How to Become an Administrative Assistant

Generally, an Administrative Assistant will dress in business casual attire. Things like blouses, button-down shirts, smart pants or skirts, and smart dress shoes or low-heeled shoes are most appropriate.

The responsibilities of an Administrative Assistant are clerical duties such as data entry and management, answering phones, organising appointments and general business upkeep.

Work towards having strong communication skills and build confidence in them. Have excellent attention to detail, it’s always good to be able to see things from different perspectives. Building proficiency in any relevant technology, and researching and improving your knowledge of an industry can help you speak confidently with potential employers.

There are a few skills required to become an Administrative Assistant, such as computer literacy, and organisational skills as well as some necessary qualifications.

Most admin roles require a secondary school education, and anything more is a benefit.

If you have studied Business Administration, or something similar in higher education, this can be very helpful for your application. There are also entry-level options such as apprenticeships that will help you gain the knowledge, experience, and qualifications you need for an admin role.

If you are looking to become an Admin in a specific field, such as law, or medicine, knowledge of that field will also be important.

It is important to be able to prioritise tasks, manage deadlines and be able to handle multiple projects at the same time.

It is the job of an Administrative Assistant to make sure things within the business run smoothly, this includes organising meetings, planning and scheduling tasks appropriately, and executing tasks accurately. This is also when it is most important to communicate with others, whether that is a client, colleague, or customer, it is the duty of an Admin to organise everything efficiently and be flexible and adaptable to change.

As the Admin Role relies heavily on data entry and information distribution, it is important to have a firm understanding of computer software. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite will be essential, especially in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Attention to detail is extremely important during data entry.

Many internal and external communications will be done via e-mail. As such it is important to have the skill and proficiency to write cohesive and polite e-mails for inside and outside of the business.

An Admin Assistant needs to have the skills to perform tasks such as managing schedules, supporting business goals, and keeping the office organised, and supplied with the things its employees need.

An essential Admin responsibility is to keep everything to a schedule. This is why it is important to be able to adapt to schedule changes and be able to think of alternatives where necessary.

Managing schedules also includes data entry for online calendars as well as booking meeting rooms, assigning work areas, and making sure everyone has access to any resources that they need for the meeting to run smoothly.

A lot of work goes on behind the scenes to make sure an office runs optimally and at peak performance. Sometimes the work of an Administrative Assistant will also include making travel arrangements for business trips, event planning, and project support, as well as other clerical work that we’ve mentioned previously.

As an Admin, it is your job to make sure the business has what it needs. This can include keeping an inventory of office supplies and ordering them when needed, photocopying and faxing documents or keeping them on file for future use.

It is also essential to track and record things on spreadsheets for easy access for yourself and others within the business who might need access to records.