Career Paths For Administrative Assistants

The Office Ninjas Adminingling Events Series

According to the event series home page, the OfficeNinjas Admingling events arm Ninjas with the power of collective intelligence through networking with local admins in a lively environment while sharing challenges, brainstorming new ideas, and swapping solutions.

These casual networking events promote career development by bringing admins together to exchange ideas and stories. A conversation at one of these events could lead to your next career move.

Strengthen Your Professional Relationships

As you narrow down the areas you want to work in and level up your skills, you should also start networking to find new opportunities. You can reach out to people:

• Where you are nowSpend some coffee or lunch breaks getting to know people on other teams at your current companydevelopers or the folks in QA, if youre hoping to get into programming, for example.
• In professional organizationsJoin some groups or associations connected to the specialization youre moving into. And be sure to follow their blogs, newsletters, and social media to make even more connections. Dont shy away from meetups, seminars, or conferences just because youre new. Everyone appreciates the fresh enthusiasm, and new members help keep organizations alive.
• People youd like to work withEven before youre ready to apply for a position or bid on a project, you can start researching and reaching out to companies and clients to learn more about them and their needs. Be sure to bring something to the table if you ask for an informational interview or advice.

Administration Assistant Career Path

A hardworking and dedicated individual can find plenty of opportunities for advancement in an administrative assistant job. After an entry-level administrative assistant has spent several years with a company, they may be promoted to a position such as senior administrative assistant and given higher-level tasks and management responsibilities. An administrative assistant job may develop into a departmental administration position, where the individual serves as the administrative representative and contact person for a department or division within an organization.

Administrative assistants with extensive experience, job-related certifications, or a college degree may be promoted to office manager and be given responsibility over all administrative functions and personnel for the company or office location. People in administration assistant jobs who obtain business degrees may find it possible to move over to related fields such as business administration jobs, opening up new avenues for career advancement.

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How To Become An Administrative Assistant

If you’re interested in becoming an administrative assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We’ve determined that 46.9% of administrative assistants have a bachelor’s degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.3% of administrative assistants have master’s degrees. Even though most administrative assistants have a college degree, it’s possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Competencies & The Bc Public Service

A common term you may come across during the hiring process with the BC Public Service is “competencies.” Competencies are a motive, attitude, behaviour or personal characteristic that a person demonstrates when doing a job, enabling a person to do their job well. The competencies generally required for administrative/clerical roles are:

• Service Orientation

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What Degree Is Required To Become An Administration Assistant

Administration assistant jobs are typically available to job seekers with a high school diploma and basic reading and writing skills. Much of the training for administrative assistants takes place on the job, since many of the skills needed for an administrative assistant position are specific to the company or organization. Filing methods, scheduling tools, phone systems, and data archiving software programs are different in every office, so initial education is less of a priority than communication skills and the ability to learn. Administrative assistant jobs rely less on formal education than on dedication, professionalism, and attention to detail, making these positions an ideal way for employees without college degrees to gain the valuable workplace experience.

Someone with a college degree seeking an administration assistant job will find that a formal post-high-school education can also be helpful. Experience with classes in colleges or vocational schools demonstrates to potential employers that the applicant possesses strong reading and writing skills, as well as the ability to learn and to follow directions.

Because the duties of administrative assistants involve taking care of details in these areas of a business, this knowledge can greatly increase the effectiveness of an administrative assistant. This type of training can also provide a career pathway to office management or business administration.

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.

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Career Path For Clerical & Administrative Workers

An individual’s career path is very much influenced by their background, skills, knowledge, ability, interests, and goals. These days, starting in an administrative role can open up doors to advancement in a variety of different job families such as finance, project management, and information technology.

Taking It To Another Level

Once you have established a good relationship with employees across your companys departments, you can use this as an opportunity to grow and improve your skill set. While many administrative employees stay in the field for their whole career, some move on to other, often higher paying, positions. Use your relationships with people at the company to pursue opportunities to learn new skills. Sit in on meetings and volunteer when the opportunity to take on new responsibilities arises. As your skill set grows, so will your indispensability to the company.

Even if you plan on staying in an administrative assistant or office manager role for a long time, your potential for growth is not limited. The average salary for an office manager is $42,000 per year, but you can surmount this figure by scheduling quarterly performance reviews and negotiating for raises each year.

The administrative assistant career path is not narrow, but wide and filled with potential. Work hard and use your imagination to build the career you dreamed of.

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What Are Career Paths For Administrative Assistants

Career paths for administrative assistants are roles in different companies and industries for these professionals. An administrative assistant is a person who offers operational help to a company’s management team and helps assure the effective functioning of the business. They perform a range of administrative and clerical jobs, such as:

• Answering telephone calls

Primary duties: A project manager is responsible for planning and overseeing the whole execution of a project. They may work in fields such as construction, engineering, law, health care, and technology. Project managers direct a project team, develop a budget and schedule for project completion, and monitor the project’s progress.

