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The Evolution of the Secretary

Today’s administrative professionals do more than make coffee runs and screen phone calls

April 25, 2012 RSS Feed Print
Today’s administrative professionals do more than make coffee runs and screen phone calls

In today's workplace administrative professionals wear a variety of hats.

4. Maintain a realistic view of your promotion potential. There's nothing wrong with aspiring to a higher job title. But often, Brewer says, lower-rung admins are so focused on moving up the corporate ladder that they miss the bigger picture. "You're not going to walk out of college and be at an executive assistant level. And if you do, it's not smart [to begin at a higher level if you're new to the field]," he says. In Brewer's view, beginning at a lower level is the best way for administrative professionals to succeed because it gives them ample time to grasp the mechanics of the profession. "You have to start out somewhere. And starting as an office clerk, an office manager, or an administrative assistant—that's the level where you're going to learn."

Tags:
employment,
careers,
money,
corporate culture

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If you focus on learning as much as you possibly can at each level or position throughout your career, the advancement will happen naturally without much pursuit required. You must be able to partner with your executives and teams and it requires more than just knowing how to unjam the copier and handle a multi-line phone system to reach that level of support. Admins who focus on truly understanding how a business runs at every level and truly understand how they contribute to the success of the company will advance their careers in ways they never thought possible. I truly believe that the administrative profession should adopt the tagline: Start here. Go anywhere. The potential is limitless.

Julie Perrine - All Things Admin of IA 12:13PM April 25, 2012

A brilliant analysis of current employment trends!

alan of MD 10:34AM April 25, 2012

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