10 Ways to be a Great Admin Assistant

10 Ways to be a Great Admin AssistantAs a personal or administrative assistant, yours is one of the most important (and undervalued) components of a successful operation. Here are 10 ways to be a great admin assistant and get noticed for all the amazing, crucial work you do.1. Show core competenceThis covers the basics. You should be solid on everything from basic office and organization skills, necessary software, all word processing programs, database creation and management, communication skills, phone manner, spelling, grammar, punctuation, scheduling, payroll, budgeting, report generating, basic accounting, supply ordering, etc., etc. Think of this as your absolute extremum as far as skills and expertise go, then build on it, rather than thinking of it as a rudimentary checklist. You want all these boxes ticked, and well, before you can feel comfortable calling yourself good at your job. Then build on them and get even better and more competent.2. CommunicateThis is an absolutel y key and crucial skill for assistants. Dont just be good at itbe great at it. Thats where your bar should be set. Whether youre speaking to clients or your bosss boss on the phone, be personable, charming, and precise. Smile, even when you dont mean it, and even when no one can see. Theyll be able to hear it in your demeanor and it can make all the difference. Be a pleaaya to speak with on the phone and in person. Be someone people are relieved to go to when they have a problem that needs fixing.3. Dot your isOrganization and attention to detail are two skills probably already on your resumeand everybody elses You must make these the keystones of your entire job outlook. Pay attention. Be meticulous. Find a system that is efficient, common sense based, and works for you. Be the best-oiled machine possible. When youve reached optimum efficiency, try and make it even better.4. Manage your timeAnother skill everyone likes to tout on their resumes. But you must absolutely own this one. Half the time you wont just be managing your time, but your bosss time. Or the companys. Youll have to manage all of this while also managing yourself and your projects and deadlines. Become a master juggler. Know when you can add another log to the fire and when you have to delegate or decline.5. Know your industryIts not enough to know your office inside and out. If youre not thinking past your immediate workspace and your company, youre only ever going to be an administrative assistant. A lot of industry-specific stuff you can learn on the job. Just make sure you learn fast. Pay attention. Ask questions. Bone up in your free time. After week two, you should be the one answering the questions. After another few weeks, be good enough to be a resource to your bossrather than the other way around.6. Hone your toolsDepending on what your particular tool box contains, youll learn very quickly what you need to know. Whether its Quicken or Excel, take a training course, gain Jedi ninja skills that make you a wizard at that tool. There will come a time when your wealth of extra knowledge saves the day.7. Be a consummate professionalDont just dress nicely for work and be professional. Dress consistently and perfectly for what youre doing and who youre working with. Look goodthe more professional you look, the more respect youll gain without having to do much at all. And be absolutely steadfast in your commitment to being a professional. This reputation for trustworthiness and respectability will only help you as you go.8. Be trustworthyWhether youre dealing with twisty office politics or having to mediate concerns between coworkers or youre just plain listening to people air their troubles, be a vault. Dont speak ill of anyone behind their back. Earn peoples trust. Maintain integrity and dignity. And always handle confidential documents, matters, and conversations with the utmost of tact. Be a vault. The trust of your colleagues and superiors is a valuable thing to have.9. Cultivate good judgmentUse all those skills from your undergraduate philosophy class. Hone your reason and critical thinking skills. Learn how to think through problems, anticipate complications and needs. Become deft at knowing how to delegate, whom to ask for help. And learn to do it without a lot of direction from above. Your boss will thank you for putting out so many fires on your own.10. Be a team playerThis sounds cheesy, but it really is a must. Pinch in when you can. Do the job everyone else is batting around like a hot potato. And do it with a smile on your face. Youll have a bunch of favors you can call in in a pinch. Plus, youll impress your boss with your initiative. Try to never utter the words but thats not my job.

