Online Executive and Admin Assistant Training

June 16, 2009 at 02:36 PM | (0) Comments

And the golden rule about money and life is…

...to make more than you spend!

So why am I mentioning this at our site which is geared towards supporting and teaching executive assistants, admin assistants and personal assistants? Because having control of your finances reduces your stress and sets you up to conquer your career without being hamstrung with uncontrollable financial debt.

Most of us, after graduating college, have been there…making the “minimum payment” on the thousands of dollars on our credit card, having to pay rent, eat and hopefully have a little left over to have some fun without ever having thought before about a salary, overtime hours or a budget.

The problem is the whole “minimum payment” thing. You see, just paying the “minimum payment” on a credit card seems like you’re on a tread mill that doesn’t end…you keep paying and paying and what you owe stays the same and deep down inside, this creates stress. And this stress can easily spill over into your work when your attitude takes a hit cause you think you should be making more money or offered that promotion…at least it did for me.

Alright then, what can you do? First, if you can pay more than the “minimum payment” due every month, say 30% more, pay it…and pay it consistently. Watching what you owe go down every month will start to feel really good and reduce your financial stress BUT…what if you can’t afford to pay more than the minimum?

You can take out another credit card!

I know, I know…sounds counter intuitive BUT if you CAN take out another credit card (read: allowed to), in most cases, you can do a “transfer” of any current debt you have to the new card at a MUCH LOWER interest rate for a period of 6 or 12 months. This allows you to keep paying what your “minimum payment” would have been on your old card on your new card and since the interest rate is MUCH lower you’re actually paying more of your principle down instead of just treading financial water.

Other option? If you know someone who could assume (read: pay it off) your credit card debt (or any other debt), you could agree to pay them 5-8% interest (way below what the credit card company charges) and then have that money taken directly out of your paycheck so you don’t even see it and put into the person’s account. Most paycheck companies will process this request if asked.

Just two options of many but being able to not dread opening up that credit card bill every month will greatly reduce your stress AND increase your positive attitude at work since you won’t feel like your back is against the financial wall.

All Posts, Tales from the Trenches,

Bruce Will as an intern…yes, intern.

June 12, 2009 at 06:11 PM | (0) Comments

Here’s a little humor for a Friday afternoon… Bruce Willis as a “Late Show with David Letterman” intern. I don’t usually stay up late enough to watch Dave so I want to give props to “save the assistants” (another great blog about the world of assisting) for the find.

All Posts, Stress Management,

Some tips for happiness @ Work

June 08, 2009 at 06:12 PM | (0) Comments

Gretchen Rubin over at Slate.com is on a mission called “The Happiness Project” where she writes about happiness and how to be happy… isn’t that just peachy?

Anyway, last week her post focused on 16 Tips for Feeling Happier at Work and four of them jumped out at me as being perfect for current and future assistants so I’m going to highlight them below but if you want to view Gretchen’s full list, click on over to her article via the link above.

OK… so, where were we? Oh yeah, happiness at work. Here are the four points out of Gretchen’s list that jumped out at me and why:

#5 - Get (and use) a phone headset. I know, they look funny and you don’t like how they feel on your head but with the advent of Bluetooth, headsets for the phone have become very lite AND wireless. Trust me when I say that after using one for a couple weeks, you won’t know how you ever lived without one. Now, IF you assist someone who doesn’t get more than 10 calls per day, count yourself lucky and yes, you may forgo the phone headset.

#8 - Never say “yes” on the phone. This may sound weird but our brains are hard-wired to please people as soon as we can when instead we should think things through and “run it by our boss” before committing to anything… especially when you’re just starting to work for someone. By taking this time, you’ll cut down on your mistakes and won’t take on more than you can chew at one time.

#9 - Take care of difficult calls or emails as quickly as possible. We all get emails and calls that we cringe at having to deal with but the sooner we do deal with it, the sooner it’ll be in our rear view mirror and not stressing us out. Even if it is just starting a difficult project or writing a draft of an email, you will partially de-stress the situation by getting the ball rolling.

#16 - Let yourself stay ignorant of the things you don’t need to know. Another tip that might seem counterintuitive at first but as an assistant, for example, if you are asked to package up a picture to be sent to someone and you have a mailroom that handles packaging, delegate the task to them; the professional packers. Same with getting a printer to work on your boss’s computer; call the IT department… this tip basically advises you to delegate when you can and we agree.

Any tips of your own? Please share them in the comment section below. Photo credit: D. Storey

All Posts, Interpersonal Skills, Tricks of the Trade,

To ‘cc’ or not to ‘cc’...

June 03, 2009 at 05:18 PM | (3) Comments

…THAT is the question.

Knowing when to (and when not to) ‘cc’ –which stands for “carbon copy”– someone on an email is more important than you might think.

When starting out at a new job, we suggest that you ‘cc’ your boss on almost all email communication concerning them and their office. By doing so, you will quickly learn which matters your boss really cares about and which matters they would rather leave to you for action and decision making.

During your first week, you can tell your boss that you’re going to ‘cc’ them more than usual so you both are in the loop and so you can get a better understanding of their preferences and office procedures. This also helps them to remember to ‘cc’ you on anything that they feel you should be in the loop on.

Once you’ve gotten your legs under you in a new position, you can then pull back on any ‘cc’ emails to your boss as you’ll be able to make decisions based on your knowledge about their preferences without involving them. Then, when you do ‘cc’ them on an email, they will know that their attention is warranted and needed.

In terms of people other than you boss, ‘ccing’ someone on an email is an easy way to bring someone into the loop on an issue, problem, plan or just as an FYI (For Your Information). In these types of peer and subordinate interactions, our suggestion is to err on the side of ‘ccing’ someone instead of leaving them off since it’s easy to do and will facilitate a better flow of communication.

The “sneaky” cousin to the ‘cc’ is the ‘bcc” –which stands for “blind carbon copy”– and much greater care should be taken when ‘bccing’ someone on an email. When you ‘bcc’ someone, none of the other recipients of the email know that the email is also going to the person that you put on as a ‘bcc’. The only time that we suggest ‘bccing’ someone is when you are asked to complete a task that falls outside of your responsibilities. In this type of situation, you can ‘bcc’ your boss on your reply so they are aware of outside obligations being asked of you.

Other than the above type of situation, you are better off not putting someone on an email as a ‘bcc’ and just talking with them directly about the situation. Do you have any ‘cc’ or ‘bcc’ stories or examples to share? If so, please do so below in the comments.