Calm, reliable admin staff form an essential support system for any thriving business. Their duties vary hugely, depending on the size and structure of the team they're working with.
Perhaps you're looking for re-training courses to get into administration at the very beginning of your career. You might have some experience, but from several years ago. Or would you like to develop admin skills to bolster your existing skill-set? You'll discover a full range of retraining courses when you start to surf around the internet.
Businesses need administrative support at all levels. The office junior may start at sixteen, but a senior administrator may have been building her career for many years. You must be able to type well, and understand how to use various software programs. So you will need to know how to work with spreadsheets and do word processing, along with emailing and online research as a minimum.
There are a great deal of course providers who advertise online if you need more training in any of these areas. It can get a little long-winded, but it's worth taking your time to do some training course comparisons. Companies often feature on this page, so why not start here? By the way - if you want to come back to this page again you could Bookmark it for easy reference.
Alongside good computer skills, a newcomer to clerical work will need additional organisational skills. Consider courses in speed-reading, minute-taking and teamwork for example.
Intermediate clerical courses will help the more ambitious administrators to improve their careers. Focus on training that adds value to the work you do to support others. Managing your time efficiently can be a problem - but there are first-rate training courses that can teach you new techniques. You'll also be expected to produce clear and concise written work, (most often written on behalf of someone else) and there are many short courses available which cover this.
People in high office require highly talented and skilled Personal Assistants to manage many of their affairs. If this type of work appeals to you, you must be prepared to offer more than most. Have a browse around the training companies and look at which disciplines other people are becoming skilled at. That way you'll know what your competition is, and how to match it. Staff who take the trouble to invest in themselves will show noticeable value to the company they work for. Higher salaries are paid to those who add value.
"Failure is not the worst thing in the world.
...
The very worst is not to try." - Anon.
Continually up-grade your skills with higher level courses to embrace the growing demands of employers. Try working through some of the training concepts that follow to widen your horizon:
Stress-Busting ScenariosFind out which methods can avoid pressure build-up and how to stay out of the danger zone! Extend your productivity by learning more sophisticated methods to problem solve.
Learn the techniques for focusing-in on the task in hand. Gain valuable organisational skills to maximise all your office procedures. Learn how to systematically assess what to place most importance on, what to get help with and what to defer.
Get involved in practical, hands-on exercises for managing difficult customers and work colleagues. Learn amazing methods to raise the positive expectations and attitudes of everyone around you - including yourself! Learn how to manage avoidable upsets.
Great Communication SkillsFind out how to deliver clear unambiguous messages to everyone you wish to communicate with. Practise listening checks as a natural part of your dialogue with others.
Display confidence and trust with your body language. Improve your business writing style and techniques.
You could focus your attention into one specific area as your career develops. There are lots of sectors to choose from - for instance: Law, Finance, Systems, HR etc.
Therefore ACT NOW, and start your research!
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? You'll have a head start if you adopt the attitude of a winner and grasp the metal now.