6 Jobs You Can Get After Being an Administrative Assistant
August 20, 2018 | Career Blog
Starting as an administrative assistant is a common way that many have found their path to a fruitful career, and there are a lot of positions open that do not require a college degree.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of administrative assistant jobs is likely to grow 12% between 2012 and 2022. Such positions include entry-level clerical or secretary positions, but with the right initiative, you can find yourself promoted to a much higher level.
Common Positions Held After Being an Administrative Assistant
To give you an idea of the kind of path you could be headed on as an administrative assistant, we have compiled a list of six possibilities for advancement.
1. Personal Assistant
Average salary: $39,373 a year
Responsibilities:
- Relaying and responding to emails
- Answering phone calls and properly communicating important information
- Performing necessary tasks when your boss is absent
- Planning and organizing meetings and events
- Acquiring flights, hotel rooms, and other travel arrangements
- Conducting research on your boss’s projects
- Managing and reviewing filing systems
- Typing up documents
- Arranging meals and general scheduling
2. Executive Secretary
Average salary: $45,774 a year
Responsibilities:
- Giving clerical support to the office’s departments
- Informing management of adjustments in meeting schedules
- Management of travel schedules
- Organization of mail and communications
- Preparation of statistical reports
- Coordinating of management duties within the office
- Designing meeting agendas
- Communicating assignments and directives to executives
- Taking phone messages and ensuring they are relayed
- Maintenance of filing system
3. Clerical Supervisor
Average salary: $48,643 a year
Responsibilities:
- Training and supervising clerical employees
- Resolving issues between employees
- Supervising and providing assistance for clerical tasks
4. Office Manager
Average salary: $46,260 a year
Responsibilities:
- Keeping office organized by planning out systems, layouts, and equipment necessary for production
- Designing operations and procedures to keep employees on task
- Preparing payroll
- Designing filling systems
- Assigning and supervising tasks to employees
- Implementing office policies and making adjustments necessary to keep employees on task
- Recruitment, selection, orientation, and training of staff
- Continuing staff training by coaching, counseling, disciplining and appraising
- Preparing annual budget
5. Administrative Services Manager
Average salary: $94,020 a year
Responsibilities:
- Monitoring maintenance and repair of equipment and mechanical systems within the facility
- Keeping the facility up to code in regards to the government’s environmental, health, and security standards
- Managing and developing company records
- Giving the department goals and deadlines
- Keeping clerical and administrative staff on task
- Ensuring the facility is a well-maintained, safe environment to work in
6. Meeting and Convention Planners
Average salary: $45,394 a year
Responsibilities:
- Coordinating gatherings of groups of people (such as corporate lunches, weddings, and international media events) and ensuring the event is enjoyable and seamless
- Organizing communication with caterers, florists, musicians and venue operators for events
- Ensuring client satisfaction
- Assigning jobs to vendors and event staff
- Overseeing the event’s itinerary and assuring everything pans out according to schedule
- Ensuring the venue where the event took place is left clean and damage free
How To Advance Your Position
If you are looking for a promotion or a way to advance your career, there are a few ways you can do this. Some tactics simply have to do with the way you conduct yourself in the office, and others are by way of the help you can seek out from others.
Here are a few examples:
- Show that you have the ability to take on more responsibility than what is already asked of you. Think about what your job duties are and what it is that you can do to accomplish more in your workplace. You can also volunteer to help other departments when they are in need and offer suggestions when issues arise within your own area.
- Pay attention to your supervisor’s work ethic and follow by example. If you can take on the attitude and work ethic of your boss, they will appreciate you more and look for your continued assistance and advice. The more you prove to be dependable, the more likely you will be considered for advancement.
- Seek the assistance of a staffing agency. Staffing agencies help companies find staff that match the qualities that they are looking for. Because of this, the agencies are always looking for individuals hoping to begin or advance in their career. If you are looking to do either, you do not have to pay a single penny to receive help from a staffing agency.
For more information on what a staffing agency can do for you, contact us here.