Administrative Skills

While administrative assistants have been a vital part of office life for decades, most modern-day pros perform duties quite different from their historical counterparts. As this article notes, tighter budgets and pared-down staffs are forcing employers to redistribute responsibilities. Many admins find themselves assuming some managerial duties. Others become the office’s go-to person for tech issues.

When it comes to helping the environment, every little bit counts. In honor of Earth Day, here are some ways you can make a difference:

1. Think before printing. Limiting the use of paper not only saves trees, it can reduce the amount of office clutter. Store emails and documents electronically for easy retrieval.

2. Encourage the use of front and back printing for internal documents by placing a bin next to each printer in your office to store sheets that have been printed on one side. These sheets can be inserted into the printer for new documents.

Excel proficiency no longer means just the ability to enter data into a spreadsheet and produce a nicely formatted report. Today’s administrative professional needs a full arsenal of Excel skills in order to compete effectively in this talent-rich candidate pool. Here are the two most important:

Formulas

Today, we continue our look at the growing field of virtual assistance with further input from administrative consultant Chela Hardy, founder of Agenda Administrative Services. If you missed part 1 of the interview, click here.

TOP:  What are some of the pros and cons of being a virtual assistant vs. being in-office?

Opportunities for administrative professionals can extend beyond a traditional office environment. Today and tomorrow, we’ll take a look at the growing field of virtual assistance through an interview with administrative consultant Chela Hardy, founder of Agenda Administrative Services.

TOP:  What is a virtual assistant?

Most administrative professionals spend a good portion of the day using Outlook. Microsoft Certified Trainer Melissa Esquibel shared some frequently asked questions with The Office Professional. If you’re interested in learning more great tips and improving efficiency in Outlook, join her February 19-20 for an in-depth webinar.

Q: I used to be able to highlight emails from specific people in a certain folder. I can’t find this option in Outlook 2010.

In this final installment of our series on getting your workspace in tip-top shape for 2013, here are a variety of practical suggestions:

Continuing our series on getting your workspace in great shape for 2013, here are some ideas from professional organizers Allison Flinn of Reclaim and Sharon Lowenheim of Organizing Goddess. If you missed yesterday’s suggestions, click here.

Flinn’s tips:

If you’ve made a resolution to increase productivity in 2013, getting organized can be the first important step. For the next few days, we’ll be presenting tips to get any size workspace in tip-top shape. Today’s suggestions are courtesy of Angie Mattson, CEO (that’s Chief Efficiency Officer) of Your Organized Guide, Inc., and author of the newly-released Kindle book How Your Disorganization is Stealing Your Time, Your Attention, and Your Health.