The Effective Admin

Karen Porter, The Administrative Professional Job Performance and Career Success Coach

and Founder and President

of The Effective Admin

"I specialize in serving administrative professionals like you with job performance and career management advice. With almost 24 years experience interacting with the 'real' workplace and working administrative professionals -- including holding former admin pro level positions (and higher levels) myself at multiple different employers, -- I am well aware of the substantial job you and your administrative professional colleagues perform daily."

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Featured Administrative Professional Job Description:  Pharmaceutical / Biologics


 

Current job title:  Administrative Assistant (Clinical Project Assistant)

 

Industry:  Pharmaceutical / Biologics

 

Department:  R&D, Clinical Development

 

Years worked in this industry:  more than 8

 

Years worked in this department:  more than 8

 

Special training or attributes needed or helpful to get job in this industry (or specific department):  Yes, I had a medical background and knowledge

 

Number of managers and/or staff supported:  2 directors and 3 project managers

 

Typical work hours:  8 ˝ - 9 hours a day.

 

Weekends or overtime hours:  Weekends only if I am traveling or as needed. I work about 2 ˝ hours overtime a week. I work more overtime only when needed or when I am traveling. I do get paid time and a half for overtime. Double time if it is the 7th day of the week

 

General salary range (Note: This is a general figure or range provided by survey respondent and may NOT be an exact salary in order to give survey respondent some privacy. Also you must take into account that the number of years worked in industry/department may contribute to this salary as well as criteria such as level of position and person reports to, required hours and geographical location.):  $16 - $18/ hour

 

Benefits (direct or indirect): 

Tuition/Education program
Continuing education seminars
Life Insurance
Health Care
Dental
Optical
Major Medical
Long-term disability
Short-term disability
Profit Sharing
401 K / Matching program
5 sick days
4 personal days
160 hours vacation
8 major holidays off and the week from Christmas to New years off
Pension plan

 

Lingo you might hear in this industry: 

Contract research organization: A CRO oversees the clinical trials required for FDA approval of a drug.

Good manufacturing practices: GMPs are manufacturing regulations established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that require companies extensively to document their ongoing manufacturing efforts. If you work in quality assurance or quality control, GMPs will exert a large influence over your life.

Quality control/quality assurance: The folks who work in this area make sure that drugs are manufactured in accordance with FDA regulations. Note to scientists: Don’t limit yourselves to R&D—opportunities abound in QA/QC.

 

A typical day on the job:  There never is a typical day. Everyday is different. The only thing I do first that is typical is I check all calendars and read e-mails. Beyond that nothing is typical

 

Positive things about being an administrative professional in this industry: 

You have the opportunity to network with individuals from other countries.

You are continually learning something new.

Travel opportunity (this depends on the position)

 

Negative things about being an administrative professional in this industry:  Nothing is your own. You work with the team on projects and receive no credit for the good work you do. You are only acknowledged if something goes wrong.

Administrative professionals are not respected. Treated like second-class citizens.

 

Type of workspace/office:  cubicle

 

Primary responsibilities as an administrative professional in this position: 

Work will all individuals that report to my boss from both the US and Canada


Manage bosses calendars


Plan and schedule meetings both on and off site


Process invoices


Manage the incoming mail

 

Top thing(s) incumbent admin would require of job applicants seeking to be her/his position replacement: 

Have a working medical knowledge if not a medical background


Able to work in a fast pace atmosphere, able to think on your feet


Able to work independently with little to no supervision

 

Office machines or equipment operated regularly:  Computer, Scanner, copier, fax

 

Technology (hard) skills used regularly: 

Software:
Microsoft Programs:
Word, Access, EXCEL, Project 2003, Publisher 2003, PowerPoint, Visio, Outlook
Computer Medical Manager
Reference Manager
SAP System
ARIBA
ScanSoft Paperport
Documentum
Medline, Embase & PrivateStar

Other:
Meeting Planning

 

Critical soft skills:  These are all crucial skills:

People skills:
Communication and listening
In this business you deal with multiple countries, people and situations. You need to understand each countries customs so as to not offend someone by doing something that may come so natural to us. Need to communicate properly and even more so listen carefully.

Oral and Written Communication
Presents facts or ideas clearly and appropriately for different audiences.

Discretion
Discretion is a key part of any business.

Leadership
Involved in solving problems; interacts with a team effectively and guides others

Problem solving
Since I have no supervision I have to be able to handle any problems that may come up professionally and efficiently.

Negotiating
Have to be able to negotiate at work depending on the situation. I also need to be a good negotiator when I am dealing with hotels and DM’s (Destination Management Companies).

The ability to work on a multiple projects at a time (multitask).
I know it is said that multitasking is not a good thing but I disagree. I work on many projects all the time and I have to be able to multi task in order to get my job done and to meet deadlines.

Organized and attention to detail
Organization is also a key part of any business. Be meticulous. To be able to plan, schedule and control workload. Uses resources in an effective manner.

 

Pace of this position:  Extremely fast pace

 

Geographical region:  Northeast U.S.


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