Current job title: Management Team
Assistant
Industry: education
Department: Academic
Administration
Years worked in this industry: 2
Years worked in this department: 2
Special training or attributes needed or helpful to
get job in this industry (or specific department): My 10
years of admin experience from former jobs. Have not had admin training.
Have some college education.
Number of
managers and/or staff supported: 1-6
Typical work hours: 10Am-6:30Pm
Weekends or overtime hours: No
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.): $35,000
Benefits (direct or indirect): Health
insurance, TIA CREFF Retirement Program.
Lingo you might hear in this industry:
Since we’re non-profit we do lots of fundraising so I’ve had to do
“prospect research” where I find information on possible funders. For
example what boards do they sit on, any particular philanthropy they're
involved in to gauge how strong of a chance we have when making a decision
about approaching the individual for financial support of our programs.
There’s also the proposal writing process with “RFP’s” which is Request
for Proposals. These are our guidelines for the proposal we will be
submitting. There’s also specific language we include and statistical
information to express the importance of our programs. This comes from our
“boilerplate” language.
A typical day on the job: Grab mail,
read emails, work on current projects, check my boss’s email, messages,
meeting with her about my projects, her mail, etc. Keep her on track with
her appointments, remind her of important happenings, concerns from
others, etc.
Positive things about being an administrative
professional in this industry: You get a bit of everything.
So it’s rarely repetitive and boring.
Negative things about being an administrative
professional in this industry: Because you’re supporting
people your work is often overlooked. Many assume that the one heading the
project/or administrator should take all the credit but support staff are
the ones who usually do most of the work anyways. People think all you do
is staple and make copies when in fact we are writing, making decisions,
coordinating people and projects, we do A LOT! I would compare it to the
example of nurses and doctors.
Type of workspace/office:
office
Primary responsibilities as an administrative
professional in this position: Keep track of all of my boss’s
communications (correspondence, email, phone messages, guests -we have
receptionist). Keep her on schedule, Coordinating her calendar, setting
up meetings. Other fundraising/development projects as assigned.
Top thing(s) incumbent admin would require of job
applicants seeking to be her/his position replacement:
Flexibility, excellent time-management skills, assertiveness.
Office machines or equipment operated regularly:
Copier, fax, phone, computer
Technology (hard) skills used regularly:
Copier, fax, phone, computer (Microsoft office-ALL programs), Raisers Edge
(fundraising software)
Critical soft skills: Good
communication, following up with tasks, good organizational skills,
leadership skills, excellent interpersonal skills
Pace of this position: Very Fast-paced
Geographical region: East, U.S.
Karen Porter, The Administrative Professional Job Performance and Career Success Coach™