A Millennials Guide To Mental Illness In The Workplace

A Millennials Guide To Mental Illness In The Workplace This piece by Ashley Laderer welches originally published on Talkspace.I was 21 the first time I had a nervous breakdown at work. It was my first job out of college, working retail at a flagship shoe store in Manhattan. One task was to stand in the doorway, smile, and greet customers. Sounds easy enough, right? Usually it was, but other times, when I was going through depressive phases or masking ananxiety attack, forcing a smile felt like having teeth pulled.Id stand fidgeting with my name tag, quietly saying hello to customers, giving my best close-lipped smile, trying my best to look charming without breaking down. A new manager-in-training approached me, and I knew some criticism was coming. They rarely approached employees to say, Good work. I was right. He told me to speak louder and smile.Tears started welling and I speed-walked downstairs to the bathroom. Slumping down to the floor, I sobbed. I cried so hard I thought I w as going to vomit. Faking happiness for eight hours a day was nearly impossible, and I didnt have the energy to pretend I was OK for a second longer. Once Id gotten rid of fruchtwein most of the tears, I went back upstairs and asked an older manager if we could talk in his office.Can you please tell John to stop asking me to smile? I have Major Depressive Disorder and I cant control this fact, and some days its really not that simple for me. It doesnt help that youre paying me minimum wage and I can barely affordtherapy, I confessed. He was shocked and at a loss for words. I went on and on as if it were a therapy session. He even shed a few tears of his own. So, yeah. Theres one way to confront your mental illness at work bottle everything up until you reach your breaking pointThe Struggle of Hiding a Mental Illness in the WorkplaceHiding a mental illness for eight hours a day is an exhausting, emotionally draining job. Fighting this internal battle while being at your day job is ex tra hard work. No high school or college course could prepare us or teach us the skills wed need to stay sane at a 9-5 while struggling with something most people cant even comprehend. There is no class that touches ondisclosing a mental illness to a manager, having apanic attack in the middle of a big meeting, or crying spells on the first day in a new position.The workforce has shifted heavily to the gig economy, and employees seem to be more disposable and replaceable than ever. Entering the workforce as a millennial is especially daunting because theres so much bias against our generation. We feel like we need to prove ourselves now more than ever, adding on to the immenseanxiety we already feel. We must perform as perfectly as possible, and on top of that, we arent allowed to appear weak or sad.The expectation that we must be super-human employees begins on the job hunt. Posts by employers list a sunny temperament as a necessary qualification right alongside skills such as flue ncy in Adobe Photoshop and knowledge of Microsoft Excel. Personally, when I was seeking a corporate job, I found myself wary of applying for such positions.Am I upbeat enough? Are they going to think Im a Debbie Downer? If Im not smiley all the time, am I a bad employee?Its easy to see a pattern, even with just a quick search for jobs at major digital media companies. The first post requires the befhigung employee to help maintain the cheery and collaborative culture with a positive attitude. The second employer says employees must have positive energy, and the third calls for someone with a positive, curious, playful disposition.Lets say you muster up the courage to apply for a position, interview, and then get the job. The anxiety piles on up, and youll likely imagine many worst-case-scenarios. Youll probably have questions like, How am I going to survive a full day at work? Should I tell my boss about my mental illness? I spoke with two mental health professionals to get some ans wers.How to Make It Through the Workday When You Have a Mental IllnessThere are multiple coping tools you can use throughout the work day (ones your co-workers wont even notice) to help you get by. Melissa Moreno, LCSW, explains, Mental illness affects people differently so when trying to figure out how to manage such things at work the first step would be figure out the symptoms and ways to manage them. She continues, Using coping skills that one can use during a meeting or from a desk may also be important, things such as deep breathing exercises, counting ones breath, or having a picture of their family or pet on their desk. It is key to identify the symptoms that you want to manage at work and then develop a plan to help manage such symptoms.Jor-El Caraballo, LMHC, echos the importance of a daily plan. I think its a great idea to work with my clients in developing a self-care or daily coping plan that lists strategies they can use at any part of their day. I think that having a visual reminder of this, such as a phone wallpaper background, sticky note in their cubicle or something like that, can be just what people need to cope in moments of struggle.On top of coping skills, its important to keep up with treatment plans, which may include therapy. Especially when starting a new job, it can be intimidating to ask for time off for appointments. Caraballo has experience working with millennials who struggle with this. Ive worked with many clients who feel caught in-between this place of wanting and recognizing they need help, but afraid of what the implications might be for work if they speak about their diagnoses or need for appropriate medical care. He adds, For those in corporate jobs (and others), it can be difficult to find ANY time away from the office, let alone time to practice good self-care or mental hygiene.While its scary to ask for time off, Moreno reminds us that if youve been a full time employee at a large company for a certain amount of time, its actually the law to be granted some time away from the office. She states, The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990, prohibits discrimination in hiring and firing decisions based on physical and mental disabilities and entitles people to reasonable accommodations from their employers. In the case of mental illness some solutions may include flexible working hours, access to an additional break, and support from supervisor.Of course, this privilege will require you to disclose your mental illness. Caraballo realistically cautions that sharing your mental illness status, unfortunately, may not go as smoothly as youd hope. I think that, in certain instances, it can be quite helpful to disclose mental illnesses to an employer. If you have an understanding or knowledgeable management team, communicating that can ensure that youre receiving appropriate flexibility and accommodations. But, sadly, this is not always the case. Many geschftliches miteinander or organizat ions still fall behind in promoting worker self-care in large part due to the stigma surrounding mental health issues and demand for productivity.Simply put, Moreno says, Disclosure of mental health issues at work is a personal choice, and you can say as much or as little as you choose. If you need more support, being open may help you get it. She advises, Request a one-to-one meeting with your boss so you can sit privately where you can discuss your mental health. If you decide to have the conversation it may be important to plan out the conversation and practice what you will say. Going into the conversation with a plan can be helpful, maybe even writing some notes with important points to cover. Identifying what support you hope to gain from your employer and how it will improve your job wertzuwachs is definitely important to touch upon.Whether or not you decide to reveal your mental illness to your employer, one things for sure you arent alone. I bet at least one of your coworke rs is fighting a similar battle as you are. Remember that you are stronger than you think, and you have the tools to make it through the day. Even when it feels like work is a battle that will never end, keep going. Youll be okay. And if you need support, a therapist is a great resource

