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Administrative assistants do much of the unappreciated grunt work and have a hard time moving up within the company. Performing the clerical duties, secretaries or admins are often perceived as the gatekeepers of the office. With a 12 percent growth of administrative jobs between the years 2010 to 2020, interested and qualified candidates have a good chance of getting their foot at the door at any number of companies.
Being an admin could be the pit stop to your next big gig in the company. If you’re a great admin, you could someday make a great exec. Here are some tips to move on up beyond administrative assistant.
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Make sure it’s the right time
Many employees who request a promotion or raise at the office do not receive the accolades they are looking for, not due to lack of commitment or poor work ethic, but because it’s simply not the right time. Make sure you are timing your plan to move up in another position with your company. Study your boss and management and make sure the right opportunity presents itself. Consider whether a personnel move will be possible if, for instance, the business is bracing for a major merger or taking on a new client.
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Ask for more responsibility
If, as an admin, your days are only filled with scheduling meetings, booking travel and answering phones and you have time to spare, ask your supervisor for more duties. Showing that you’ve mastered the basics will set you up for getting tasked with higher level responsibilities. And taking the initiative in your current job could reflect your qualifications for a new one.
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Ask questions
You can never ask too many questions as an employee, especially if they are pertaining to the company’s growth. Take a lunch with your supervisor and other superiors and pick their brain to ask questions about the future of the company, what you can do to seal growth in your current position and any advice they have about moving up in the business. Asking questions and reaching out on a more personal level could help develop the answers to what you need to do that is critical to moving up.
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Learn beyond your scope of responsibilities
As you’re completing the new tasks that you’re requesting (go back two slides for that tip), be sure to discuss the details of what you’re doing. Why does this task need to be done? How does it further the work that your department or manager is doing? What happens before and after this task reaches your desk? By understanding the ins and outs of how the department operates, you set yourself up to be an asset and make suggestions for how things can be improved.
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Request training
Asking for training is another great way to effortlessly push the odds in your favor for a promotion from an administrative assistant role to a higher level position. Have a meeting with your supervisor to discuss new processes or software that you could use training in. Or ask to take part in meetings that discuss a new project or goal within the company. Showing how eager you are to learn more and then following through with more education will position you on the list of people to consider when new job titles open up.
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Don’t be too eager
Coming off as too eager to move up could cost you your current job if you’re not careful. Make sure you are still playing your role while expressing interest in moving up eventually. Be effortless but tactful with your approach.
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Suggest new systems and ways to connect departments
As an administrative assistant, you have the flexibility to give your input in order to make the company better from your point of view. Though the admin isn’t a position of authority, it’s a position of knowledge. The company doesn’t function well when the admins don’t function well. So in your current position, give ideas on how to streamline the way admins and upper management connect. This shows your supervisor and the other upper-level executives that you are a team player at any role and that you have an understanding of how the department works currently and could be better in the future with your expertise.
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Network at office functions
Make sure your request for a promotion is getting the exposure you need from other co-workers and upper-level professionals. Network with the right people, using the opportunities presented at office functions. Talk casually but professionally with people who know of your work and can vouch for your dedication to the work. The right position just might open up for you based on who you know.
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Keep your eye out for open positions
Make sure you are positioning yourself like any other new applicant would to get into the company. Just because you are already an employee, doesn’t mean job opportunities to move up are going to fall right in your lap. Continue to check your company’s HR site, careers page and intranet for upcoming positions. Once you find the one you desire, set up a meeting with your boss for an internal referral and any other advice on moving up from your current position. Your supervisor will admire that you want to stay within the company and grow as a professional.
