Could You Be A Great Administrator?
Calm, reliable admin staff form an essential support system for any thriving business. Working in this sector requires a number of skills and abilities - and each day is never the same! You could be thinking of entering the industry for the first time and want to see what courses are available.
Perhaps you've had a break and would like to retrain to get back up-to-date. Alternatively you may need a specific certification to get a promotion you're after. Whatever your reason, there are an abundance of training and certification programmes available for the motivated person.
Build A Foundation With Microsoft Certified Courses (Office 2003/2007)
As we've already mentioned, administration covers a very wide range of skills. Knowing how to use a computer is of prime importance to the admin or clerical worker. So you must understand how to carry out research online, how to send and receive email, how to set up files and work in a number of Microsoft applications.
You'll find a great number of adult retraining companies supply courses in computer user skills if that's where you need to start. Have a good look at what each are offering and do some comparisons. Look at some on this page to get you going. If you hold down the ctrl button on your keyboard and type 'D', you can bookmark any page you wish to come back to.
As well as computer-based skills, an entry level admin clerk will need to learn how to handle office communications, where good organisation is key. Consider courses in speed-reading, minute-taking and teamwork for example.
Moving Onwards and Upwards
As your experience builds, why not develop your skills further? Focus on training that adds value to the work you do to support others. Learn how to balance the needs of more than one manager or team leader, and how to adopt a flexible system for prioritising workloads. More skilled writing techniques will be called for as you progress - further training in this area will definitely pay dividends.
Be All You Can Be
Today's managers often handle the majority of their own emails, and so if you're looking to develop a career as a top PA or administrator you'll need to build multiple skill-sets into your portfolio. Naturally you'll have got the foundations under your belt, but top jobs ask for much more than that. It's not rocket science that the more scenarios you can deal with, the more employable and valuable you will become!
"We all have unique talents and interests, and one of life's greatest challenges is to match these talents with career opportunities that bring out the best in us. It's not easy-and sometimes we can only find it through trial and error-but it's worth the effort." - Linda Ellis and Mac Anderson.
Senior Advancement
Look upon continuous education as a complement to your increasing experience at work. Here is a sample of the training options available...
Coping With Pressure
Discover how to recognise potentially harmful scenarios and to build your attitude reservoir. Learn how to help yourself and others to adopt set procedures that will ease pressure build-ups.
Time Management
Study the various elements of time management theory and how to apply them to your working life. Discover the most up-to-date systems and procedural methods for time efficiency. By implementing the right systems and learning what to do in what order, you'll become vastly more productive and satisfied with your output.
Dealing With Negative In The Workplace
Learn the importance of effective telephone skills to correctly identify the other person's needs. Discover proven methods for turning a disgruntled colleague or client into a happy and trusting promoter of your business. Study collaboration and teamwork.
Become A Powerful Communicator
Adopt a powerful understanding of how to communicate well and be understood first time. Be an effective listener. Develop confidence to inspire others. Improve your business writing style and techniques.
You could focus your attention into one specific area as your career develops. For example, many administrators have taken commercial certifications in the following disciplines - HR, Accounts and Finance or Legal Administration.
Inactivity Serves No Purpose
Doing the research costs nothing, and you may just find exactly what you're looking for! If you pay attention to the details and enjoy facilitating others, you could make an excellent clerical or administrative worker - and who knows where that could lead to down the road? Every organisation needs good employees. Great administrators are the glue that holds those employees together so they can work in harmony with each other.
