Current job title: Senior Administrative
Assistant
Industry: Financial
Department: Investment Operations
Years worked in this industry: 7
Years worked in this department: 7
Special training or attributes needed or helpful to
get job in this industry (or specific department): Word,
Excel, PowerPoint, confidentiality, excellent written communication skills
Number of
managers and/or staff supported: 1 Director, 5 Managers, 9
supervisors, 50 staff
Typical work hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:30
p.m.
Weekends or overtime hours: I work
overtime a couple of evenings/week (more often on occasion) 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.): This is
actually dependent on department and site the job is located
Benefits (direct or indirect): Increase
in vacation, fully vested in 401K with company matching after 5 years,
increase in bonus pool - depending on the market’s performance, company
has an excellent employee service program (discount tickets to various
events/sites/stores, on-site CPR/First Aid training each year,
safety/health fairs each year, center for personal relaxation/business,
etc), many opportunities for internal training/development
Lingo you might hear in this industry:
NAV (net asset value per share)
MBS (mortgage-backed securities)
market price (the last reported price that a fund sold for)
Equity (stock)
Fixed Income (bond or debt security)
A typical day on the job:
Calendar/email management for boss, domestic and international travel
arrangements, expense reporting, presentation preparation, meeting
planning, project administration, department events, metric reporting and
organization updates, meetings (agendas, minutes, action items, etc)
Positive things about being an administrative
professional in this industry: I get to play a part (albeit
small!) in my company’s visibility in the market, opportunities to work
with many in top management outside the department, many resources (people
and tools) available to utilize whenever needed
Negative things about being an administrative
professional in this industry: Extremely limited upward
mobility, many other admins do not share same interest/passion in the
administrative profession, poor/lack of communication and information
sharing between admins
Type of workspace/office:
Cubicle right outside boss’ office
Primary responsibilities as an administrative
professional in this position: Same as answers to "typical
day" question above and "soft skills" question below.
Top thing(s) incumbent admin would require of job
applicants seeking to be her/his position replacement: All of
the soft skills listed below as well as Proficient-Advanced skills in the
basic Microsoft applications (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
Office machines or equipment operated regularly:
Computer, phone, copiers, faxes, printers
Technology (hard) skills used regularly:
Microsoft applications (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access, Project,
FrontPage) PeopleSoft, Lotus Notes, Adobe Acrobat, Internet Explorer 6.0
Critical soft skills:
discretion with confidential information (information is provided to me in
advance of any announcement)
strategic communication (I communicate information to all levels of
management and modify the style appropriate to the situation/audience)
managing change (I assist my management in implementing change and
ensuring as smooth a transition for the department as possible)
organizational skills (frequent priority shifts demand my flexibility and
quick organization of time and tasks to meeting ever-changing deadlines
from multiple directors)
customer service (anyone I communicate with reflect on myself, my boss
department and company – I play an important part in our reputation; due
to my focus on this area, I have become known to many upper management –
several of whom I haven’t ever worked with!)
Pace of this position: Mostly fast
Geographical region: West U.S.
Karen Porter, The Administrative Professional Job Performance and Career Success Coach™