How Long Does It Take To Become An Administrative Assistant
It takes 0 to 4 years to become an administrative assistant.
Most administrative assistants begin with either no training beyond a high school diploma. However, it may be difficult to get your foot in the door without additional educational credentials. However, many administrative assistants earn an associate’s degree in business or humanities.
Jobs You Can Get After Being An Administrative Assistant
August 20, 2018 |Career Blog
Starting as an administrative assistant is a common way that many have found their path to a fruitful career, and there are a lot of positions open that do not require a college degree.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of administrative assistant jobs is likely to grow 12% between 2012 and 2022. Such positions include entry-level clerical or secretary positions, but with the right initiative, you can find yourself promoted to a much higher level.
Enhancing Your Administrative Career
One of the most promising aspects of working in an administrative position is the possibility of growing your career. Your career trajectory can be steadily upward if you focus on keeping your skills up to date, continuing your education, and understanding how to network .
Once youve established a foothold on the administrative career path, you can start to build trust by taking on more responsibility, performing each administrative task well, and earning the trust of your immediate supervisors.
The path to job promotion can vary depending on your field. Target a particular job at the next level , and explore what youll need to qualify for that position. For example, companies looking to fill office manager positions look for job candidates with superior organization skills, excellent verbal and communication skills, and the ability to juggle multiple, sometimes widely varied administrative tasks.
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Administrative Assistant Skills And Qualifications
While having a college degree can be helpful, many employers dont require a college education when hiring for administrative jobs. What most do require, though, is relatively high technological proficiency using computers, along with great organizational, multitasking, communication, and people skills.
Any formal training or education youve had in business can provide a boost to your application for administrative jobs. If youve taken business or database administration, and beefed up your accounting or business computer skills in high school or beyond, those are great qualifications to highlight.
Even better, specific qualifications like an administrative assistant certification, a certified virtual assistant, or a certified executive assistant can catapult you above the competition. Community colleges and online schools are good resources to find ways to get certified.
Additional certifications and qualifications can burnish your resume. For example, certification as a Microsoft Office specialist can be a great investment in your administrative career. Also consider becoming a notary public, which can be a versatile skill that helps you in your administrative role, and can provide a side income stream to boot. These will help set you apart during the interview process.
Below are a few qualities to hone if youre pursuing work in the administrative field.
Exceptional Verbal And Written Communication Skills
No matter the scope of your job as an administrative assistant, its safe to say youll need excellent verbal and written communication skills. Much of what you do involves communication, whether its face-to-face or through email or other electronic mediums. And youll be communicating with your boss, other team members, vendors, and customers on any given day. Being able to communicate clearly and concisely is essential.
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Make The Move With These Tips
Use Your Admin Position as a Stepping-Stone
- Supervisory responsibility for other people.
- Report writing.
- Public speaking.
These are in addition to the other responsibilities of the job, Blair says. With a proven track record in these areas, you will be well-poised to seek positions up the corporate ladder.Coming up short? Dont worry. Volunteer for projects at work that will help you develop these skills, or find opportunities with community organizations to hone your capabilities.Articles in This Feature:
Top Administrative Assistant Employers
We’ve made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ administrative assistants and discovered their number of administrative assistant opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that ManpowerGroup was the best, especially with an average salary of $35,000. Robert Half follows up with an average salary of $34,650, and then comes Adecco USA with an average of $33,930. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as an administrative assistant. The employers include Sutter Health, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and DLR Group
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Administrative Assistants Handle A Wide Range Of Duties A Great Challenge For Workers With General Backgrounds
Administrative assistants perform clerical duties and administrative tasks to support various types of organizations. They are employed in offices in almost every business sector. Most entry-level positions are available to those with a high school diploma and good communication and computer skills, but some administrative assistants may need specialized knowledge related to the industry they’re working in.
Many Roles In An Exciting Field
We have many roles for administrative workers who want to begin or advance their careers, or are simply looking to find the one perfect fit. Here’s an inside look at two career paths of individuals who began their career in administrative positions:
- Example of an administrative career path:Receptionist > Office Assistant > Administrative Assistant > Manager, Finance and Administration > Divisional Coordinator.
