Overview
For an organisation to function smoothly, different departments need to work in sync with one another
. Administrative jobs are those services which ensure that employees are able to carry out their responsibilities without any interruption and in an efficient manner
. Professionals in this field perform tasks related to office management and clerical work
. Answering phone calls, maintaining records, data entry, filing, sorting posts, taking appointments are some of these tasks
. An efficient administrative department works behind the scene; planning, coordinating and executing day to day tasks to make sure that work is carried out in an uninterrupted and streamlined manner
.
Job Prospects
Some of the prospective jobs under this field are
:
- Health & Safety Administrator: Their main task is to ensure that all safety and health measures within an organisation are in place, followed and monitored regularly.
- Secretary: Secretaries are mostly attached to a single person in an organisation or to an entire department. They perform a variety of tasks such as scheduling appointments, making travel arrangements, clerical work, managing database, organising events etc.
- Assistant: Assistants fulfill all duties of a secretary. In addition to those, based on their experience and role in the organisation they may be called upon to perform more specific and important tasks.
- Clerk: A clerk is an individual employed in an office to perform routine administrative tasks such as answering phones, running errands, sorting mail, filing and data entry.
- Collectors (Bills and Accounts): Bill and account collectors are employed in the financial department where they assist in recording information related to payments made or revenue received as well as follow up on overdue bills.
- Receptionist: Receptionists are usually seated at the entrance of an office and do a variety of tasks including distributing mail, signing for packages, answering phones calls, making photocopies and looking after the general upkeep of office.
- Typist: The primary role of a typist is to enter and type out all kinds of documents in varying formats and templates. However, they also perform other administrative duties such as maintaining spreadsheets and databases, answering the phone, photocopying, faxing, filing and so on.
Roles & Responsibilities
Duties in the field depend upon the area of work that one chooses
. Some of them are as follows
:
- Answering phone calls regarding inquiries, appointments etc.
- Filing, entering and processing different kinds of data.
- Performing certain managerial duties to tackle day–to–day requirements of the organisation.
- Dealing with customer as well as employee queries via phone or email.
- Making arrangements for meetings or conferences and ensuring that they run smoothly.
- Providing assistance to employees by running errands, arranging resources, making photocopies, faxing etc.
- Arranging travel and accommodation for customers and staff when needed.
Desired Attributes
Given below are desired qualities for professionals in this field
:
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- Ability to plan, organise and manage daily tasks and events.
- Ability to multi–task with ease without compromising on the efficiency.
- Good at documenting, data entry and maintaining records.
- Need to have basic computer skills.
- Ability to manage time well.
- Good problem solving skills.
How to get there
Minimum requirement to apply for an administrative job in most organisations is passing 10
+2 exams in any stream
. A basic skill in mathematics & computers is desirable
. Depending on the nature of work, one may be required to obtain some sort of specialisation
. Example
– Financial administrative assistant jobs often require familiarization and training in specialized reports, spreadsheets, accounting issues, data entry, tax form preparation etc
. Taking short term, diploma or certificate courses covering areas such as office administration, business administration, communication and management etc can be beneficial for advancing one’s career
.