Administrative Arts » For Beginners

Maintaining Your Office Supply Cabinet

Jodith — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Most of the time when we take a new administrative assistant or executive assistant position, part of our job duties is to order and maintain office supplies. Often, there is an already existing office supply cabinet, and we simply take note of what is currently used and reorder as necessary.

If you have to set up your office supply cabinet from nothing, though, what all do you need to order? Obviously, some specifics will be dictated by the type of office you work in and local preferences, but some generalities can certainly be added to your list.

Pens and Pencils

I generally stock three basic colors of pens: black, blue and red. Medium point pens tend to be the favorite, but you may get requests occasionally for fine point. I find gel ink pens to be a nice mid-priced pen, but if expenses are an issue, good, old-fashioned ballpoints work just fine, and you can get great deals by buying store brands. My personal favorite pen is the Pilot G2 Retractable Gel Ink Roller Ball Pen (associate link). It’s a nice mid-price pen with a good grip, smooth writing flow, and it doesn’t leak ink like some other gels I’ve bought in the past.

If anyone uses mechanical pencils, keep a supply of lead on hand, but you should probably keep a small supply of plain #2 pencils. The amount of pencils and lead to keep around will vary depending on your industry. Engineers tend to use a great deal of pencils. Social workers not so much. A few erasers are also good to have in the closet. The Clic Eraser Pen Style Erasers (associate link) are popular with folks who use pencils frequently.

Pads and Paper

Obviously you need copy paper on hand. Copy paper is a good way to save money if that is a consideration. However, be aware that the cheapest copy paper can also cause jam problems in today’s high speed copiers and printers. So if buying the absolutely cheapest paper isn’t a necessity, and you don’t want to spend part of every day on your hands and knees in front of the copier, you might want to look at a mid-grade copy paper.

Keeping a ream or three of various colored copy paper is good to have on-hand. Every once in a while someone will want to color code a document or cover pages.

Writing pads are another item of which you should keep adequate supplies. The specifics, again, will depend on the folks you work with. Most of the time, I find white, 8.5×11 legal pads satisfy most people. Again, if money is an issue, look at the store brands for a good deal on legal pads. I’ve found that employees who are frequently out of the office, such as salespeople and case managers, tend to like spiral notebooks or steno pads because the pages don’t come loose easily, and they can track their notes better. Again, though, the specifics will vary from office to office.

Post-it type pads are another item to keep stocked, preferably in a number of sizes. I usually keep the smallest notepads (1.5×2) and the 3×3 notepad on hand. If you have people who use the pop-up holders, you’ll need to get the fan fold post-it pads.

Next Post: Folders, Clips, and other necessitiesSimilar Posts:

Setting Up A Filing System Part 5: More on Naming Computer Files

Jodith — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:38:00 +0000

I talked about naming computer files in Part 4 of Setting Up a Filing System, but I mostly talked about Windows file naming conventions. In comments, Layne made another suggestion:

I would like to suggest in your series on “How To” set up a filing system electronically if you would include a write up on naming files. Some suggestions that make it easy to locate, uses consistency so when you sort you would see all the memo, letters, etc. separately. That kind of thing. I know you get the gist of what I’m saying. I think it would be a great addition to your series.

This is a great suggestion, Layne. I’m always being asked to find files that someone else named and now can’t find. Having a naming convention for file types can be extremely helpful in organizing files, especially in network folders where multiple people are saving documents.

When I was learning MS Access years ago, a programmer taught me to name all of my elements starting with the type of element. For example, all table names began with TBL, and all query names began with QRY. That way, when you were looking at the elements of a database, it was easy to distinguish what each element was without having to open and look at it.

Planning Your Naming Conventions

This type of naming convention can work with standard document files as well. Look at, in general, the types of documents you save. Memos, letters, faxes, policies, whatever you save on a regular basis, and then make up your own naming conventions that everyone should follow. MEM for memo, LTR for letters, etc. Of course, you’ll need management buy-in for a policy like this, but it can make finding files quicker and easier. If you know the file you want is a memo, then you sort by name and look at all files beginning with MEM. For bookkeeping files, you might have INV for invoices and BIL for bills. This is especially handy if you are a paperless office and shred everything after scanning it into your computer systems. While many of us keep separate folders for AP and AR, if you have a file type naming convention, you can easily see if a document was filed in the wrong folder, which is handy.

