Secretary
Job Description:Secretaries provide administrative support for all types of organisations.
Job Category:What you will do:
In your day-to-day tasks you could:
- be the first point of contact for visitors, phone calls and emails
- arrange meetings and take minutes
- manage an individual or team diary and make travel arrangements
- produce letters, reports, spreadsheets and invoices
- update records on IT systems
- photocopy, print and file documents
- handle confidential information
Skills:
You’ll need:
- skills in IT and administration
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
As well as:
- administration skills
- an excellent telephone manner and verbal communication skills
- the ability to use your initiative and solve problems (creative)
- organisational and time management skills (the ability to organise your time and workload)
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work well with others (teamwork)
- excellent written communication skills
- the ability to work on your own (drive)
- to be flexible and open to change (adaptable)
Entry Requirements:
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- volunteering
- applying directly
College
You may find it useful to take a course in administration or secretarial skills. Colleges offer full-time and part-time courses, including awards, certificates and diplomas. Useful subjects include:
Diplomas in Business Administration
Touch Typing, Audio Transcription or Shorthand
Certificate in IT User Skills
Management and Administration Qualifications
Apprenticeship
You could do a business administrator advanced apprenticeship.
This typically takes 18 months to complete as a mix of workplace learning and off-the-job study.
Work
You could start as an administration assistant and work towards this role.
Employers may be more interested in your computer, telephone and office skills than your formal qualifications, however some basic school qualifications may be advantageous especially English.
Volunteering
Volunteering, for example with a charity, could help you to get some relevant experience. It’s a good way of developing IT and office skills that are valued by employers.
Direct Application
You could apply directly if you’ve got relevant skills and experience from working in an office.
You could also do a temping job to get into this kind of role. Temporary jobs can help you to build up your experience and could lead to permanent employment.
Working Hours and Environment:
You’ll usually work in an office, 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
You could also work part-time or get temporary work.
Career Path & Progression:
With experience, you could become a personal assistant or supervise a team as an office manager.
With further qualifications you could move into specialist secretarial work like human resources, education, legal or medical secretarial work.