Article

What Does it Take to be an Administrative Assistant?

Written by Percey Evans

Topic: Continuing EducationPublished January 30, 2012
No ratings yet747 viewsSign in to rate
What kind of personal qualities are required to build a successful career in administrative assistance? The qualities needed are not complicated but they are absolutely essential to have when it comes to this career choice. Read on to see if these main attributes describe you, and if they do, don’t hesitate to enrol in an administrative assistant course!rnEXCELLENT ORGANIZATIONAL AND LANGUAGE SKILLSrnAn administrative assistant will work in the offices of a business or organization where their unique skills will be of assistance in helping that business or organization run perfectly smooth. An administrative assistant course will require that its students come to the program with incredible organizational and language skills. This is because the workload of an administrative assistant professional is to compile, verify, record, and process various forms and documents. This includes applications, agreements and letters, which must all, be in accordance with the established procedures, guidelines and schedules of the business or organization one is working for. If documents are misplaced or lost due to a lack of organization, this will certainly disrupt the flow of business. Likewise, misspelled or poorly written documents will reflect poorly on the reputation of the business or organization.rnTHE ABILITY TO WORK INDEPENDANTLY AND AS PART OF A TEAMrnAn administrative assistant will be required to be able to work two ways. As they are an integral part of the team of workers for a given business or organization, they must be able to effectively interact with others and get along. However, the majority of tasks will need to be completed by the person themselves at their desk, so the ability to work with little supervision is essential. An administrative assistant course will certainly touch upon this aspect through its courses.rnENJOY WORKING WITH COMPUTER SOFTWARErnAn administrative assistant cannot complete their work without working on computers, thus one must thoroughly enjoy working with and learning new computer software. Some of the software taught in an administrative assistant course includes: • Microsoft Accessrn • Microsoft Excelrn • Microsoft Outlookrn • Microsoft PowerPointrn • Microsoft Wordrn • Microsoft WindowsrnIn addition to these computer software courses, an administrative assistant course will also offerrn • basic bookkeeping coursesrn • business correspondence coursesrn • business math coursesrn • customer service skillsrn • courses in office proceduresrnA skilled administrative assistant is always in great demand by both large corporations and small independent businesses. There isn’t one industry sector that doesn’t require staff with strong office and software related skills. There is never anything to lose with an administrative assistant course. You can apply for a job in all industry sectors!rnContact The Academy of Learning for more information on their Administrative Assistant Diploma Program.

Article author

About the Author

Percey Evans is a freelance writer who works for Higher Education Marketing, a leading Web marketing firm specializing in Google Analytics, Education Lead Generation, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Mobile SMS Alerts, Social Media Marketing and Pay Per Click Marketing, among other Web marketing services and tools.