Archive for General
Sorry for the brief hiatus
But I’m back now after much drama both at work and at home. It’s amazing how everything can hit the fan at the same time, isn’t it?
Expect much posting in very short order while I work at getting caught up.
And thanks to all of you who have kept coming back even after a week […]
The Key to Problem Solving
Often as an Administrative Assistant, you are called upon to solve problems. Problems for you boss, problems for your coworkers, problems for clients. The mark of a really great Administrative Assistant is being able to solve problems.
Sometimes, though, a clear cut answer isn’t readily available to solve the problem at hand. What do you do […]
How to say No to the boss, and still keep your job.
As an administrative assistant, one of your most vital duties is to give appropriate feedback to the boss, and let’s face it, that feedback isn’t always positive. So how do you tell the boss that she just can’t do something without losing your job?
Most important, you need to know your boss and her temperament. If […]
Don’t ask….Don’t Tell
Confidentiality. It’s possibly the single most important topic for an administrative assistant. As an AA, you have access to an incredible amount of information, not just about the company and it’s employees, but about your boss’s private life as well. I don’t think I have been in an interview since I got to the administrative […]
The Boss/Assistant Relationship
No, no, no…not that kind of relationship! Goodness gracious, get your mind out of the gutter!
I’m talking about the relationship that exists between a boss and his administrative assistant. At least, the relationship that should exist between a boss and his admin.
One of the questions I am often asked on interviews is my view of […]
Proofread Like a Professional
Whether you are proofreading letters for your boss or proofing a newsletter going out to clients, an administrative assistant will always need good proofreading skills. You want everything that leaves your office to attest to the professionalism and quality of your employer, and nothing says incompetent better than typos and misspellings in letters and […]
Software Tutorials from Microsoft
Yes, there are other office products out there besides Microsoft Office. But if you work in the administrative field for any length of time, you’ll soon discover that Microsoft Office is the industry standard for office administration. And, when you reach the upper echelons of your administrative career, you will be expected to […]
You may not read minds, but convince your boss you can!
Which is my way of saying…anticipate your boss’s needs. That may seem to be self-evident, but it’s something we, as administrative assistants, forget sometimes.
Every afternoon before leaving the office, check your boss’s calendar for the next day. If he has a meeting on a topic, make sure the appropriate files are on his […]
Data collecting: the Backbone of a Good Assistant
Back when I was a department secretary (we won’t talk about how long ago that was), I had not yet realized the importance of collecting snippets of information about people and things. Then one day our long time receptionist announced she was retiring, and I was tasked with entering all the information from her […]
Travel Arrangements to Wow Any Boss, Part Three: International Travel
While international travel requires all the same steps as domestic travel, it holds some unique pitfalls of which the administrative assistant should be aware.
Time zone issues, specifically date issues. It is not unusual when traveling to another continent that you will leave on one date and arrive on another date. Don’t make the […]