Generations College Prepares Graduates For Administrative Assistant Careers

Generations Colleges business administration degree program provides motivated adults with an opportunity to learn the key concepts, strategies and tools needed to succeed as administrative assistants in any industry, working for any size company. Students can choose on-campus or online-accredited degree program options. Courses are taught by experienced faculty who bring real-world, hands-on instruction to improve learning outcomes.

As one of the most well-established and well-known administrative assistant schools in Chicago, Generations College prides itself on its students success, whether that means students finding jobs in their chosen fields after graduation or transitioning to four-year institutions to complete their four-year degrees.

If you want to work as an administrative assistant, earning your Associate of Science degree in Business Administration from Generations College can improve your chances of success. To learn more about our programs, contact us. When you are ready to do so, we encourage you to apply online.

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Administrative Assistant To Conference Planner

If any of your current duties involve booking travel, coordinating meetings, working with vendors or suppliers, and similar responsibilities, you may be able to use those skills to become a conference planner. Large gatherings take a lot of coordination and many venues that host conferences and associations that sponsor them rely on conference planners to ensure no detail is overlooked.

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.

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Earn A Degree Or Have A High School Diploma Or Ged

To become an administrative assistant at the entry-level, you’ll be required to have a minimum of a high school diploma or your General Education Development certificate. Requirements will vary by employer, however, and some may require an associate’s degree or even a bachelor’s degree in any field. Some employers prefer a specific discipline related to the administrative assistant field, such as finance or government relations.

If you have a high school diploma but wish to continue your education, you can take technical courses related to administrative assistant responsibilities. These include documentation, business writing, data processing, filing and organization, and bookkeeping. This experience may be satisfactory for the replacement of educational requirements when entering the job field.

What type of degree should you pursue to become an Administrative Assistant?

40% of people working as an Administrative Assistant earned a Bachelor’s Degree

What skills do you need to be an Administrative Assistant?

• Exchange Online

You Can Get Your Foot Into The Door Of Almost Any Industry

Just as administrative work exists in virtually every geography, it also cuts across nearly every industry. If, for example, you want to work in the advertising or legal industry, you can begin with an entry-level administrative assistant position while building up your resume and learning the business.

Once in the door, you can observe the industry up close, start to build your professional network, and find out if it offers the kind of career track you want to follow.

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Career Paths For Administrative Assistants

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed’s data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

A role as an administrative assistant prepares you for several other careers in different industries across the workforce. Knowing your career options in this regard can help you make a more strategic decision for your future. In this article, we define the role of an administrative assistant, list 30 jobs to pursue after gaining skills as an administrative assistant and provide you with a list of tips to help with your career development.

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.

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You Can Work Anywhere

Working as an administrative assistant gives you the freedom to choose where you want to work. Offices in towns and cities all across the country are always on the lookout for administrative assistants. You can also work in almost any industry that interests you. Whether its marketing and advertising, legal or medical, most industries need AAs.

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:

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Secretaries And Administrative Assistants: Salary Career Path Job Outlook Education And More

Education Required

High school graduates can take courses in word processing and office procedures at technical schools or community colleges. Some temporary placement agencies also provide training in word processing, spreadsheet, and database software.

Training Required

Secretaries and administrative assistants typically learn their skills through short-term on-the-job training, usually lasting a few weeks. During this time they learn about administrative procedures, including how to prepare documents. Medical and legal secretaries training may last several months as they learn industry-specific terminology and practices.

Job Outlook

The projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026: -5%

Median pay: How much do Secretaries and Administrative Assistants make?

$37,230 Annual Salary

$17.90 per hour

Secretaries and administrative assistants perform routine clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.

Goal: Go From Administrative Assistant To Human Resources Specialist

The Strategy:

• Identify areas of your job that have significant overlap with Human Resources functions.
• Brainstorm ways you might improve those job areas, and even consider additional duties you could take on to increase the percentage of time you spend on Human Resources functions.
• Tell your supervisor about your interests, and share the ideas you brainstormed. Make sure your supervisor approves your plans and displays a willingness to help document your progress and successes in Human Resources areas.
• Set up informational interviews with the current Human Resources team. Before your meeting, identify a specific role you might like to pursue. During the meeting, share what youve been doing in your current role and find out what other experience you might need to be considered for your target position.
• Collate the advice you received from Human Resources and your supervisor to create a step-by-step action plan that has you completing all the recommended actions and applying to your target position before your next annual review.

Do you have experience navigating the Administrative Assistant career path? Wed love to hear what youve learned along the way. Share your knowledge in the comments below.

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