Information and Articles for Administrative Assistants and Executive Assistants

Below are excerpts from articles for Administrative Assistants,

Executive Assistants and All Administrative Professionals

that appear in "The Gold" archives of The Effective Admin e-zine (An e-zine is an electronic newsletter or magazine ) plus in other publications of The Effective Admin. Plus I've added more full articles -- some not available anywhere else!

♦What is a Successful Administrative Professional?

Here are five ways you might define success as an administrative professional.

♦ Should Administrative Professionals Pursue More Education?

Read a few thoughts from The Effective Admin on continuous learning for administrative professionals of all levels.

♦ Are You Revealing Secrets in Your Administrative Professional Role? A simple questions from a co-worker or client can get you to reveal more confidential information than you realize.

♦ Admin Pro Coach Q&A:

The Admin Pro Coach addresses the following questions in this section.

Question: What do the best administrative professionals have in common?

Question: Do you need to be an extrovert in personality to achieve on the job and career success as an administrative professional (versus an introvert)?

Question: Can I be successful as an administrative professional by just working hard at my desk (nose to the grindstone as the old adage goes)?

Question: Can I be a successful administrative professional by learning as I go on the job?

♦ Are People Looking at You? Learn what comprises your image at work and why it's crucial to your career success that you have a good professional image on the job. Image is especially important for administrative support professionals -- you're on the frontline. Plus it affects your credibility in the workplace. You do want colleagues and bosses to take you seriously and value your input, don't you?

♦ Be The Indispensable Admin Assistant Never underestimate the power of soft skills to gain you success in the workplace, perks and job security. Read these three attributes that could help make you the indispensable administrative assistant.

♦ Better Workload Management = Same Hours, Less Stress Overworked? Overwhelmed? Learn tips to manage your workload in this article directed toward administrative assistants and executive assistants. An expert specializing in personal and professional development techniques for administrative professionals offers advice.

♦ Busting Myths: False Excuses Some Admins Make to Justify Not Participating in Professional Development, Skills and Competencies Training, and Continuing Education Why don't you participate in paid professional development, training, and continuing education related to your administrative professional job and career? I'm busting you and those excuses in this article.

♦ The Irreplaceable Administrative Professional

Learn what can set you apart from your admin pro colleagues.

♦ Is the Green Monster Blocking Your Workplace Satisfaction and Success Read this article so you don't get caught by the green monster and unintentionally sabotage your own career success and satisfaction as an administrative professional (or just stress yourself out over what's not really important at work).

♦ E-mail Management, Especially for Administrative Professionals

E-mail communication is a tool that all admins must master.

♦ Assertiveness is a Learned Skill. Learn it! Many administrative support professionals are not naturally assertive because they're in a support role and instinctively want to please everyone. But being assertive on the job can help you to manage your workload and improve your well-being while you still provide needed services to others.

♦ Stop Standing Still Read why and how career advancement requires personal and professional growth. This article is for administrative professionals who want to achieve an even higher level in the admin profession.

♦ How do Administrative Professionals Prioritize Workloads for Multiple Bosses? How do administrative assistants or even executive assistants best support, or juggle, multiple bosses?

♦ Are Flip Flops Appropriate and or Acceptable Dress for Office Professionals? What about designer flip flops? Do your admin colleagues think they affect one's professional image in the eyes of superiors, colleagues, clients, etc.?

♦ Resumes That Rock (16 Expert Tips) Learn resume and cover letter writing tips from someone who wrote the book about real resumes that got real administrative assistants and real executive assistants real jobs.

♦ When and How do you Stop Listening to the "Grapevine" at Work? Do you believe gossip in the workplace can sometimes be informative or helpful to you? Are there other times when you believe gossip is hurtful or not useful in the workplace?

♦ Administrative Professionals Who Proactively Sought a Salary Increase or Promotion What admins did or said to request one and the results.

♦ Administrative Professional Certifications such as CPS, CAP Who holds one, why they decided to pursue the certification, and how the certification has benefited them personally and or professionally or has it done so.

♦ Methods from Administrative Professionals Who Schedule Meetings That Should Include Multiple People Checking each person's "real" availability; what scheduling software, if any admin pros use and does it work well or not; or do admins handle the process manually.

♦ Be The Best Presenter in Your Company Create good office buzz about you and create learners with these train the trainer tips. In this article directed toward administrative assistants and executive assistants, a 30-year corporate trainer shares practical tips for conducting training sessions so your participants learn and you shine on the job.

