A person responsible for providing various kinds of administrative assistance is called an administrative assistant (admin assistant) or sometimes an administrative support specialist. In most instances it is identical to the modern iteration of the position of
secretary or is a
sub-specialty of secretarial duties.
Job duties
Admin assistants perform clerical duties in nearly every industry. Some administrative assistants, like those in the legal industry, may be more specialized than others. Most administrative assistant duties revolve around managing and distributing information within an
office. This generally includes answering phones, taking
memos and maintaining files. Administrative assistants may also be in charge of sending and receiving correspondence, as well as greeting clients and
customers.
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. Tr ...
Admin assistants in some offices may be charged with monitoring and recording expenditures. Duties may range from creating
spreadsheets
A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in cel ...
to reporting expenses to an
office manager. As such, some administrative assistants may be required to be knowledgeable in office bookkeeping software, such as
Microsoft Excel.
Planning and scheduling
Planning events like board meetings and luncheons may also be the responsibility of admin assistants. This may require researching vendor prices or inquiring about participants' availability. Other duties may include scheduling appointments and preparing presentation materials.
Documentation
Admin assistants may also help office members with documentation. Aside from storing, organizing and managing files, assistants may need to type, edit and
proofread documents. Some assistants may need to take dictation or record the
minutes of meetings.
Specialized job duties
Administrative assistants in some fields may be required to have extensive professional knowledge. Accordingly, duties for these assistants may be more specialized. For example, legal administrative assistants may need to have a thorough understanding of legal terminology and procedures, while medical assistants may need to be well-versed in dealing with
insurance companies and reading medical reports.
In this role they are also referred to as administrative support specialists.
Employment outlook and salary information
Average employment growth of 12% was expected for secretaries and administrative assistants, from 2012-2022, according to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of th ...
(BLS). General secretaries and administrative assistants, not serving as legal, medical or executive secretaries, earned an annual median wage in 2018 of $52,840, according to the BLS.
*Providing
customer service
*
Managing inventory of assets and supplies, sourcing for suppliers (vendors) and submitting invoices
*Scheduling and coordinating
meetings and
presentations,
interviews, events and other similar activities
*Sending and receiving mail and packages
*Sending
faxes
Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (the latter short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer o ...
and emails
*Managing documents and files
*Sending and receiving documents for the company
*Answering the phone
*Assisting in various daily operations
*Operating a range of office machines such as photocopiers and computers
*Greeting guests and visitors
Employer expectations
Employers look for workers with knowledge, combination of skills, personal traits, and attitudes. They include:
*Being well-organized
*Being courteous
*Reliability
*Strong work ethic
*Productivity
*Professionalism
*Problem-solving and critical thinking skills
*Good technical, interpersonal and communication skills
*Customer focus
*Discretion
*Multitasking ability
*Teamwork and collaboration skills
[The Administrative Professional Fulton-Calkins Rankin Shumack]
*Time management
References
External links
iaap - International Association of Administrative Professionals{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216045433/http://www.iaap-hq.org/ , date=2015-02-16
Office administration
Office and administrative support occupations