index of moves from editorial assistant

Note

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.