♦ Masters at Planning and Scheduling Travel, Including International Travel Share Tips If you're an administrative assistant or executive assistant you probably plan and schedule travel for your manager or coworkers (beyond the office conference room). So what now?

♦ How Administrative Professionals Screen Phone Calls What phrases admins use, tone, things to listen for from the caller and more.

♦ Buying Holiday Gifts for Co-workers or Bosses Are administrative professionals buying these gifts or not? Regardless, what are admins' thoughts and/or guidelines on the subject of gift-giving in the office?

♦ Office Ergonomics for Administrative Professionals Learn how to prevent pain and protect your health at work

Ask the Admin Pro Coach: A compilation of 10 questions and answers from administrative professionals globally to the Admin Pro Coach. These Q&A's previously appeared in The Effective Admin newsletter issues of Sept. 2008 - March 2010.

Topics include:

1. Dear Admin Pro Coach Addresses Project Overload Dilemma

Dear Admin Pro Coach:
"I work in a fast-paced environment, supporting a global team of 7. In my current and previous admin role, I am struggling to learn when and how to say 'no.' As a result, I am often faced with impractical deadlines and sometimes I let my colleagues down by not being able to deliver. ... I would be grateful for some guidance, different suggestions for different situations would be a great help!"

2. Dear Admin Pro Coach Addresses Supervisor Dilemma: Communicating Why You Terminated Their Co-worker and Quelling Related Fears

Dear Admin Pro Coach:
"...I had to let an admin person go (who had been with the company many years) due to lack of performance. This is causing some real issues within the company that I’m not sure how to handle. ... How should this be communicated within the company? I don’t want to trash the long-term employee but need others to understand that we are trying to grow the company and cannot hold on to non-productive employees."

3. Dear Admin Pro Coach Addresses Seeking Promotion — Ambitious Admin Seeks Promotion Beyond Admin Level

Dear Admin Pro Coach:
"Please tell me how I can get a promotion from admin. asst. ... I just received the annual merit increase. I couldn't get extra responsibilities or extra attention or recognition from other higher staff. Shall I wait longer to [be promoted]. I feel impatient...."

4. Dear Admin Pro Coach Addresses Succeeding Despite Lost Confidence

Dear Admin Pro Coach:
"I have been an administrative assistant for about 20 years. Until five years ago I was able to keep a position for a minimum of 10 years. Over the last five years, I’ve had difficulty keeping a position in this field. During this period, I’ve also gone through a difficult ... What am I doing wrong? ... I have lost confidence due to the loss of many jobs. Can you please offer me some insight as to what I can do to succeed and continue to grow and progress in this position?"

5. Dear Admin Pro Coach Addresses Career Path for Administrative Professional

Dear Admin Pro Coach:
"I'm currently employed as an administrative assistant.... I would just like to know if there is a clear career path for an administrative assistant (e.g. admin assistant to admin specialist to office manager)? Would there be any other areas where we can advance to?"

6. Dear Admin Pro Coach Addresses When to Just Handle it Without Informing Your Boss

Dear Admin Pro Coach:
"I was promoted to an executive assistant for a top level executive. How do you determine what problems you should share with your boss and what problems you should keep to yourself and just deal with? For example, ...."

7. Dear Admin Pro Coach Addresses Recommended Classes for Aspiring Administrative Assistants

Dear Admin Pro Coach:
"What classes would you recommend someone take at a university who is interested in becoming an administrative assistant?"

8. Dear Admin Pro Coach Addresses Improving Attention to Detail to Avoid Mistakes

Dear Admin Pro Coach:
"I've been an executive assistant for fifteen years. I'm currently in a new position working for the vice president and chief learning officer.... My new boss is constantly finding minor details that I have overlooked in my work. I've never had this problem before in my career. Can you please recommend a way to improve attention to detail?"

9. Dear Admin Pro Coach Addresses Goal Setting for Secretaries and Assistants

Dear Admin Pro Coach:
"I am the assistant to a governor appointed agency head. .... I will finally be getting my review within the next few months and will have to fill out a form which outlines my goals. Working as his assistant, I’m not sure how to list “goals” as a secretary/assistant. ...Any suggestions?"

10.Dear Admin Pro Coach Addresses Do I Need to “Dumb Down” my Resume to get a Job?

Dear Admin Pro Coach:
"I lost my job working as a medical administrative assistant, ... In my search, I’m not being considered because of my pay range, which I’ve lowered, or being told I’m overqualified. Staffing agencies don’t respond to me either. ....I’m at a loss as to my next search step and feel like employers are unsure of what I want because of the shift in the medical arena. Do I need to “dumb down” my resumes...?"

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