You’ll still want to keep your hierarchy of files, but even with several folder depths, you can still get folders with hundreds of files. A file type naming convention can help you wade through those files to find the one you want more easily.

Consistency Is The Key

Whatever naming convention you choose, consistency is vital in its application. Little things like what goes between the file type and the rest of the name is very important. If the convention is space dash space (i.e. MEM – Casual Friday), everyone must be consistent in using that, or it will mess up the system. Windows doesn’t interpret file names, it lists them alphabetically exactly as they are typed. So “MEM – Casual Friday” will be listed before “MEM-Casual Friday” and everything else that skips the spaces.

Utilizing Windows To Its Fullest

In my next post, I’ll talk about setting up Windows Explorer to also help make finding files easier.

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Screening Sales Calls

Jodith — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:48:04 +0000

I’ve talked before about Screening Calls to Make Your Boss More Productive, but I didn’t discuss sales calls in particular. Telemarketers are wily characters that will do their best to try and fake you out and get you to put their calls through. It’s your job as an administrative or executive assistant to hold the line and not let them through.

The Easy Calls

Some calls are obviously sales calls

“May I speak to the person in charge of purchasing decisions for XYZ?”
“Who do you currently buy your office supplies from?”

My immediate response to these types of questions is always, “What are you selling?” They’ll give you a song and dance, start asking questions, but don’t give in. Eventually they will either tell you what they’re selling or they’ll hang up. For those who tell me what they are selling, if it is something we might need, I tell them to send us a brochure. If they want a name, tell them to put your name on it, and you’ll forward it to the correct person. Never, ever give them the name of the person who would do the purchasing. They’ll just use that to bypass you the next time they call.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

There’s no way to put a nice face on it. Sales people will flat out lie to you to get through to your boss. Don’t trust it.

“Hi, can I speak to Bob?”

OK, this one isn’t so much a blatant lie as an attempt to fool you into thinking he knows your boss. The reply to this one is, “If you’ll give me your name, I’ll see if he is available.” If you only get a first name in reply, then ask what company he’s with. If you keep getting a song and dance, don’t let him through. Remember, even if this is a legitimate call for your boss, it’s better to get a name and number, and let your boss decide about calling back. I usually marked these messages as suspected sales calls. I’d review them with the boss, just in case they were legitimate, so I’d know in the future. Generally, if people have legitimate business with your boss, they are happily forthcoming with information, because they know it’s your job to protect your boss’s time.

“I’m returning Bob’s call.”

Now, this one is generally a blatant, bald-faced lie. Again, you treat it the same way as the other calls. If unsure, get a name and number and run it by the boss later. Don’t put them through.

“I’m a friend of Bob’s.”

Again with the lies. If this person is really a friend, they won’t mind leaving a name and number.

Confusion Reigns

Some marketers will just try to confuse you into letting them through.

“This is John from XYZ Company. Your President is Mr. Howther, is that correct? I need to speak with him immediately.”

This marketer wants to intimidate you into letting his call through. He puts on an air of authority and throws a lot of information at you in order to confuse you and hopefully get through to his mark. Don’t fall for it. A simple, “May I ask why you are calling,” is often all that is necessary. If they don’t want to give you any information, then the boss will remain “unavailable”. Take a name and number and mark it as a possible sales call.

Verifying Information

This gambit is one of my favorites.

“This is not a sales call. We just need to verify some company information.”

It’s true, they don’t want to sell your company anything directly. What they don’t say is they are verifying information so they can sell it to another company to try and sell you things. I firmly let them know that we do not verify that kind of information, and I hold to that. If they won’t give up, I eventually hang up on them.

Be the Gatekeeper

Screening calls is probably one of the most important aspects of an administrative or executive assistant’s job. Remember, you’re the gatekeeper. It’s up to you who gets to talk to your boss. Always be polite but firm when protecting your boss’s time.

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Ask the Admin: Advice on Calendar and Travel

Jodith — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Yes, we have another Ask the Admin e-mail today. This one is from Beatriz.

I have worked as Personal Assistant/ Companion for the last seven years?

I have never worked with calendars and extensive travel arrangements.

Which books or websites do you recommend for learning how to manage

Calendars and do extensive travel arrangements?

Hi, Beatriz. Thank for your question.

