Office and Admin

Skills Required to Excel as an Administrative Assistant

administrative assistant
Written by Jessie Liu

Administrative assistants keep a business on track while doing a myriad of duties—becoming the right-hand person for a top-notch executive requires poise and adaptability. For those who want to enter this career path and search for administrative assistant jobs, having what it takes is the important first step.

Maintaining an Efficient Workplace

A major job responsibility for administrative assistants is keeping everyone on time and on task. They must make sure executives not only arrive at meetings on time but also have what they need to conduct the meetings properly. Being organized in order to keep a top-level executive organized is another important duty.

Staying on Top of the Industry

An administrative assistant needs to understand industry terminology. Being able to carry on a conversation or understand notes flooded with technical jargon is key. In addition, staying on top of the technology the business uses most, as well as technology that might be employed in the future, enables administrative assistants to move smoothly through the day.

Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Word, Excel and Power Point is expected, according to a representative of the International Association of Administrative Professionals.

Turning Difficult Situations into Pleasant Ones

A good administrative assistant is able to make the difficult seem easy, and that includes handling difficult personalities. From visitors to other office workers, making it possible for things to be copacetic is a hallmark of the assistant.

When emotions run high, using humor and authority keeps thing running smoothly. In fact, good administrative assistants can see a problematic situation before it happens and thwart it, according to one well-known and high-ranking admin.

Being the Face and Voice of a Company

The administrative assistant is generally the first person a visitor meets. Having the ability to represent the company in a well-spoken manner is indispensable. In addition, writing emails or letters to a wide range of individuals requires an excellent command of the English language. Many administrative assistants take night courses to brush up on solid writing techniques.

Maintaining Flexibility

According to executives and business owners, nothing is more highly prized than flexibility. Being able to think ahead and see things that need to be done or implement easier ways to accomplish tasks are hallmarks of the successful administrative assistant.

Finding new solutions to existing problems and ways to avert other problems in the future makes an administrative assistant indispensable. Beyond that, finding ways to cut costs, such as streamlining office procedures or locating vendors who offer a better price, makes for a better bottom line.

Today’s administrative assistant can choose between a myriad of industries to select one that best suits his or her talents. Administrative assistant jobs with certain criteria are found using TheJobNetwork platform. This free to use online job search process lets you list the type of job you want and your background. It uses the information to search for jobs on a 24-hour basis. Once a job is located, TheJobNetwork sends a message to your email alerting you of the position.

About the author

Jessie Liu

Jessie Liu is a digital marketer, specializing in SEO, Digital Analytics, Content Marketing and Social Media. She helps lead TheJobNetwork’s content marketing efforts, including content strategy and promotion strategy. She believes in data-driven decision making. She recently adopted a Beagle mix puppy named Happy. Feel free to tweet her @jessiecliu for pictures of her adorable new puppy or just any marketing related stuff.