As an administrative assistant, you perform a variety of clerical duties and tasks to support your organisation every single day. Everyone knows that admin staff must have top notch computer literacy skills, as a huge duty within the role includes creating spread sheets and using word processing software – but here are five other skills which are equally as important to be a great administrative assistant:
1) Communication Skills
As an administrative assistant, you will interact with a wide range of people both online and in person. Therefore, your communication skills are vital, as you must always come across as both friendly and professional at all times. Being a good communicator, you should also be a good listener. You must listen carefully to every person you talk to and ensure you remember correct, accurate information. This also links into written communication skills – your spelling, grammar and sentence structure are integral aspects of online correspondence. Therefore, in order to be a great administration assistant, you should be able to communicate clearly, accurately and professionally across all mediums – whether that’s speaking on the phone, sending an email or filling in written forms.
2) Organisational Skills
When undertaking multiple tasks with similar deadlines, it is easy to forget things. Admin staff can’t do this, as they must stay on top of everything at all times. You must have exceptional organisational skills in order to keep schedules straight and everything running smoothly around the office. You should know how to keep everything organised, whether that’s managing a filling system or coordinating paperwork flow throughout the office.
3) Attention to Detail
To be a great administrative assistant, you have no room for mistakes. When filling in forms and paperwork, you must ensure everything is correct at all times – as a mistake from you could affect the business. You need exceptional attention to detail to ensure the right information, materials and data is gathered for co-workers. A great administration assistant can keep on top of all their responsibilities while ensuring that detail does not slip through the cracks.
4) Self-Motivation
As admin staff, you are unlikely to have management working directly above you. This means you will have to be self-motivated in order to ensure you get things done on time and to the highest standard. If you do start to lose motivation, the business will immediately realise as it becomes clear you haven’t completed your tasks.
5) Problem-Solving Skills & Intuition
Great administrative staff must have extraordinary problem-solving skills. You will have to use these skills if clients cancel meetings or if appointments need juggling. Without a direct manager, it is extremely unlikely that you will be told what to do and when, and so to be a great administrative assistant, you need to use your intuition at all times to prioritise tasks and get things done on time.
Although challenging at times, being an administrative assistant is a thoroughly rewarding career choice, especially if you like to stay busy. You have a lot of responsibility and multiple tasks to do simultaneously but a business couldn't last without it's admin staff! If you are currently looking for work or need to recruit for an administrative assistant, get in touch.