Administrative Assistants have a number of places they can turn to learn new skills. This blog is one of them. I’ve written a number of times on both of these subjects. If you look at the categories on the right, you’ll find a breakdown of topics. Choose Travel for travel arrangement posts, and Microsoft Outlook for various topics on Outlook (I’m assuming you use Outlook as it’s the most prevalent calendaring software being used in offices). I wrote two post specifically about managing the boss’s calendar: Managing Calendars: More Ways to Keep the Boss Productive and Managing Calendars Part 2: Scheduling More Than Meetings.

Other places to find information and get advice include OfficeArrow and AdminSecret. For specific training on Outlook, Microsoft offers some great free tutorials.

As for books, Amazon has any number of books on Microsoft Outlook (affiliate link). I hesitate to recommend any one book because I haven’t used any of them.

If you have more specific questions, just leave a comment here and I’ll help any way I can. Thanks again for your question.

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What the Heck Has Happened to Customer Service

Jodith — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:00:45 +0000

I often talk about Customer Service here on Administrative Arts, because I consider it to be such an important aspect of your job, regardless of your job description. Well, this morning, I was caught in my own personal customer service brouhaha, and I thought I would share it with all of you to illustrate some points.

On Friday morning, I called my local discount store pharmacy (who shall remain nameless, but you can probably figure out who they are, since they’re everywhere) to transfer some prescriptions. With times being so hard and money being tight, I’m moving my prescriptions to the discount store to save money. When I spoke to the person on the phone, I emphasized that one of the prescriptions was most important because I was almost out. That one prescription was a priority, and I’d need to pick it up on Sunday. I was very clear on that point.

Well, guess what happened when I got to the discount store on Sunday morning? Yep, they had the two other prescriptions, but not the one that I had pointed out as being the most important. The store declared they had no record of the prescription, and when the pharmacist called the grocery store pharmacy to get the information, he was told there were no refills on that prescription. I knew this wasn’t true, because I always double check my prescriptions before requesting refills. He was rather rude and snotty about it, so needless to say, I left in a rather cranky mood.

I returned home and checked the prescription bottle, and sure enough, I had two refills left. I called the grocery store pharmacy, and they told me the prescription had been transferred on Friday! At this point I was ready to rip my hair out, since by then, I’d missed my dose of medication. I called the discount store, and told them what the grocery store had said. He was again a bit shirty with me, and told me that the pharmacist he spoke to said that there were no refills and the prescription shouldn’t have been transferred. You’ll note here an acknowledgement that the prescription had been transferred. He never acknowledged it otherwise nor addressed what happened to it between Friday and Sunday.

By now, I’m pretty much seeing red. I call the grocery store one more time and this time spoke to the pharmacist. She apologized profusely. She had looked at the wrong screen on her computer and only saw no refills, which was, of course, because the prescription had been transferred. She said she would call immediately and give the other pharmacy all of the information.

After I finally got my medication (and immediately took it so hopefully my blood pressure wouldn’t blow the top of my head off), I thought about today’s little fracas and what we could learn from it.

The Mistakes Made

In this case, both stores made mistakes. The discount store made the first mistake by losing the prescription to start with. We know it was transferred, because the other store confirmed that. The discount store just flat out screwed up.

The grocery store pharmacy made a mistake as well by telling the pharmacist there were no refills remaining on the prescription.

The difference, though, was in how the stores each handled the issue, which is an essential customer service issue.

Looking at the Differences

At the discount store, I was treated rudely, with little courtesy, and I never once received an apology. Granted, they did give me a small discount on the medication, but the fact that they neither acknowledged their mistake nor apologized for it will be long remembered by me. They also did little to correct the mistake. I’m the one that had to go through the frustration of figuring out what happened and get it corrected.

The grocery store, however, acknowledged their mistake, explained in detail what happened and why, and most importantly, they apologized for the mistake. This will also be long remembered by me.

Lessons To be Learned

I can tell you right now. As soon as money isn’t so tight, I will not be shopping at the discount store and all of my medications will be transferred back to the grocery store pharmacy. Not only because they were polite, but because they did their best to figure out the problem and to get it fixed. When I called them back the second time, they had already realized the error and were working to correct it. So even though their services cost more, they are the pharmacy I would much prefer filling my medication needs.

So what lessons can we learn from this? Price is not the only factor when people need something. While the discount stores may have a foot up in a poor economy, they do not build customer loyalty by being rude and unhelpful, not to mention refusing to even acknowledge that they messed up. So while some of us may be forced to shop there now, when the economy improves, they’ll be losing a lot of business .