- Example of a financial career path:Administrative Assistant > Office Manager > Financial Clerk > Accounting and Budget Clerk.
The BC Public Service provides numerous and diverse opportunities for personal growth and development. Visit the BC Public Service YouTube channel for more information.
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How Do I Become An Administrative Assistant With No Experience
To become an administrative assistant with no experience, look for an entry-level position that provides on-the-job training.
If you are interested in becoming an administrative assistant but do not have any experience – meaning you have no work history or educational credentials beyond a high school diploma – then you have a decent chance of finding a job that will provide on-the-job training.
Types Of Administration Assistants
Some types of administrative assistants include:
- executive administrative assistants: as an executive administrative assistant, you provide high-level support to top executives in a company. You handle complex responsibilities like reviewing company revenue and preparing reports for the chief executive officer or managing director. Sometimes, you have to supervise clerical staff in the organisation.
- legal administration assistants: you prepare summons, motions and subpoenas under the supervision of a lawyer. It is important to understand legal procedures and terminology to excel in your role. You also review journals and assist in legal research, like verifying citations in legal briefs.
- medical administrative assistants: your role is to assist physicians and surgeons in preparing reports. You also transcribe dictations and find medical histories for patients. You need to be familiar with medical codes, terminology and laboratory procedures.
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The Executive Assistant Toolbox
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Administrative assistant can be a great job choicefor some people and for some time. My mother happily started her working life as an executive secretary, and I followed in her footsteps for a couple of summers during college and really enjoyed my work in admin.
But, while Mom and I both feel that our experiences were a fantastic foundation for our futures, we were both ready for a change after a few years. If youre feeling the same way but are wondering how to move on from an administrative, executive, or virtual assistant role, youre in the right place! And, even if youre not coming from an assistant background, stick with usyoull find plenty of tips relevant to you too.
In this article, youll learn the 6 things you need to do to break out of an administrative assistant role and into a career you truly love. Ready to get started? Heres what you need to do:
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What Do Secretaries And Administrative Assistants Do
Secretaries and administrative assistants typically do the following:
- Answer telephones and take messages or transfer calls
- Schedule appointments and update event calendars
- Arrange staff meetings
- Handle incoming and outgoing mail and faxes
- Prepare memos, invoices, or other reports
- Maintain databases and filing systems, whether electronic or paper
- Perform basic bookkeeping
Secretaries and administrative assistants perform a variety of clerical and administrative duties that are necessary to run an organization efficiently. They use computer software to create spreadsheets manage databases and prepare presentations, reports, and documents. They also may negotiate with vendors, buy supplies, and manage stockrooms or corporate libraries. Secretaries and administrative assistants also use videoconferencing, fax, and other office equipment. Specific job duties vary by experience, job title, and specialty.
The following are examples of types of secretaries and administrative assistants:
Average Salary Of An Administration Assistant
According to National Careers, an administrative assistant’s starting salary is £14,000 per year. When you build your experience and enhance your skills, you qualify for a salary of £28,000 per year. Apart from basic salary, an admin assistant also enjoys various benefits, including transport allowance and medical insurance. If you are a full-time assistant, your benefits may include paid vacation and contribution to a pension scheme. Working overtime and weekends is quite common, and you will enjoy overtime pay for the unsociable work hours. Some companies also offer incentives like end-year bonuses.
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Highlight Your Transferable Skills
When writing a resume or cover letter for your next position, highlight any of your transferable skills in a way that emphasizes your ability to perform the job you’re applying for. For example, if you’re interested in a customer support role, you need both problem-solving skills and empathy. Determine what you’ve done in your current role as an administrative assistant where you’ve demonstrated these skills. Then, describe any experiences where you’ve successfully used these skills in your current or past roles. Doing this can help hiring managers see you as a strong candidate for the role they’re hiring for.
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Career Path Options For Administrative Assistants
If youre currently in an administrative assistant position, congratulations. Your experience puts you in the drivers seat for several other positions. Its a stepping stone job that can set you up for great careers in a variety of industries. What are the potential career paths you can follow if youre working as an administrative assistant?
