Question: “What’s the best career advice anyone ever gave you?” In honor of Administrative Professionals Week, we’re gathering your best career advice. Please share favorite career tips to help inspire your fellow admins. And let us know where that advice came from: Peers? Mentors? Worker-bees? Supervisors? Teachers? Your grandmother? We love success stories, please share yours! —The editors
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I dress better than my bosses, bosses secretary :)
I'm not sure I was ever given any advice through my career, however, I have worked for exceptional people that have mentored me in ways that they would never realize. I typically supported the most Sr. person in the organization. I started out supporting the VP, then the CEO etc. The one trait I picked up along the way is that they were all just people. Just regular people like you and me. We just have different titles. So I never had a boss that I feared, or that I was uncomfortable with. If I did, I knew it wasn't a good fit, I would move on. When I interviewed for a position, they thought they were interviewing me, but I was also interviewing them! The men/women that we support will spend more time with us than our loved ones. I always made sure that I worked with someone who had a good work/life/balance. That was the best lesson I learned. The world is filled with very smart people. It is a gift to work for someone who is smart, who shares family stories with you, who treats people fairly and looks at you like as though you are valued. I have worked for people that started off rocky and told them that I needed them to slow down, I'm not a robot, give me some eye contact once in a while and they totally didn't realize that they "needed" to do that for the person in my position. It made all the difference. I do let my boss know when I think she is wrong, I tell her *&^%$! I think I screwed this up and I'm sorry etc. We treat each other like a team. Not like she is way up on this pedestal and I am her servant. I hope everyone can take that advice.
This is very true. Year’s ago my boss did this for me. I was terrified when I first started writing the drafts but it helped him get started on it and it helped me to become a confident writer. His markups of my work were invaluable in helping me improve and gain confidence.
I learned this one from a neighbor when I was a child: “It pays to be nice, so be nice to everyone.” I never forgot this and have carried it with me into adulthood and applied it to every aspect of my life… she was absolutely right!
The best advice I received wasn’t verbal. It came through watching our office manager. She was a hard worker, would tackle any job (nothing was “beneath” her, she did whatever needed to be done), and she always looked for better ways to do things. I paid attention. Now I always look for the best, fastest, most efficient way of doing any task assigned to me. I look for ways to improve any process I’m involved in.
Dress for the job you want, not the job you have from one of my business class teachers in high school.
Kris, my mom (who only typed by hunting & pecking) said the same thing! "Learn to type fast and accurately, it will give you so many more options for jobs in more fields. And, if you want to be a writer, typing fast will make it that much easier to write."
This was pre-word processing days… Early on my 77/no errors WPM got me many interviews and interesting jobs. That led to another bit of advice from the woman who tested my typing in the Senate Placement Office: SLOW DOWN. "It is more important to do the job correctly/with no errors the first time and take a little longer than to finish quickly, but have to go back and fix mistakes."
My Freshmen year in High School, I received an ‘A’ in JROTC but in the comments section was “Needs Improvement”. This freaked me out, so I went to speak with my instructor about it. I asked him what can I improve if I already have an A? He looked at me with bright shiny eyes and a knowing smile, and all he said was ‘There’s always room for improvement.’
That was twenty years ago and I have ALWAYS carried that with me, even to my Administrative Assistant job in the Mayor’s Office.
I apply this to every aspect of my life and I can only hope that my children hear it. :)
The best advice I ever received came from my mom. When I started high school in the pre-personal computer 70′s she demanded that I take typing. I mean, when would I EVER need typing?! Oh, we argued and argued over this one but I lost and ended up taking a couple years of typing and office classes. Once again, mom was right! I’m an Executive Assistant now, I love my job, and Mom and I still laugh about this one. ;)
I’ve been offered great advice from many people over the years – much of it I have used in my career and and also life in general. My parents always told me to “never apologize for doing a good job.” Amazingly, there are always people that are jealous when I work hard and receive praise or rewards. I have a strong work ethic – it’s a reflection on me (not an attempt to put anyone down.) My grandmother told me to “learn something new every day.” I love that one! I attribute my 24 years with the same home builder with that advice. The housing industry has been through a lot of difficult times – the fact that I learned something new every day made me that much more valuable when management had to make decisions about who to keep and who to lay off. In addition, a co-worker mentor advised me as the new administrative assistant to the president that I should always treat him with respect because he was the president of the company. It’s easy to become too familiar with your boss (especially the really easy-going ones) and lose your professional edge. Others would openly criticize him, while I always maintained a professional attitude that I know he really appreciated. I have carried that advice into my present position as adm. asst. to the president and found that the respect is returned.