So here are our customer service lessons:

If you make a mistake, acknowledge it and work to get it fixed.
Even if you didn’t make a mistake, when you have an unhappy customer, try your best to fix whatever the problem is.
Apologize for the customers unhappiness, even if you aren’t at fault. It goes a long way to soothing the client and to building customer loyalty.
Especially apologize if you are at fault. A simple, “I’m sorry,” can carry a lot of weight.

What’s Your Experience

We can often learn basic lessons from our every day experiences. What has happened in your life that illustrates a good customer service lesson? Leave a comment and share with us all. (Note: if you are reading this by e-mail or RSS reader, you’ll need to click through to the web site to leave a comment.)

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Dealing With Difficult Customers: The Basics

Jodith — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:40:36 +0000

photo credit: Zach Klein

The dreaded difficult customer, you know them as soon as they walk in the door. It’s in their stance, the look on their face, their tone of voice and general body language. The arrival of a difficult customer, though, does not have to spoil your whole day. There are ways to deal with difficult customers that can not only diffuse their anger, but make them happy return customers who regularly sing your praises.

Entire books have been written about how to deal with difficult customers, and I obviously am not going to write book here (and you don’t want to read a book). So, here are some basic tips for dealing with difficult customers.

Don’t Argue

Even if you’re right, you can’t win. When a person is angry, you can’t reach them with reason. You must first defuse the anger, then you can reason with the customer. Which brings us to…

Defuse the Anger

There are various ways to defuse anger in a person, and I’ll go more in-depth on those techniques in a later post. For now, let me leave you with a few tips for defusing anger:

Don’t get angry yourself. Angry energy builds on angry energy. If you start getting angry or defensive, you’ll just make the already angry customer angrier.
Listen! Listen to the customer, listen to their complaint. You can’t understand or empathize if you don’t listen to what the problem is.
Empathize. Understand the pain of the customer. Not just the fact that their product didn’t work, but what that customer endured when it happened.
Apologize. You may have been told never apologize because it could be construed as admitting guilt. But the truth is, what most difficult customers want is an apology. Just saying, “I’m really sorry you’ve had so much trouble,” can go a long way towards defusing the customer’s anger.

Resolve the Issue

After apologizing, the most important thing you’ll do for the customer is resolve the issue. If you can’t resolve it, then find someone who can. If you have to make some calls, let the customer know that, and let them know when you’ll contact them back. And then follow through on-time! Even if you don’t have the answer yet, let them know you haven’t forgotten and you’re working on it.

photo credit: Ferdinand Reus

Dealing with difficult customers doesn’t have to spoil your whole day. Take one thing at a time, calm the customer down, listen, and resolve the issue. Your angry customer will leave with a smile on their face.

Don’t forget to enter our contest for a free Starbuck’s Gift Card!Similar Posts:

Grammar Tip: Easier vs Easily

Jodith — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:00:54 +0000

photo credit: quinn.anya

Proofreading is an essential skill for all administrative support personnel. In addition to spelling and typos, you also need to be looking for proper word usage. In a previous post, I talked about confusing the words Prospective and Perspective. Today I have another pair of words that I often find misused.

Easier vs. Easily

I must admit to using these two incorrectly on occasion in every day speech, many of us do. However, in writing, especially professional and business writing, these two words should never be used interchangeably.

Easier

The word “easier” is an adjective and should be used to modify a noun. For example:

The easier route is A.
This route is easier.

In both examples, the word “easier” is used to modify the noun “route”.

Easily

The word “easily” is an adverb. Adverbs are used to modify verbs and sometimes adjectives. For example:

This cake is easily prepared.
This cake is prepared more easily than the other cake.

In both examples, the word “easily” is modifying the verb “prepared”.

Remember, when you are proofreading documents, you need to not only look for typos and misspellings, but also correct word usage. So don’t get these two words confused when writing and proofreading documents.Similar Posts:

10 Things To Do When You Have Nothing To Do

Jodith — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:32:56 +0000

photo credit: sunshinecity

One piece of advice that I give to every up-and-coming administrative assistant is this: NEVER SIT IDLE! If you have nothing to do, then go out and find something to do. Occasionally, though, you do find yourself temporarily at loose ends, so here’s a list of 10 things to do when you have nothing to do.

1. Clean up/Reorganize your desk

Go through your whole desk. Clean out the inevitable junk drawer, move things around to make them more accessible, toss out old pens that don’t write, clean your keyboard, monitor and phone (in my experience these always need cleaning), move your deskpad and clean under it, clean the crumbs and dust from your keyboard tray. In other words, just give everything a good sprucing up and make everything nice and organized.