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The Executive Assistant Job Description
Now that you know roughly how much an EA will be paid, its time to discuss the executive assistant job description. What is expected out of those fulfilling executive assistant jobs may vary depending on the company and the executive. Usually, the level of executive will control the type of work that is required. A mid-sized business C Level EA job description will be different from that of an EA supporting the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Usually, the company will offer a document or executive assistant job description PDF in their hiring process, to give you an idea of what the position entails.
Its important to see a full job description before accepting a position because executive assistant jobs can be extremely demanding and rigorous. You need to make sure that the company treats its executive assistants with respect, and that means, for example, being ready and willing to easily furnish an executive assistant to CEO job description. Otherwise, it may be too easy for additional responsibilities to be added to the role down the road. The executive assistant job description salary should also be clearly listed in the EA job description, and it should be high enough to compensate for the given responsibilities.
What Is An Administrative Assistant Definition Duties & Responsibilities
Administrative jobs fall under a broad umbrella, in part because there are so many types of positions, so many areas of expertise, and a full gamut of career rungs, from entry-level to senior management.
What does an administrative assistant do? Administrative assistant duties can include running a bustling office, dealing with the public, and record-keeping. Its that sheer range and adaptability that can make an administrative career path rewarding. Keep in mind, though, that while theres high demand in some sectors the overall job outlook for administrative assistants is expected to decline, federal statistics show.
What that may mean for your job search is that its all the more important to beef up your skills and target your search to areas that can strengthen your prospects for finding the job you want. Its also encouraging to consider that administrative work is great for transferable skillslike multitasking and problem-solvingthat can be central to success on the administrative career path.
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Revamp Your Professional Profiles
When you search for roles in administrative support, you probably use a more traditional approach. But, changing your line of work might also call for changing how you present yourself professionally. Review each of these to make sure they fit with the area youre looking to move in to.
- Your resumeUsing a functional resume will shift the focus to what you can offer a company even though you dont have years of experience. So, instead of listing your work history in chronological order, consider breaking it down by skills to highlight your relevant strengths.
- Your LinkedIn profileSince LinkedIn is one of the first places hiring managers check nowadays, its important that it matches the information on your resume. As a job changer, its especially crucial that your headline and About section are current and that you let recruiters know youre looking for new opportunities.
- Your social media accountsBe sure all your social media accounts present you in a professional light, and also make sure they show your interest and activity in your new field. So, share your participation in coding challenges on Twitter or post your color palette creations and typography pairings on Instagram.
What Is An Administrative Assistant Qualifications Jobs And Salary
An administrative assistant job can provide the ultimate in career versatility.
Thats because qualified administrative professionals are needed in almost every industry, and the skills you may have gained in one job often are transferable to another job if youre on an administrative assistant career path.
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Take On Work In Your New Field
Once you know what job youre looking to switch to, you can actually start doing work in that field. This doesnt necessarily mean making a full career change, but you can get some practical experience right away. For example, you can:
- Offer to help on related projects at your current company. Administrative assistants are often called on to pitch in on various projects across different so you can take advantage of this or simply speak up when you spot an opening. If youre thinking about a career in UX, you can volunteer to take notes during your product teams user interviews. Or, if youd like to transition into visual design, look for a chance to flex your Photoshop muscles for your companys social media accounts.
- Take on side gigs. Instead of spending your evenings binging Netflix and dreading the next day at work, use your time working on side projects. You can build your portfolio and your income by, for example, updating a website for a local business if youre hoping to move into web design. Or, if you cant find paid projects, you can always create mock projects to add to your portfolio and show off to potential employers or clients.
- Volunteer with an organization. Groups or communities will be thrilled to have you pitch in on everything from creating a logo for a charity to teaching basic programming to local kids. And, in addition to supporting a good cause, youll be developing your skills for a new career.
Goal: Go From Administrative Assistant To Office Manager
The Strategy:
- Take some time to observe operations around the office.
- If your company already has an Office Manager, then observe the kinds of things the person in that position takes care of.
- If your company lacks an Office Manager, then make note of important to-dos that might be falling through the cracks.
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