A secretary can be seen as the ‘eyes and ears’ of a company. Handling all business support functions, the company secretary will work with many people in the business and generally be aware of all admin needs for an individual, network or team. We know how important the job of a secretary is, and how relied on they are.
Secretaries will regularly be called upon to help make business decisions, and we’d even go as far to say that an executive or member of staff is only as good as their secretary or assistant.
We know many of you reading our articles are either already working in office support roles, or interested in starting your career in office support. If you’ve been considering a new role as a secretary, and wondering what value they bring to a team, read on…
‘The basics’
There will always be specific elements to a job role, and a secretary position may differ from one company to another. What we do know is, the general assets that a secretary or business support professional will bring to a team are the following:
· Organised approach
· Communication skills
· Personable phone manner
· Initiative
· IT literacy
· Honesty and discretion
· Time management
· Team ethic
· Ability to cope with pressure
· Professionalism
· Project management skills
If you’re interested in developing your career or starting out in the secretarial world, you’ll need to know what employers look for.
Qualifications
At a basic level, employers will have expected you to at least have finished your GCSE’s. If you are proactive and decide to take a form of secretarial training, that’ll really set you apart against other juniors.
For a secretarial role, typing speed is key. Any skills that you have around typing should be highlighted on your CV and be made to stand out.
Employers will look for stability on your CV. They’ll want to see that you have demonstrated resilience and dedication to your job. As a junior, if you don’t have much experience to highlight, make sure to show off the skills you do have and the dedication you have put in to developing yourself, ready for the career world.
If you’re looking to take the next step in your career and want to apply to an agency that can help you get there, make sure to get in touch with Coby Philips today.