2. Review Your Files

Go through and review all of your files. Start with your working files. Make sure everything is current and appropriately labeled. Make sure no labels are falling off and need to be replaced. Move any no longer current files to your reference/history files. When you’re done, do the same thing for your main files, moving older items to archives. If you haven’t already done so, type up a file structure for handy reference for when you’re looking for a file but can’t remember where you filed it (that’s saved my buns a time or two).

3. Read Through Your Contacts

Whether you keep them hard copy in a Rolodex or electronically in a program like MS Outlook, you should periodically review your contacts and update the information. I’m not just talking about phone number and address, but also little details you learn over time like the assistant’s name and number (vital information), spouse and childrens’ names, likes and dislikes. Also any negatives that you might need to know about next time they visit or call, like we had a major glitch on their account last year and really, really want to keep them happy. These are the kinds of details that help cement relationships and make clients feel appreciated.

4. Review Your Desk Reference/Procedures Manual

Go through your Desk Reference/ Procedures Manual and look for items that need updating or adding. Have you taken on a new duty that you don’t have documented? Have some of your duties changed? Take time to update your desk manual so anyone coming in behind you knows how things are done.

What do you mean you don’t have a Desk Reference Manual? Well, this is the perfect time to make one, isn’t it?

5. Organize Office Supplies

It’s been my experience that it doesn’t matter how often you organize your office supplies, they always need straightening again. I don’t know what it is, but when people get into the office supply cabinet, they are like little kids, just scattering things too and fro. Straightening up the office supply cabinet is always good for a few minutes work when you’re at loose ends, and people actually do notice and appreciate when the supply cabinet is user friendly.

6. Set up Recurring Tasks

Go into MS Outlook and set up recurring tasks for all of your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly duties. That way, when days are crazy, it’s easy to remember tasks that might otherwise slip your mind. I have reminders set up for little things like remembering to lock my file cabinets when I leave, as well as big things like running year end reports. While I don’t need the reminders every day for some tasks, it’s nice to have them there on those infrequent days that I do forget them.

7. Review Your Office Equipment

Is some of your office equipment aging? Spend some time looking at and pricing alternatives so when you do need to replace some of your equipment, you can do so quickly and easily.

8. Redesign Reports

Are there some regular reports that you look at and think could be done better, but you just never had the time? Well, now you do. Go in and redesign some of those reports that have good information but are ugly to look at or the ones that have good information but could have better. I always like to keep a list of little projects like this to have around for when times are slower.

9. Enter Business Cards into Contacts

Enter that huge stack of business cards your boss is hoarding into his Contacts list in Outlook. If you have a business card scanner, that makes it even easier.

10. Brush Up On Your Software Skills

These days the amount of software skill a good administrative assistant is expected to know is mind boggling. Use your down time to increase your skill with existing software, or even expand your skills with new software.

Remember, nothing looks worse for an Administrative Assistant or other office professional than to be seen sitting idle. Regardless of how much work you do, trust me, what they’ll remember at review time was the one time they saw you sitting with nothing to do.Similar Posts:

Create a Desk Reference Manual

Jodith — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:38:52 +0000

photo credit: Dan4th

What happens if a sudden emergency occurs and you have to be off work for a week or more? Could a temp walk into your office and be able to easily handle things while you’re gone? She can if you’ve created a Desk Reference Manual with procedures on how to handle your duties while you’re out.

How to Start – Figure Out What You Actually Do

Making a list of what you actually do can be rather daunting considering just how much we do on a daily basis. A good place to start in creating your desk manual is your job description. After listing your duties from your job description, start listing things you do on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis that aren’t actually listed on your job description. Just figuring out what you do every day is a big task in itself. I found that keeping a time log for a few weeks is a big help in picking up the small duties that are easy to overlook.

Next Step – List Procedures

Once you have a good list of duties developed, break down each duty into the procedures involved. There may be one procedure for each duty, but you might also have multiple procedures for each duty. For instance, answering phones would include procedures for answering the phones, transferring calls, putting calls on hold, transferring calls to voicemail, checking voicemail, and taking messages. Some of these may seem obvious to you, but for someone walking into your office for the first time, they may not be obvious. Be safe and write a procedure for each one.

