Administrative assistants are the heart of any business. Many people don’t realize this, but the main factor that separates successful businesses from failed ventures is the difference between their administrative departments.
These individuals are responsible for running the office smoothly, handling daily tasks, managing employees, and creating the schedule for every day. As they are responsible for so many things, it lies on their shoulders to do everything and streamline their efficiency.
In this article, I am going to highlight four tips that can help administrative assistants take their skills to the next level. As there is so much competition in the market and companies are looking to hire the best in the business, you have to prove that you stand out from the crowd. So, without further ado, let’s carry on with the tips you should follow.
1. Be A Great Communicator
As an administrative assistant, you need to be a very great communicator, or else you are not going to last very long in the profession. Successful administrative assistants have one thing in common, which is that they have great skills in verbal and written forms of communication.
So, you should work towards improving these two aspects of your personality. You will have to speak to business partners, vendors, employees, and the general public, which is why you need to know how to handle them professionally.
2. Organization Is Key
An administrative assistant has to juggle between different tasks at one time, which is why you need to learn how to multitask. Be it your own life, the projects of the company you are working in, different executives, employees, or files, you need to make sure that everything has your attention and you never ignore any of your tasks. A little misstep here and there, and you will have to deal with the aftermath.
3. Demonstrate Resourcefulness
It doesn’t matter which company you are working in, if you want to stay there for a long time, you have to prove that you are a very valuable addition to their arsenal. These are very tough times as the job market is very volatile. People are out like sharks to snatch your position, so you need to be on top of your game. Whether it is a small task like how to add pages to a pdf or how to foresee unanticipated things, you need to be the jack of all trades. If needed you can also aim to learn some complex IT tasks such as Exchange 2010 to Office 365 Migration or SharePoint Migration to Azure etc.
4. Excel in Management
Last but not least, most of your skills need to be centered around management. You need to be able to manage everything efficiently as the whole business structure depends on you. As an administrative assistant, you are responsible for two lives. You have to handle your own problems, and on top of that, you are responsible for the company you are working in.
So, you need to be a total professional who is able to judge which tasks should be completed first, how to get employees to do their work, and how to handle clients.
