Job Descripition

Administrative Assistant

I’ve gained plenty of work experience as an administrative assistant. Administrative assistants work within many different fields. I personally work under the leadership of a Chief Operating Officer for a food manufacturing and distribution company. You may think that this job isn’t important, but we are the backbone of every executive in the business world.

Although there are administrative assistants in many different disciplines, for the most part, we all do the exact same thing. An administrative assistant works to simplify and complete many day-to-day tasks of an executive. We spend most of our time in an office, but sometimes we’re out in the workplace making sure tasks get done. It’s crucial to make sure that the work of others gets done because if it doesn’t, then it’s our fault. We must make sure everything is perfect in order to make our employers happy.

The three key details that define an administrative assistant are:

·      Detail Oriented

·      Availability

·      Calmness

These are the three main responsibilities of my job.

Detail Oriented

The most important part of the job is being detail oriented, which is comprised of being:

·      Efficient

·      Clear

·      Consistent

Executives need their assistants to get work done, otherwise, there's no point of them hiring the extra help. Many tasks that need to be completed and they're all accompanied by strict deadlines. There's no chance you'll finish all of your work if you're not efficient, consequently it's crucial to manage time wisely. In addition to being efficient, it's crucial that all of your work is clear and punctual. Executives and administrators often use the work you've done in key meetings or pitches; therefore, your work must be clear for them to read and understand. You’ll often create reports, help with pitches, or collect statistics and the administrator must be able to easily understand the information. If it’s not clear, there’s a high chance you’ll be fired because you’re the difference between getting a deal done and a deal falling apart. Being consistent is crucial because it embodies both being clear and efficient. It’s important to consistently get the job done clearly and efficiently because the first mess up, can very easily be the last mess up.

Availability

Your best asset is often your availability. Availability is more than just being there, it’s made up of:

·      Being available all seven days of the week

·      Being able to work even when you’re at home

·      Having your phone on you at all times

You don’t get the day off just because it’s the weekend. Sometimes the most important meetings are on a Saturday or Sunday and it’s your job to be there. It’s also possible that your boss needs something done immediately, and when he/she needs something done, it’s your job to get it done right away. Even if you’re not at the office, you need to be able to work and that often includes working from home even when you really don’t want to. When your boss calls you late at night and tells you they need an excel sheet with all sales for the month of November, you pull out your computer and put that spreadsheet together. It’s crucial to always have your phone on you because a single missed phone call can mean a missed opportunity and ultimately a missed sale. When your boss or anyone at the office calls you, it’s your job to answer. You can be at a club, bar, or party and still need to answer the phone to see what’s going on with work. For example, I was once at a friend’s birthday dinner, but I had to leave early to go home and prepare a sales report for the following morning. Being on alert and ready to respond to anything is crucial as an administrative assistant.

Calmness

You can’t survive as an administrative assistant if you’re calm. As a calm administrative assistant, it’s important to remember to:

·      Remain relaxed

·      Keep your boss relaxed

·      Don’t be hesitant

The day-to-day of an administrative assistant is filled with strict deadlines, sudden tasks, and perfect work, which leads to a pressure-filled environment. It’s must remain calm at all times because the more you stress out the higher the chance you’ll underperform. Your boss will be very stressed and as their assistant, it's your job to make sure they remain calm. If they freak out, it falls back on you, therefore it's crucial that you do everything to make sure they remain calm. When there's pressure on you, you'll often hesitate to make a decision, but as an assistant, you can't be hesitant. You're the second in line to the executive, so you must act like an executive and make decisions without hesitating. If you hesitate, you'll mess up and there's no room for mistakes. To succeed as an administrative assistant, remain calm, keep your boss calm, and never hesitate.

Readability

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