Current job title: Administrative
Assistant to Vice President
Industry: publishing
Department: administration
Years worked in this industry: Less
than 4
Years worked in this department: Less
than 1
Special training or attributes needed or helpful to
get job in this industry (or specific department): I have a
degree in English education, have training in MS Office software, have in
depth knowledge of the [denomination] church (this company is the publishing
branch of the denomination and other Christian denominations). I also had
known the current president of the company for 20+ years. Networking
helped me to get hired.
Number of
managers and/or staff supported: 3
Typical work hours: 7:30 am to 4:30 pm
Weekends or overtime hours: I am not
required to work overtime very often. Perhaps 2-3 evenings/mornings per
quarter. Yes, I do get paid for the overtime.
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.): $30,000 --
$35,000
Benefits (direct or indirect):
Health/dental/eye insurance, retirement plan (with matching funds from
company, pension plan, vacation, sick leave, occasional bonus days off for
everyone in the company, company days at a local theme park (company buys
tickets for entire family and provides a barbeque meal at the park)
Lingo you might hear in this industry:
Saddle stitch—staples on the spine
Perfect bind—straight back
Spiral—wire binding
Case bound—hard back books
Case bound with a dust jacket
A typical day on the job:
Positive things about being an administrative
professional in this industry: 1) Lots of new books to
read!!! 2) Meeting authors 3) Training sessions with our sales reps
Negative things about being an administrative
professional in this industry: 1) Strict timelines—miss one
and the book doesn’t get in the industry show—very bad news. Other than
that…I can’t think of a negative.
Type of workspace/office:
cubicle outside of managers' office
Primary responsibilities as an administrative
professional in this position:
1) My most important task is keeping my boss on schedule. He has back to
back meetings almost every day so I spend a lot of time overseeing his
schedule.
2) Processing every book that is published by our company—getting into the
data base, processing the paper work for the receiving department.
3)
Processing contracts with foreign publisher who want to translate and
publish our books in other languages.
Top thing(s) incumbent admin would require of job
applicants seeking to be her/his position replacement:
Ability to multi-task, ability to make decisions when VP is occupied, must
be a self-starter—see something that needs to be done and do it
Office machines or equipment operated regularly:
Computer, fax, copier, shredder, video equipment (tv, vcr, dvd, computer
connections to tv)
Technology (hard) skills used regularly:
Typing, computer use, calculator, filing,
Critical soft skills: Good
communication—letting people know what the VP wants and/or needs from them
in preparation for meetings and projects, organization skills—keeping up
with VP’s paperwork, knowing where it is and when he will need it, tactful
questioning of those requesting an appointment with VP to know if it is
necessary or not.
Pace of this position: varies
Geographical region: Midwest U.S.
Karen Porter, The Administrative Professional Job Performance and Career Success Coach™