Online Executive and Admin Assistant Training

September 11, 2009 at 04:03 PM | (0) Comments

This is just a quick post about batching your tasks.

One of the less glamorous parts of being an assistant is that you have to perform certain tasks over and over. Things like making travel arrangements, completing expense reports and filling out time sheets are just a few different tasks that could benefit from batching.

Let’s say you work for more than one person—and in today’s economic climate, that’s the norm instead of the exception—and they all have expense reports that need to be done. If you batch each step of the process together, you’ll get in a groove and be able to finish all of the reports quicker than you would if you did each step for each report individually. Tape all of the receipts onto paper at one time; make a copy of each report at the copier at one time; complete all of the coding for each report at one time… you get the picture.

You do need to watch out to not mix up any of the paperwork and be sure to not put the wrong receipts on the wrong report but if can keep that straight, batching each part of the process for all reports makes sense and will save you time.

When I used to waitress, one of the best things I learned was to take a few steps as possible to complete as many tasks as possible… my customers didn’t really know the difference but I can guarantee you that that specific piece of advice put more tips in my pocket by the end of a shift and I still use that advice today working as an assistant.

Figure out where and how you can batch your tasks. You’ll save time and it will make those tasks a little more bearable.

Flickr Creative Commons image by ararejul.

All Posts, Tricks of the Trade,

The #1 Rule of Being an Assistant is…

September 10, 2009 at 03:03 PM | (1) Comments

The #1 rule of being an executive assistant, admin assistant, personal assistant, group assistant, any kind of assistant really including working as an intern is…

... to make your boss look good!

It’s really a very simple concept but you’d be surprised at how often this doesn’t happen.

The first step is to get every client, customer, superior, peer and subordinate to like working with you. They have to feel that you’re part of the team and willing to do whatever you can to make “things” happen.

From how you answer the phone to having a “can-do” / “we’ll fix it” / “I’ll figure it out” attitude to keeping your boss informed of all details when they need to be informed to having a strong work ethic to being patient with a “sense of urgency”... all of these attributes will contribute to making your boss look good.

It’s also just as important to keep distractions or things that your boss doesn’t need to know, off their plate and out of their mind. This gives them more time to focus on excelling at their job instead of dealing with distractions. Performing as an assistant at this level isn’t easy but over time, you’ll learn the rhythms and preferences of your boss and it’ll become second nature… almost like mind reading.

And just to be clear here, looking good includes performing at the top of their game.

Flickr Creative Commons image by Quasimondo

All Posts, Technology,

A new tool for Executive and Admin Assistants: Screencasting

September 09, 2009 at 02:38 PM | (6) Comments

Articulate, the company that developed the platform that we used to build our e-learning module (you can see part 1 of our module right here) has recently released a web based screencasting software… that’s FREE!

It’s called Screenr.

First things first: what is screencasting? Screencasting is when you record anything you do on a portion of or your whole computer screen while you narrate (or not) your actions. This type of technology is great for tutorials and training but since before Screenr you had to buy the software to do this, I never really thought of it as a tool for executive assistants or admin assistants… but now I do!

Free tends to do that to you, doesn’t it?

Given that this is free (record up to five minutes), there are a number of different scenarios where an executive assistant, administrative assistant or any kind of assistant might find this technology useful. One situation might be creating a couple screencasts for a temp that comes into the office to fill in while you’re out on vacation. After watching a few screencasts of you work through and narrate your daily tasks and showing them where different important information is located on your computer, you’ll give them a fighting chance in dealing with your boss while you’re out.

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE

All Posts, Interpersonal Skills, Stress Management,

What We Can’t Teach Your - Blog Series Part 3

September 08, 2009 at 12:31 PM | (0) Comments

Patience & Sense of Urgency

Patience and “sense of urgency” might seem like opposite ends of the spectrum but both are very critical and intrinsically linked when working effectively as any kind of assistant.

Many job postings for assistant positions will mention a “sense of urgency” as a trait they’re looking for in candidates for the position. From our experience, this means they’re looking for someone who is “on the ball”, someone who gets their “to-do” list done as quickly as possible and presents any “situation” to their boss in a timely fashion.

However, in the real world—not in the interview situation—, you’ll find that you’re constantly waiting for people to return your phone call/email or get you specific information you need to get your job done. Whether it’s waiting on an answer from your boss or your travel agent to get back to you, waiting on answers is part of the game. This is where the patience comes in.

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE