All About Administrative Assistant Jobs

The administrative assistant keeps the company running smoothly. She has a variety of duties that are growing in complexity and breadth. This is because companies are realizing the importance of administrative assistants, their flexibility, and their ability to adapt to challenging situations.

The administrative assistant is responsible for a variety of duties. They maintain paper and electronic filing systems for records and messages, route and distribute incoming mail and email, answer routine letters and email, reply and attach files to incoming messages, correct spelling and grammar to ensure accuracy, operate fax machines, videoconferencing and phone systems, and other office equipment, use computers for spreadsheet, word processing, database management, and other applications, and complete forms in accordance with company procedures. They use computer software to create spreadsheets, compose messages, manage databases, and produce presentations, reports, and documents. They negotiate with vendors, buy supplies, manage stockrooms or corporate libraries, and get data from various sources.

Other responsibilities include include storing, retrieving, and disseminating information to staff, acting as a liaison between client and executive, scheduling travel, booking conference rooms, planning events, overseeing budgets, creating proposals, drafting correspondence, creating company literature, emailing memos, maintaining paper and electronic files, conduct research, and direct calls over the telephone.

Greeting customers is a big part of the admin's job. They must always smile and warmly address the customer, ask if they need anything, and direct them to the appropriate person.

Other job duties include creating spreadsheets, composing correspondence, managing databases, and creating presentations, reports, and documents using desktop publishing software and digital graphics. They greet guests, answer phones, direct calls, answer correspondence, manage inventories and stockrooms, and purchase supplies.

Finally they should also plan on reading, monitoring and responding to the boss's email, answering calls and handling queries, preparing correspondence on the boss's behalf, commissioning work on the boss's behalf, liaising with staff, clients, managing the principal's electronic diary, booking meetings, organizing travel and preparing complex travel itineraries, writing minutes, taking dictation, planning, organizing and managing events, managing a budget, attending events/meetings as the principal's representative, conducting research on the internet, writing reports, executive summaries and newsletters, preparing presentations, preparing papers for meetings, managing and reviewing filing and office systems, updating websites, typing documents, sourcing and ordering stationery and office equipment, managing projects, and managing an assistant.

Administrative assistants are paid about average, making more than minimum wage but not the salary of someone with a more specialized career. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that median annual wage for secretaries and administrative assistants was $34,660 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $21,730, and the top 10 percent earned more than $55,960.

A degree is not typically required to become an administrative assistant. High school graduates can get basic office, computer, and English grammar skills in various ways: through high school vocational education programs, vocational–technical schools, or community colleges. There isn't a mandate to go to school unless the worker wants to further their career.

Perks of Being an Administrative Assistant

There are many advantages to becoming an administrative assistant. For example, this is a great way for a worker to come into a company and learn the in's and out's from the ground up.

Administrative assistants have many duties, both simple and complex. Mainly they support higher-level executives such as managers or CEOs. Oftentimes they support entire departments, teams, or projects.

Scheduling travel is an important duty. Admins typically book plane trips, hotels, and cars when an executive travels. They ensure there is someone waiting to pick the person up and also may handle expense reports.

They may also book conference rooms. Oftentimes executives will have team meetings or will have clients come in to discuss deadlines or projects. That means they will need a space to work in. The admin sees which conference room is open and books it. He or she may also order catering and coffee to nourish those in the room, especially if the meeting runs long.

Administrative assistants not only manage the schedules of executives or teams, but they also prepare correspondence and answer phones. These are some of the lighter duties. They will email people or write letters, stuff envelopes, and send out important documents. They answer phones and reroute calls to ensure the appropriate person receives the incoming call.

They use computer software to create spreadsheets, compose messages, manage databases, and produce presentations, reports, and documents. They also may negotiate with vendors, buy supplies, manage stockrooms or corporate libraries, and get data from various sources.

Conducting research is another important duty. The admin may be asked to research a competitor or to dig up information on an incoming client. This could take days to several hours. Then they will compile their information in a neat report for all to see.

If an executive has a visitor, an admin may greet the visitor, get them a beverage, and direct them to a seat until the executive can see them. It is their job to be friendly, warm, informative, and welcoming to all who call or arrive.

Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive is the largest subcategory of secretaries and administrative assistants, according to the BLS. They handle an office’s administrative activities in almost every sector of the economy, including schools, government agencies, and private corporations.

Other random duties include replying to messages and attaching files, resizing files and pictures, answering routine emails, preparing additional correspondence, responding to bills, handling bookkeeping, completing forms, applying company procedures, routing and distributing incoming mail and email, maintaining paper and electronic filing systems for records and messages, collecting and stapling forms, answering phones, paging executives, organizing and purging files, taking notes during meetings, and much more.

Job outlook for admins is healthy, the BLS reports. It is expected to grow 12 percent over the next decade, which is about as fast as the average for all occupations. But this depends on what industry the administrative assistant chooses to work in.

Best Jobs For Administrative Assistants

Administrative assistants are valuable assets to any company. Over the years the role of this office professional has evolved into more complex, specialized tasks. No longer simply paper pushers, these assistants have increasingly embraced tasks once reserved for the upper echelon of management.

Core responsibilities for administrative assistant jobs include storing, retrieving, and disseminating information to staff, acting as a liaison between client and executive, scheduling travel, booking conference rooms, planning events, overseeing budgets, creating proposals, drafting correspondence, creating company literature, emailing memos, maintaining paper and electronic files, conduct research, and direct calls over the telephone.

They must be able to manipulate and use a variety of office equipment, such as fax machines, photocopiers, scanners, and videoconferencing and telephone systems. Administrative assistants must also be able to navigate a wide range of software, including Microsoft Office, Lotus Notes, Oracle, SAP, and much more.

The ability to multitask, to communicate clearly and effectively, and to serve as a coordinator is key to being successful as an administrative assistant. Employers also look for someone who can type fast, who is organized, and also someone who is reliable, punctual, and honest.

More hands-on tasks include creating spreadsheets, composing correspondence, managing databases, and creating presentations, reports, and documents using desktop publishing software and digital graphics.

Aside from these complex tasks, administrative assistants can perform secretarial duties, including greeting guests, answering phones, directing calls, answering correspondence, managing inventories and stockrooms, and purchasing supplies.

Administrative assistants also train new staff and oversee orientation sessions.

Some of the best jobs in the U.S. for administrative assistants are in schools, hospitals, corporate settings, government entities, and medical offices.

The administrative assistant job requires sitting down and working in front of computers for long periods of time. Good posture can help with the difficulties that come with being sedentary for so long.

Every industry has a need for administrative assistants. They are the lifeblood of a company. Some of the best jobs can start out as temporary positions through an agency and can lead to permanent positions.

A great way to move your way up through a company is to begin as an administrative assistant. That way you learn how the company works from the ground up. Many high-level company executives began in this position.

The outlook for administrative assistants is positive. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, secretaries and administrative assistants held about 4.3 million jobs in 2008, ranking it among the largest occupations in the U.S. economy.

They  are employed in organizations of every type. Around 90 percent are employed in service-providing industries, ranging from education and healthcare to government and retail trade. Most of the rest work for firms engaged in manufacturing or construction.

Employment growth for administrative assistants is expected to be as good as average. The BLS reports that secretaries and administrative assistants will have among the largest number of job openings due to growth and the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or leave this occupation.