Administrative assistants work to support higher-ranking officials in an organization by ensuring that business tasks are completed correctly and on time. These people typically only need high school diplomas or equivalent certifications, but they can improve their employability by completing one-year college certificate or two-year associate degree programs. Major administrative assistant career goals include mastering office procedures and thoroughly understanding a business. Working for an executive and becoming certified in this field are also goals.
Mastering a variety of office procedures is one of many administrative assistant career goals. A person in this field, for example, should work to improve their typing skills so that they can produce correspondence and other documents as quickly and accurately as possible. He or she should also strive to improve their ability to provide excellent customer service to visitors and to respond to phone calls quickly. A person working in this field must aspire to improve his or her ability to plan meetings and perform other detailed tasks that enable his or her company to run smoothly.
Knowing an employer well is also a goal in this industry. A person who performs administrative tasks for a company should strive to learn as much information as possible about the company because this improves his or her ability to answer visitors’ and callers’ questions about the company. As a result, he or she will be able to provide better service to guests, improving the company’s reputation in the community. Understanding company processes and protocols is also important for administrative assistants so that they can ensure that documents are distributed to the appropriate people and that they involve the appropriate officials in certain situations.
The opportunity to work as an executive assistant is another career goal in this field. This person assists the organization’s highest-ranking officials and thus assumes more responsibility than a traditional assistant. As a result, he or she usually earns a higher salary. Important administrative assistant career goals include becoming competent enough to develop board meeting agendas and even represent executive officers at gatherings. To succeed in this role, an individual must also become accustomed to conducting research for business reports and updating an executive’s calendar.
In this line of work, becoming certified is also a goal. Professional associations issue certification, which can be obtained by passing exams. Administrative assistant career objectives include industry credentials, which make a person more appealing to hiring managers and may also result in a higher salary. Certification demonstrates to employers that an individual is qualified to work in this field and is enthusiastic about his or her responsibilities.