The Nuiances of Resume Writing Tips for a It Support

The Nuiances of Resume Writing Tips for a It rckendeckung Possessing a very clear and professional resume is vital in the health care field. When youre asking for work in the tech business, it is necessary that your resume to accurately reflects your abilities and experience in the specialty. Ensure you highlight technical wisdom and certifications. If you dont enjoy the options available based on your present abilities, get the training necessary to offer you new opportunities. Writing a strong application is a challenging procedure and we would like to make it simpler. Resume Builder An on-line tool to construct your Resume quick and simple to use. Employing a custom resume instead of a generic one is going to greatly increase your probability of an interview, as youll be a better match in the view of the reader. Employing a student resume template can help you save you time and effort and offer you ideas on which sections to include and the way to complete them so as to pull in the appropriate employers. ur resume library has an excellent number of samples. For that reason, its important to opt for a resume type which best fulfills your requirements. No matter which format you use or what information you decide to include or omit, there are specific things you can do in order to help your resume stand out over the crowd. Attempt to comprehend the market of the organization you are asking for work, and identify what type of difficulties they may be going through. There are both local and internet options are available, and normally the investment will be well worth the money. Job seekers deserve to locate decent content quickly. Work experience is an important part of your resume, but nevertheless, it should not feature a thorough collection of all of the jobs that youve held (particularly if youve worked in the business for years or had many jobs). Detecting a job isnt as simple as it once was. Writing a resume for employment in the art industry can be difficult. The Hidden Treasure of Resume Writing Tips for a It Support Again, think of what the hiring manager would like to see to convince them to call you in for an interview. Accounting and finance managers might want to see your technical understanding. In the same way, dont write Manage a group of five if youre referring to a job which you held previously. If youre attempting to acquire work in accounting or finance you require averystrong resume. Choosing Resume Writing Tips for a It Support Is Simple For instance, you may want to just compose an overall letter, or you might want to bring up the subject of possible follow up discussions. Dont include salary information unless youre specifically asked to achieve that. Below, you will discover tips and data that can help you make a favorable impression on any employer. The New Angle On Resume Writing Tips for a It Support Just Released Even should you decide to change your work objective later, it is quite vital that you choose a temporary objective for the time being. Know the purpose of your resume Some people today write a resume like the function of the document was supposed to land work. Understanding how to tailor your resume will obviously provide you an advantage.