Writing the Actual Procedures

Now comes the fun part, writing the actual procedures for your duties. The best advice I can give you is to be as detailed as possible. Don’t assume that your reader will actually know what you’re talking about. Include step-by-step instructions. For example, don’t just say log-in to the computer, but rather give step-by-step instructions for the log-in.

Putting Together the Manual

Once you have your procedures written, put your manual together. Remember to include a Table of Contents so that your manual is easy to navigate, and even an index can be handy. You know your job better than any one else, so you are the best one to decide how your manual should be set up.

Remember the Little Details

You deal with important small details every day. Don’t forget to include these in your manual. Who are the important callers who should always be put through? Who should never be put through? Where does your boss keep his spare set of keys for when he inevitably locks them in his car? Does your boss like to review her day with you every morning? Does he like to have his calendar printed out for him every day? These little details will help more than anything else in lessening the impact of your absence from the office.Similar Posts:

What Are Your New Year’s Goals?

Jodith — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:36:53 +0000

As the holidays wind down, New Year’s Day looms, and with it the spectre of New Year’s Resolutions. While most people look at these resolutions in a personal sense, like losing weight, exercising more, or being more assertive, I’ve found it beneficial to apply the idea of New Year’s Resolutions to work as well. We need goals in our jobs as well as in our personal life. After all, how do we know what we are achieving if we aren’t striving for something?

How to make good, achievable resolutions

We often make resolutions, but after a few weeks, they fade into the background, and we don’t think about them again until the next New Year. Here’s some tips for not just making, but keeping your resolutions:

Keep it achievable. Make sure your resolution is possible. Don’t shoot for the moon, but rather incremental steps toward your goal. If you set your bar too high, you can feel overwhelmed by the challenge. Instead, set small, achievable goals that will step you along the way to the ultimate goal of your resolution.
Make it specific. A goal that is too general isn’t always an impetus for change. State specifically what you want to achieve. Losing weight is too general. Losing 20 pounds is an actual goal that you can mark yourself against.
List concrete steps towards your goal. Don’t just state what you want to achieve, but make part of your resolution specific steps you intend to take to meet the goal. If you want to be more assertive, add a goal of speaking up at least once in every staff meeting. Again, keep it achievable. And every time you achieve your goal, remember to reward yourself, even if it’s just a mental pat on the back!
Share your goal with at least one other person. It’s easy to lie to ourselves, but it’s harder to backtrack when we have someone else helping us to be accountable.

My work related resolutions for this year are fairly simple:

Learn CSS (cascading style sheets). I’ve already dabbled with CSS in my blogs, since it’s the backbone of WordPress. However, since it’s also the styling for SharePoint, learning CSS is a good direction for me to take not only in my current job, but in my career as well. So, I resolve to spend at least 1 hour per week this year working on my CSS skills.
Keep my desk neater. Neatness has never been my forte, so this year, my goal is to keep everything neater. Keep my pens in a cup, keep my papers in their folders. Put things away when I’m not using them. I resolve to spend 10 minutes every evening before I go home and 10 minutes before lunch every day tidying up my desk so it remains neater.
Be more assertive in asking for new duties. I’ve been holding back in this job so far, but I’ve seen a number of things around this office that I can lend my expertise to. So I’m putting together a list of things to cover with my boss on extra duties I can take on when I’m not tied up with my primary job here. I resolve to set up a meeting with him during the first two weeks of January to share my ideas.

So, what are your work and/or career resolutions for this year? It can be anything from a small resolution relating to a current duty, or something as big as getting a new job in another industry. Share with us your resolutions for 2009 and how you want to go about achieving them. Or if you aren’t sure how to achieve them, ask and we’ll help you with some ideas for achieving your goals this year.

So, what are your goal for the New Year? Share them with us. Maybe we can help?Similar Posts:

New Job? What to do on your first day

Jodith — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:32:04 +0000

So, you’re starting a new job as an Administrative or Executive Assistant. What do you do to make sure you start off on the right foot and are able to hit the ground running?

First Things First

Your first task should be to sit down with your new boss and find out exactly what he/she expects. Some of the things to find out are:

Do you need to keep an eye on his e-mail
Will you be managing her calendar and if yes, what are her priorities
What calls should you always put through, what calls should you screen
Do you open all of his mail including items marked personal and/or confidential
Does she want to have time set aside every day when there are no appointments
What time does he want to take lunch (again, a calendar management task)
Does she want you to keep her desk organized (for some bosses this is a must, and others don’t want you to touch their desk)
Get the names of the boss’s spouse, children, parents and friends who may be frequent callers.

