Administrative assistants are employed in almost every sector of the economy. These professionals are also known as admins, office clerks, receptionists, and secretaries.
Don't be fooled by the name of the position; administrative assistants are an organization's most important resource for keeping things running smoothly. You need to have a few essential administrative assistant abilities in order to be competent at juggling a range of responsibilities at once. These skills are essential for getting the job done—and getting it done properly.
Administrative assistants, also known as admins, office clerks, receptionists, or secretaries, are employed in virtually every sector of the economy. They are responsible for performing clerical tasks such as the organization of files, the preparation and editing of documents, the answering of telephones and social media inquiries, the greeting of guests and visitors, the arrangement of staff meetings, the booking of conferences, the writing of memos, and the processing of invoices. It's possible that they'll also undertake accounting responsibilities, such as preparing spreadsheets to keep track of the company's expenditures.
Even though certification is not needed for the administrative assistant role, you may get it via a number of different programs if you are interested in either working toward the goal of becoming an administrative assistant or improving the skill set you already possess. However, in order to be successful in this career, you really need to have the abilities listed below.
The Top 10 Abilities of Administrative Assistants
Independence
Professionalism
Organization
Time management
Interpersonal skills
Written communication
Verbal communication
Attention to detail
Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for Microsoft Office
Adaptability
1. Independence
Workers in administrative assistant professions are typically required to do duties on their own, which means that they need to have strong judgment and the ability to make decisions.
2. Dedication to the Profession
When you welcome customers and clients, you are representing your organization, thus it is imperative that you maintain a professional demeanor at all times. You may go a long way in life by developing maturity, punctuality, and a sense of obligation. (Here's a helpful hint: highlight those abilities in your cover letter for the position of administrative assistant.)
3. Organization
Being organized is often listed as one of the most important abilities for administrative assistants. In the event that you are not, there is a possibility that the whole system may malfunction. You are required to have excellent attention to detail and to carry out clerical tasks such as maintaining the correct order of files, folders, and schedules. Keeping yourself organized necessitates that you also maintain your working place clear of clutter.
4. Time management
If you ask anybody who has worked in administration, they will tell you how important it is to maintain track of your calendar in order to ensure that you are able to perform all of your responsibilities without allowing anything to fall through the cracks. The position of an administrator demands good time management skills since they are usually required to juggle many responsibilities at the same time.
5. Interpersonal skills
The work environment of administrative assistants is not secluded. In order to foster a constructive atmosphere at work, it is necessary to maintain open lines of communication with all employees of the company, ranging from entry-level employees to executives in the C-suite. Therefore, having strong interpersonal skills is essential.
6. Written communication
Since administrative assistants are responsible for writing workplace communication, including as memos and emails, while speaking with managers and workers, it is essential that they have excellent grammatical skills. Taking minutes during meetings is a common responsibility for many people, which calls for good writing abilities.
7. Verbal communication
When working with workers as well as clients, administrative assistants may reap a great deal of benefits from having excellent verbal communication skills in addition to having strong writing abilities.
8. Attention to detail
Although it may seem to be stating the obvious, it is important to point out that the most capable administrative assistants pay close attention to detail and ensure that their work is error-free.
9. Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for Microsoft Office
A competent administrative assistant is familiar not only with the document-creation capabilities of Microsoft Word but also with the data compilation and presentation capabilities of Excel and PowerPoint. In addition, having a strong command of Excel comes in helpful when using spreadsheets to keep track of the costs associated with running an office.
10. Adaptability
Things do not always go according to plan, and administrative assistants often find themselves fixing difficulties that were not anticipated. Having the ability to shift gears when necessary is really valuable.