Dress for the job you “want” not the job you “have” and ALWAYS behave professionally.
I received a “Thank You” once from one of my bosses “Thank you for your committment to excellence in the written word”. This reminded me that the writing I do and review is important and encouraged me to continue my efforts to educate myself in this area.
I don’t have to know everything; I just need to know where to get everything. And delegate as much as possible. And, my favorite, from my current boss, “Keep your head up”.
Always dress professional.
The best career advice I ever received involved the importance of creating and maintaining relationships. The President of our division said 15% of your success in business will be determined by your knowledge of the business and 85% of your success will be determined by the relationships you form. I didn’t realize how true this was until I put it to the test. It’s about creating and maintaining relationships.
Best and scariest advice – don’t be afraid to leave a job you love to start something new (promotion at same business) to challenge yourself and grow. I’m still contemplating that advice for a decision I need to make today…
The best advice I ever received is to always keep a smile on my face. Be professional and kind towards others and STAY OUT OF THE GOSSIP click. I was also told to always dress for the position that I would like to hold someday
“It’s easier to edit than it is to write.” My first boss would have me draft letters and reports for him and he would mark it up. But as a result, where others may have their feelings hurt, I’ve never been discouraged when people mark things up, but am rather surprised when they don’t. It’s been 30 years since, and I make sure I pass the message on when I am supervising or mentoring so the writer knows their efforts are appreciated in making it easier for others.
Don’t try to make someone be a mind reader. If you don’t tell people what you think, they’ll never know.
I was fresh out of school and started a new job as a Secretary. The Executive Secretary who no one liked and “warned” me about took a liking to me and we became good friends. She mentored me and taught me a lot of great things but the one thing that sticks out in my mind is “Don’t do something for the sake of doing it; do it with pride as it is a reflection upon who you are”. I use that in every aspect of my life and people know they can also count on me to get the job done correctly the first time!
My parents encouraged me to obtain my education and skills that would be required in the world of work so that I would always be able to take care of myself, support myself, and not be forced into any situations where I would have to rely on someone else to “take care of me.” I excelled in office administration skills and used those skills to put myself through college plus. I chose the administrative profession as my career and will soon celebrate 35 years with my company! I love my work as an executive assistant and have never regretted my choices. I am active in professional and philothantropic organizations and passionately encourage others to look at the profession as a wonderful career.
If you were selected, then that means that they are depending on you to get everything done. Go to work everyday and work extra hours if you are asked. Don’t get discouraged easily. If you approach it with a positive attitude, you will get all the support you need and it will be recognized by more than just your boss. (I have had this same job for 29 years)
If you don’t know how to do something, admit it, but then offer to learn. This may be as simple as informing the supervisor that you don’t know how to do this task but would love to learn if they can teach you. I’ve learned about so many things over the years by my willingness to try something new. This advice came to me by my first manager at my first job 30-yrs ago at a Burger King. He also taught me to speak up to a manager if I’m not busy so that I can help others. The combination of these two lessons has always stayed with me and have awarded me time and again!
Dress on the same level as your boss’s boss’s secretary. Always try to learn new things or improve on your current skills. Spend “down” time making things better, more organized or more efficient.
I was told this by my first “boss” before I went to college. She was an executive secretary and I was her part-time assistant for 2 summers. She was right.
Do what you love!