Assistants ensure the smooth running of their department and are in charge of the employees and administrative tasks within that department. Some of the duties an assistant must fulfill are answering the phone calls and emails, writing letters, meeting and greeting the clients of the company, but not only that.
The assistants are also in charge of recruiting when the human resources personnel are missing. They are in charge of receiving the applications, taking interviews, selecting the most appropriate person for the open position and then performing background checks on the employees. The assistant needs to be able to travel to various locations in work interest, and to attend seminars. Sometimes, they may be requested to train the new hired employees of the company.
The assistant must keep a professional attitude and appearance. They must be friendly, ready to help, and ready to give any information the clients of the company might need. They also need to be self confident and determined, with good management skills and leadership abilities. The office assistants must be assertive, and always dressed in office type clothing, unless the company has a more casual approach on this matter. In this case, jeans and a shirt are appropriate enough.
The office assistants need to be able to handle more tasks at the same time, and to have good eye for details. In a big company, there are always many things to be done and the assistants need to not feel overwhelmed. Good management skills are good in this case.
Sometimes, the assistants must handle the yearly and monthly budget of the company and pay the other employees when their paychecks are due. In this case, the assistants also must have finance knowledge, and of course she/he needs to know how to work with various accountability programs specific to that company.
One must know how to use a computer properly - all the basic programs such as Word and MS Office must be known, as well as the use of the Internet. Some companies may require their assistants to know how to speak one or more foreign languages.
The duties and responsibilities of an assistant depend a lot on the field of the company they are working for. The requests also may vary due to this. The yearly salary also depends on the size of the firm, and on where it is located.
Administrative studies are a beneficial thing to have, if you want to become an assistant. Bigger companies request for more skills and abilities than a smaller company would. Some companies do not require special studies, and the training will be done on the job. However, it is required everywhere to be a high school graduate.
The assistants need to be able to take on the duties and the responsibilities of the general manager when he/she is away, so it's important that the person that is hired for this position is organized, responsible, mature, and can keep track of her/his time and activities.
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