Current job title: Administrative
Assistant II
Industry: Biotech/pharma company
Department: International business
analysis
Years worked in this industry: 2
Years worked in this department: less
than one year
Special training or attributes needed or helpful to
get job in this industry (or specific department): Excellent
administrative skills helped me obtain this position.
Number of
managers and/or staff supported: Varied from 2-12 at
different times
Typical work hours: 8:30-5:30
Weekends or overtime hours: No
weekends. Occasional overtime and get paid for it.
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.): $32,000 -
$48,000
Benefits (direct or indirect):
Excellent benefits: 2 different types of healthcare, vision, dental, 401k,
employee stock purchase, stock bonuses, performance bonuses, disability,
life.
Lingo you might hear in this industry:
We use a lot of acronyms and have a lot of committees. Most of our bosses
spend the majority of their time in meetings.
PDC = product development committee
KOL = key opinion leaders
JPT = joint product team.
A typical day on the job: Answering a
lot of emails, managing meeting setups, travel coordinating, copying,
phone answering, filing/organizing.
Positive things about being an administrative
professional in this industry:
(1) Get to do a variety of things each day...never a dull moment.
(2) The ability to think up/create/implement new ways of doing things for
my department.
(3) Receive a lot of respect from different venues.
Negative things about being an administrative
professional in this industry: Can’t think of any.
Type of workspace/office:
cubicle (but office layout good and being in cubicle isn't bothersome)
Primary responsibilities as an administrative
professional in this position: travel arrangements, meeting
coordinator—US and International, time scheduling of department personnel,
budget & forecasting, legal contract initiation.
Top thing(s) incumbent admin would require of job
applicants seeking to be her/his position replacement:
Technical skills, Attitude, and Organization
Office machines or equipment operated regularly:
computer, copier, calculator, label maker.
Technology (hard) skills used regularly:
Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
Critical soft skills:
People skills –
Need to work with a variety of people in a variety of departments or
companies in order to get what you need.
Excellent communication – Because
you need to present yourself professionally in order to be taken
seriously.
Discretion – Because you need to be able to deal with very
sensitive information and keep it to yourself.
Pride – Because it makes
your job so valuable to you as a person.
Judgement – You need to be able to decide what is very important and what
is not so important.
Organization – You need to be able to prioritize your tasks in order to
accomplish the most that you can in any given time.
Pace of this position: mostly fast but
occasional periods of slowness.
Geographical region: mid-atlantic, U.S.
Karen Porter, The Administrative Professional Job Performance and Career Success Coach™