Working as an administrative assistant can be a fast-paced and hectic profession, but it’s also very rewarding.
The more experience you gain, the better you’ll be at your job, and with time, it all becomes less manic and you’ll feel in control.
When you first step into the industry, it can certainly feel a little overwhelming. There’s a lot to do, and the tasks involved are incredibly varied. To be a good administrative assistant, you need to be an excellent multitasker!
While some of the skills that will make you a good administrative assistant may come naturally to you, there are other useful abilities that you can learn, or improve, that will help you become an excellent administrative assistant more quickly.
So without further ado, let’s get set to boost your productivity and your administrative skill set!
Keep learning, get your tech skills up to date
As an administrative assistant, you’ll be using a wide variety of software and office equipment.
Computer problems can be so time-consuming, whether that’s a malfunctioning printer or an Excel formula that you just can’t seem to get right.
I’m sure we’ve all felt that frustration, but you can certainly reduce these annoying moments by improving your IT skills.
Working as an administrative assistant, it’s likely you’ll be using some of the most commonly used software for word processing, spreadsheets, email, file sharing and the like.
While you probably already have basic knowledge of the packages you use, you can always take it a level further, so look out for advanced courses online or at your local college.
You’ll also find courses that will help you troubleshoot Windows and practical courses that deal with hardware. Imagine, no more frustrating printer problems! Being able to just get on with your job, without spending hours trying to solve IT problems can prevent a lot of headaches and save a great deal of time!
Be a great people person
As an administrative assistant, you’ll come into contact with a lot of people.
Leave them with a good impression of you, and the business you represent, and you’re building a relationship that can be mutually beneficial.
When you’re polite, efficient, and helpful, others will be more inclined to go out of their way to help you too.
In this busy field, you never know when you might need someone to help you out of a sticky situation at some point in the future, so it really does pay to foster positive working relationships, both in the office and with external clients, suppliers and contractors.
We teach more about becoming a great people person in our online administrative assistant certification courses here at the Administrative Assistant Institute.
Perfect your communication skills in all areas
A great deal of this job involves communication.
Improving these skills will ensure you come across as professional, and you’re able to convey your messages accurately and efficiently.
Perfecting your grammar and spelling, as well as learning the best way to lay out letters and emails will help with your written correspondence.
Practicing your telephone manner will give your verbal communications a professional edge, and taking a public speaking course could help you improve your face-to-face communication skills.
Never stop paying attention to detail
Perhaps the most important part of your entire job, is to pay close attention to every detail, and not make mistakes.
When you’ve been working at a job for some time, it can be easy to let your standards slip, and you can become blasé about your work because you know it inside out.
But anyone can make mistakes, and in this line of work, one small error can have some big consequences.
So if you want to be a good administrative assistant, always check and double-check your work. It can be tempting to skip this step when you’re busy, but perfection should be your priority at all times.
Get your priorities right
Learning to prioritize is an incredibly useful skill to have.
The key to your work running smoothly is to ensure that everything that needs to be done gets done and that the most urgent tasks are completed first.
Knowing what is most important is paramount, that’s for certain, but, when you constantly deal with the most vital jobs, the less urgent tasks can fall by the wayside and never get done, because, of course, there’s always something more important to be done in our busy day-to-day work lives!
So a truly good administrative assistant will not only be good at deciding the importance level of everything that needs to be done but also in allocating time and resources to ensure every task is completed, regardless of its level of priority.
Get organized now, for a less stressful future
Excellent organizational skills are the key to everything you do. You’ll fare well when you make copious lists and keep good notes!
Ever thought of something and been sure you’ll remember it, then totally forgotten all about it later on?This happens so often when you’re working in a busy job like this.
When you keep notes, you’ll never forget you had to return that important phone call, you’ll have notes reminding you of the process you went through to reset the telephone system, and when you need to refer back to an account from six months ago, there is all the information, neatly filed where it should be.
So when you’re feeling tempted to skip something because you’re in a rush, do your future self a favor and make the effort to get everything in order now. You’ll thank yourself later!
Stay calm and focussed
We know this job can be frenetic, and it can be easy to become overwhelmed when the phone won’t stop ringing, you’re really busy sending out accounts and you know you need to organize an important meeting for your boss.
But you won’t get any more done if you’re panicking.
Learn to take a deep breath, focus and stay calm. If you need to, take a short break to ground yourself, and then return to the job refreshed, with a serene yet centred attitude.
The more you concentrate and get on with the task at hand, the sooner you’ll get everything done.
Then you can breathe a sigh of relief, and get on with your next assignment. It’s all in a day’s work for a good administrative assistant!