Set Up Daily Meetings

Each boss is going to be a bit different. It helps to sit down on the first day and get some clear guidelines on what this particular boss wants. I also highly recommend having a one-on-one time every morning so you can catch up on what he’s currently working on and what his priorities are for the day. This is an important daily habit to get into. You can’t adequately manage his calendar and screen his calls if you don’t have an idea of what is important and what isn’t, and those priorities are going to change from day to day.

Never Bad-Mouth the Outgoing Admin

It doesn’t matter if she was the worst admin ever, if her files were a mess, her procedures scanty, and her professionalism lacking. For all you know, your boss worshipped her. If you want to change procedures, never couch it in terms of the old admin’s procedures being lacking. Just present it as, “This is what will help me do the job.”

Don’t Make Wholesale Changes

Even if you’re convinced that you know the absolutely best procedure for an existing task, don’t make changes immediately. Get to know the boss and office for a bit before suggesting changes. There may be reasons the procedures are as they are. Make sure your reasons for changing it are at least as compelling as the reasons for keeping it the same.

Starting a new job can always be a bit nervewracking. In my next post, I’ll talk about what you can do as the exiting admin to make your replacements life a bit easier.

So, what do you think are important items to consider on your first day as a new Administrative or Executive Assistant? Leave a comment and let’s hear your ideas!Similar Posts:

Making A Full Page of the Same Label

Jodith — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:38:55 +0000

So, you have a mailing to process, and you want to make a full page of the return address label. Don’t worry, you don’t have to type out each label individually. Making a full page of the same label is very easy in Microsoft Word.

First, click on Tools: Letters and Mailings: Envelopes & Labels:

Next, click on the Labels tab, enter your return address information, make sure your choose “Full Page of Same Label” under “Print”, and then click on “New Document” on the right.

Word will then open a new document with a full page of labels with the same address. You can now format the labels however you wish and print them out.

Note: MS Word will default to the Avery 2160 Mini-Address label. If you want to use any other label, then click “Options” before you choose “New Address” and select the template for the labels you wish to use.

You can also use this procedure to make a template for typing in other labels, such as file folder labels. Just leave the address portion of the dialog box blank. When you choose “New Document”, you’ll get a page of blank labels, which you can then fill in and print.Similar Posts:

Answering Questions Right the First Time: Creating a Resource List

Jodith — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:54:16 +0000

In my previous series on Receptionist Tips (see Part I and Part II), I neglected one very important piece of information: creating a resource list.

As a receptionist, you are often the first person someone will talk to, and if they are not calling the right place, you are often the only one they will talk to. So, for that person, you are the total face of your company (or department or location). Therefore you always want that person to come away with a good impression.

The way to make the best impression is to offer help to someone even if they have come to the wrong place. I recently worked for a local social services agency that provided help for at risk youth. Because we had the word “youth” in our name, we had many calls every day from people who needed help but just didn’t know where to turn. Part of the job of the front desk was to help direct these people to the appropriate services in the community.

Whatever industry you work in, referring people to the appropriate place for help is part of your job as a receptionist. Don’t just tell someone that you don’t provide the service they’re looking for. Help them find where to go next.

This is my long-winded way of saying, create a resource list. When you start a new receptionist job, pay attention to the types of calls and visitors you receive. Listen to what they are asking and jot down the questions you don’t know how to answer. When you have a free moment, research the answer to the question for the next time it’s asked. Whether the answer lies with a coworker or manager, or you need to find the information on the internet, make note of what you find out. Over time, as you accumulate more information, create a reference notebook for the front desk, so anyone relieving you also has that information at their fingertips.

Never let someone walk away with an “I don’t know”. A “Let me find out” will go much further in maintaining a good relationship with clients and impressing your boss.Similar Posts:

For Beginners: Receptionist Tips Part Deaux

Jodith — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:54:13 +0000

On to Part Two of our Receptionist Tips series.

In Receptionist Tips I, I discussed phone etiquette for receptionists, although some of the tips are applicable to anyone in the admin support field. However, unless you are working on a switchboard, there’s a great deal more to being a receptionist than answering the phone.

