foreign affairs officertodiplomat
A foreign affairs officer already meets 65% of what the diplomat role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
65%
41.7/ 100
1 Share of the diplomat role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the foreign affairs officer 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.
Why this move works
A diplomat role treats 12 of its required skills as things a foreign affairs officer already does. These are the ones it depends on most.
- assess risk factors
- build international relations
- create solutions to problems
- develop international cooperation strategies
- diplomatic principles
- establish collaborative relations
What stands in the way is 7 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 25 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A diplomat role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a foreign affairs officer background worth leading with.
- already held foreign affairs policy development social sciences, journalism and information
- already held develop international cooperation strategies management skills
- already held analyse foreign affairs policies information skills
- already held foreign affairs business, administration and law
- already held observe new developments in foreign countries information skills
- already held advise on foreign affairs policies communication, collaboration and creativity
All 25 carried skills, including the 12 the diplomat role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you would need to learn
The 13 missing skills fall into 6 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.
- required, not held coordinate government activities in foreign institutions required
- required, not held represent national interests required
- required, not held apply diplomatic principles required
- required, not held perform political negotiation required
- optional, not held present arguments persuasively optional
- optional, not held protect client interests optional
- required, not held apply diplomatic crisis management required
- required, not held make diplomatic decisions required
- required, not held foreign languages for international careers required
- optional, not held European integration optional
- optional, not held good governance optional
- optional, not held respond to enquiries optional
- optional, not held advise on risk management optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a diplomat role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply diplomatic crisis management skill · occupation specific
- 02 make diplomatic decisions skill · occupation specific
- 03 coordinate government activities in foreign institutions skill · sector specific
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 25 skills that carry over
- already held assess risk factors skill
- already held build international relations skill
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held develop international cooperation strategies skill
- already held diplomatic principles knowledge
- already held establish collaborative relations skill
- already held foreign affairs knowledge
- already held government representation knowledge
- already held maintain relationships with government agencies skill
- already held observe new developments in foreign countries skill
- already held show intercultural awareness skill
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held advise on foreign affairs policies skill
- already held advise on legislative acts skill
- already held analyse foreign affairs policies skill
- already held apply conflict management skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held ensure cross-department cooperation skill
- already held facilitate official agreement skill
- already held foreign affairs policy development knowledge
- already held government policy implementation knowledge
- already held international business knowledge
- already held international law knowledge
- already held manage government policy implementation skill
- already held public administration knowledge
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held European integration optional
- optional, not held good governance optional
- optional, not held advise on risk management optional
- optional, not held present arguments persuasively optional
- optional, not held protect client interests optional
- optional, not held respond to enquiries optional
11 held skills the diplomat role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on licencing procedures skill
- not needed by the target role advise on public relations skill
- not needed by the target role cultural geography knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop promotional tools skill
- not needed by the target role international commercial transactions rules knowledge
- not needed by the target role labour legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage administrative systems skill
- not needed by the target role perform public relations skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role report analysis results 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.
- required, not held foreign languages for international careers required
- optional, not held European integration optional
- optional, not held good governance optional
Other moves recorded from foreign affairs officer
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.