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.