Appearance: I cannot emphasize enough the importance of appearance as a receptionist. You are the first person a client sees when they enter your business, and we all know how important first impressions are.Grooming is paramount. Hair should be clean and well styled. Clothing and hairstyle should be appropriate to the work environment. Obviously, if you are working in an attorney’s office, you will likely be required to present a very professional appearance with conservative hairstyle and business dress (in other words, leave the piercings at home). However, if you are working at an avant garde graphic design firm, you may be expected to dress in a much more fashion forward style. Whatever the work style of your office, make sure you meet the standards of dress and grooming applicable to your situation.
Keep your work area neat! Again, first impressions are everything. Even though you are probably working on multiple projects at a time, you do not need to have them all scattered across your desk at the same time. Make use of drawers, file cabinets and letter trays to stow in-progress projects when they aren’t currently in use. The impression you want to give is of someone who is busy but organized.
Speaking of busy, if you ever lack work, find something to keep looking busy. Ask for work if you don’t have anything to do. If there isn’t anything, then this is a good time to work on your Microsoft Office skills. Remember, if you want to progress past the level of receptionist, you need to have top notch software skills to carry you forward.

When you greet a client, stand up. This will add confidence and friendliness to your greeting. Don’t forget to smile. If they are there for a meeting, don’t forget to ask for a name and make note of the pronunciation so you can announce them properly. If they ask a question you can’t answer, just say you don’t know and tell them you will get the answer for them. Then get the answer! If the client has to wait, offer a beverage if you have them. Your goal is to make the client feel comfortable and welcomed.
If a call comes in while talking to a client, excuse yourself and answer the phone. Ask the caller to hold a moment (don’t forget to say thank you) and finish with the waiting client. Then go back to the person holding on the phone.
Know your office. At the front desk, you will be the person asked about how to find the restroom or water fountain, where to park (and if you validate parking), where supplies are located and myriad other facts. When you start a new job, try to make note of these kinds of information. They will come in handy in your day to day job.
Cultivate patience. You will have to deal with difficult clients. You will have to stave off salespeople. You will have 3 people walk in the door at the same time that every phone line is ringing. Whatever happens, keep your cool and project an aura of confident ability. A certain amount of bravura can get you through a lot. And remember….
Always know when and who to ask for help. When things are getting out of hand, don’t be afraid to ask for backup. If you don’t know the answer to the question, find out who knows. If all the phones are ringing and you have a line at your desk, take a few seconds to signal a backup to help. Needing help is not a negative. Not asking for help when it is needed is.

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For Beginners: Receptionist Tips I

Jodith — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:35:07 +0000

One of the most frequent entry level positions for someone in the administrative support field is that of Receptionist. In this position, you will have a chance to learn and hone many skills that you will carry with you throughout your career as an administrative professional. As an Executive Assistant, I still get compliments on skills I learned as a Receptionist years ago. Since this is such an important entry level position, I will be writing a series of posts on being a good receptionist.

To begin, I will start with telephone etiquette, since answering incoming calls is usually a primary duty of a receptionist:

Smile when you answer the phone. You’ll sound more cheerful when you speak. I know it sounds hokey, but it really does work. Just try it.
Always answer the phone with an appropriate greeting: “Thank you for calling XYZ Company. How may I help you?” or “Good morning/afternoon, XYZ Company. How may I help you?”
Answer the phone as promptly as possible. The longer the phone rings, the more impatient the caller will become.
Ask for the caller’s name before transferring the call, and make note of pronunciation. The proper way to ask would be, “May I tell him who is calling?”
Announce the caller by name to the person to whom you are transferring the call before completing the transfer.

Always ask before putting someone on hold, “May I put you on hold for a moment?”. When you pick the line back up, thank them for holding, “Thank you for holding. How may I help you?” or “I’m sorry to keep you holding. How may I help you.”
When a person says “thank you”, the appropriate response is always “you’re welcome” in a cheerful voice. It is never, ever “uh-huh”. This is a particular pet peeve of mine, and a receptionist who responds with such will be receiving re-education as soon as possible.
Keep a scratch pad on your desk. As people talk to you, quickly jot down names and details and what line they are on. When you are answering multiple lines, you may at times have several lines holding for transfer. This will help you to keep from getting the calls confused and to be able to announce the calls appropriately. If it turns out the person they want is not available, you won’t have to ask them to repeat what they have already told you in order to take a message.
Ask managers if they prefer receiving calls in voice mail or getting a written message. Some have definite preferences one way or the other and will appreciate you asking.

What other tips do the seasoned professionals here have for our budding receptionists in regards to phone etiquette?Similar Posts: