Administrative Assistant Job Profile And Description

An administrative assistant is someone who works in the administrative department of a company and helps with the various administrative duties to make sure that the office runs smoothly. She works under the head administrator and has to follow the instructions given by her supervisor and help him perform the day to day tasks. She usually does not have a lot of power and must seek his permission before doing the major tasks but her prime responsibility is handling the minor tasks which the supervisor may be too busy to handle. Other employees in the office or people coming from outside the office have to first interact with her before they can meet her supervisor in the administrative department.

Administrative Assistant Duties And Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of an administrative assistant will involve:

  • Handling all the basic paperwork and different types of transactional duties in the office that her supervisor asks her to do
  • Answer telephones, takes appointments, receives messages, mail and parcels and also drafts correspondence to be sent within the office or outside
  • Interact with other employees in the absence of the supervisor

Administrative Assistant Skills And Specifications

The skills and specifications that are required of an administrative assistant include:

  • Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
  • Very good organisational skills and must be detail-oriented
  • Should be able to multi-task and a be a quick learner

Administrative Assistant Education And Qualification

The education and qualification requirements for an administrative assistant are as follows:

  • A basic bachelor’s degree with either a humanities or commerce background although some companies even hire one with a high school degree
  • Associate’s degree or degree in business administration and basic knowledge of computers

Administrative Assistant Salary

The median salary of an administrative assistant is $36,000 but this will go up depending on the candidate’ experience and qualifications.

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