Administrators and clerical personnel are critical to a company's performance. They deal with interesting and often challenging workloads, and are expected to be multi-skilled. You could be thinking of entering the industry for the first time and want to see what courses are available. Perhaps you've had a break and would like to retrain to get back up-to-date. Or you may be moving on in your career and need extra top-up skills. Whatever your circumstances, you will discover all levels and types of courses with a few clicks of the mouse...
As we've already mentioned, administration covers a very wide range of skills. Good computer user-skills are critical for any member of an admin team. You will need to demonstrate that you can work in Microsoft Office, send and receive emails and deal with web-related data.
Should you need to up-grade your user-skills, you'll find lots of training companies on the web. Research the market to find which ones will best cater for your needs - you could start the process by checking out some of the companies displaying on this page. (Bookmark this or any other good reference page that you might like to refer back to - a handy shortcut for this is to simply type in 'Ctrl D').
New clerical workers should also have a certain level of competence in communication skills and such like.
Look for vocational courses where you think you may need to improve - subjects covered include business writing and telephone skills, admin systems, filing, legal documentation etc.
As your experience builds, why not develop your skills further? Any training you do that adds value to the department you're working in will be seen as a plus. Studying techniques that can help you get more out of your day will benefit both you and the company you work for. Clerical workers are often asked to write reports, emails and letters on behalf of other members of staff. Look online to access many excellent courses to fine-tune your writing skills.
It's not unusual for most managerial staff to deal with their own emails, yet many still rely heavily on their senior administrative personnel for a variety of other tasks.
To become indispensible you have to have something that most others don't have. Add extra skill-sets alongside the standard clerical options, and study hard to get distinctions. It's not rocket science that the more scenarios you can deal with, the more employable and valuable you will become!
"All the so-called 'secrets of success' will not work unless you do." - Anon.
More advanced courses will prepare students to efficiently tackle the increasingly high administrative expectations of today's senior executives. Start by considering the following training options:
Understand what causes stress - learn how to work through negative situations. Gain more knowledge on how to resolve problems that repeatedly occur, and thus save hours of un-productive time.
Understand how to work in water-tight compartments. Ascertain the best working methods for both your everyday tasks and random assignments. Furnish yourself with tools for prioritising and delegating work, and for assessing when not to accept certain assignments.
Handling Difficult PeopleImprove telephone techniques and customer service skills to gain mutually positive outcomes. Discover how to get outstanding rapport and co-operation between staff members and clients. Recognise how to make the offended party feel important.
Master one-to-one communications with a positive and controlled attitude, plus how to present to a group. Be an effective listener. Discover how to communicate for greater results. Master the art of writing with clarity and brevity.
You might also think of specialising as your career progresses. There are a whole host of specialities to consider - for example - Business Law, Accounting, Finance or Managing Change to name but a few.
Doing the research costs nothing, and you may just find exactly what you're looking for! Hopefully you've read enough to know that administration covers a whole range of careers and options. It could very well offer a good working life for you. Relish the learning process, look to add value everywhere and most of all enjoy the journey!