Administrative assistants are quickly becoming one of the most important employees in the workplace. Today's administrative assistant performs a variety of tasks and has the knowledge to do the work of several employees. Consequently, to be successful in the job market, you must be innovative and develop the skills to become a unique administrative assistant.
A recent report by the American Society for Administrative Professionals finds that administrative assistants have started to take on responsibilities previously delegated to middle managers. The report reveals that the recession resulted in the loss of many middle management jobs and administrative assistants picked up the slack. What this means for job seekers entering the competitive field of administration is that standing out from the rest is absolutely necessary. One way to attract the attention of employers that are expecting more from their administrative assistants is to develop unique skills and approaches to administrative work.
Being technologically savvy is one of the most important skills of a unique administrative assistant. According to Ray Weikal – the spokesman for the International Association of Administrative Professionals – administrative assistants are now more than ever required to use cutting-edge technology. Coordinating employees – many of whom may be working off-site, making changes to a company's website and managing cloud-based applications are all common work assignments for administrative assistants. However, it is not enough to simply keep up with your employer's latest programs. A unique administrative assistant has a solid understanding of new technology before it is implemented into the workplace and can even train other employees on how to use it.
Being able to adapt to multiple ways of getting the job done is also essential for any unique administrative assistant. Gone are the days of an assistant being assigned to only one employee; a recent survey reveals that over 50 percent of administrative assistants are assigned to three or more employees. Consequently, unique admins stand apart from others because they can adapt to multiple supervisors and can prioritize tasks, complete work on time and communicate in a way that satisfies each supervisor.
Lastly, unique administrative assistants are innovative. Average administrative assistants are good at their jobs; unique administrative assistants find new ways to complete assignments and keep the workplace running smooth. The key to being innovative is being knowledgeable about more than just your job. If you have a firm grasp of the company you work for, its competitors and the current state of its industry, you stand a far better chance of being able to find better ways of doing things and coming up with creative solutions to problems.
Today's employers expect their administrative assistants to have a variety of skills and abilities that previous admins were not required to have. To keep up with the ever-changing nature of administrative work, you must develop unique skills. Since you typically get from your job what you put into it, becoming a unique administrative assistant will pay off in the long run.
(Photo courtesy of (stockimages)/ freedigitalphotos.net)
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