Online Executive and Admin Assistant Training

Our E-Learning Module Introduction and Outline

May 27, 2009 at 05:19 PM | (0) Comments

Introducing our Module intro and outline…

Just a quick note to let you know about the addition of two more pages to our site that will give you an understanding of what the E-Learning Module section of our course consists of.

At just under 70 minutes long, this online training module was written and designed by us to give you a complete knowledge base of how to be a top-notch assistant.

Click the drop-down tabs above under the “About the Program” tab or click HERE to view the module outline and HERE to view the introduction to the course.

As always, let us know if you have any comments or questions below. Thanks!

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All Posts, Tales from the Trenches,

There’s a POTUS & FLOTUS but ROTUS?

May 19, 2009 at 05:22 PM | (0) Comments

You’ve probably heard of the abbreviations POTUS and FLOTUS (President of the United States and First Lady of the United States respectively) but have your heard of ROTUS?

ROTUS stands for Receptionist of the United States and currently, Darienne Page holds that position. That’s her on the phone to the right (photo credits: Doug Mills/NYT) and HERE’S a link to a profile of her via The New York Times.

Darienne is tasked with meeting any official visitor who comes in to have a meeting with the President or any senior staffer in the White House. She has had to chat “small talk” with the likes of everyone from Tiger Woods to Tony Blair all while making sure the waiting area for the West Wing runs smoothly. As a follow-up on our post about Reggie Love, the most powerful assistant in the world, I’m highlighting Darienne and her position for two specific reasons… and one of them is NOT her $36,000-a-year salary but rather in spite of it.

rotusobama Reason one: Even though the salary might not knock your socks off, having “The White House” on your resume will certainly knock your future employer’s socks off, not to mention a letter of recommendation from the President himself. The point is that assisting (and receptionists are a type of assistant) an organization that everyone knows of goes a long way… and when you combine that with the people you’ve met in that position, you become a very attractive candidate for a different company just by association.

Reason two: THE PERKS ARE HUGE! Darienne is tasked with giving out the President’s tickets to his box at the Kennedy Center. Did I mention Tiger Woods? AND she has placed herself at the nexus of history being made. I’d say those are very nice perks indeed… something to tell the grandkids.

So, if you’re young and don’t have any huge financial obligations, you might be given the opportunity to work for a very well known company or individual for not that much money and my advice is to take that position, run with it and shine.

UPDATE: Below is video of Darienne from NBC’s “Inside the Obama White House” documentary:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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All Posts, Technology, Tricks of the Trade,

How do YOU look online?

May 13, 2009 at 06:29 PM | (0) Comments

google-homepage

How much do you want to bet that when you meet with a human resource manager at a company you’re interviewing with that they Google you before you step in the office?

Don’t take that bet… you’ll lose.

Do you know what comes up when you put your name into Google? How would a potential hiring manager look at you after viewing those links?

Are you sweating yet?

Don’t worry… there are some things you can to do to be proactive about how your ONLINE self appears to the random searcher.

Sure, there might be a picture of you downing a funnel in the parking lot of a college football game but that doesn’t have to be the last impression the HR manager gets after frisking you online.

What to do?

We suggest that you put MORE of yourself out there instead of trying to hide. You can do this by updating your MySpace and Facebook page with an eye towards what outsiders see when they come across those pages; you can put up a LinkedIn profile, which is more business oriented, with detailed information about you and what you’re about. The point being, the more information there is online about you, the less likely anyone searching is going to spend the time to really find that picture at the college football game.

You can also create a Google Profile (you have to have a Google account, which is free, before you can create a profile) all about yourself with a picture and various bits of information. Then, when someone puts your name into Google, your profile will pop up. Thanks to AdminSecret for this one!

You could also, for free, start a blog… a blog about your job search; about key qualities you have to offer a future employer; express a desire to perform well for a company you care about; detail your work ethic by writing about past jobs you’ve held and how you excelled at them; and you could post about things outside of work like any organizations you’re involved with or creative outlets and hobbies you enjoy.

Lastly, if all else fails, tell the HR manager that: “I’m sorry but you got the wrong [insert your name]. I would NEVER funnel a beer at a college football game… only at concerts would I ever do such a thing.”

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All Posts, Tales from the Trenches,

A Night Out for the Assistants!

May 08, 2009 at 06:33 PM | (0) Comments

assistants2-screening

Other than Ryan Reynolds in the front row, all the others (mostly men) in the crowd are assistants. On her blog, Deadline Hollywood Daily, Nikki Finke reports about a screening for the new Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds movie, The Proposal, that was screened just for assistants in Hollywood.

The movie’s distributor thought it would be a good PR opportunity to invite assistants to a screening just for them as Reynolds plays an assistant in the movie who is forced to marry his mean boss (Bullock) to keep her from being deported… and we’re pointing it out here as just one of the many perks that an assistant in Hollywood gets; NOT the proposal mind you but the free movie screening.

Perks are a great part of the gig… tickets to Rangers games, concert tickets, parties, gifts given to your boss that they don’t want or need, free lunches, free gym memberships; depending on where you’re working and in what industry, don’t discount the perks.

Through her blog, Nikki highlights the assistant position from time and time like HERE and HERE where she details two of the agencies and the training programs they’ve set up for their assistants. By looking at the “class schedule” though, it seems that these “classes” leave a bunch of important information, tactics and “tricks of the trade” out and given my own experience navigating the treachorous waters of Hollywood as an assistant I’m sure ProAssisting can help you fill that gap!

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All Posts, Stress Management,

A few tips for Anger & Irritability Management

May 06, 2009 at 06:37 PM | (0) Comments

anger Came across a blog post by Gretchen Rubin over at Huffingtonpost.com recently that gave 8 great tips for anger and irritability management.

All of her tips, which you can read by clicking HERE, are really good for helping manage these emotions while working as an assistant but we’ll only focus on three here today:

#4- Be realistic

You may want to pull your hair out when your boss wants to move that meeting that took you days to book and get everyone’s schedule to match up but if they have a tendency of shifting their meetings, that’s life. Be realistic when scheduling the meeting and tell yourself that it’s likely going to be re-scheduled. That way, you’ll be prepared when it does and will let such disruptions roll right off your back… can you quack like a duck? That might just help too.

#5- Don’t expect praise or appreciation

This is a big one. If you use your superior skills and tactics to get your boss that prime table that they asked for at that prime restaurant during a jam packed holiday weekend; great job. But that’s just it… accomplishing an almost impossible task is what you’re there for so don’t get bummed out if your boss doesn’t acknowledge such. If you really do need some praise, come on over here to ProAssisting, leave a blog comment telling us about your near impossible feat and WE will pat you on the back. Promise.

#7- Make a joke

I agree with Gretchen that it’s surprising how a joke during a moment of anger or irritation can really have an effect on your mood. 99.9% of the time, as an assistant, you’re not going to be dealing with brain surgery so making a lite joke about whatever mistake you’re currently dealing with will help you to keep things in perspective. Self deprecating humor, when you’re the one who screwed up, has done the trick for smoothing things over with my bosses in the past and it might just work for you too… IF you keep your mistakes and screw-ups to a minimum.

If you found these helpful, check out Gretchen’s post for her take on each tip above and the other 5 that weren’t highlighted here.

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All Posts, Tales from the Trenches, Tricks of the Trade,

Treat your Boss’s expenses as your own…

May 02, 2009 at 06:39 PM | (0) Comments

expenses-fr With the economy turned upside down, everyone these days is focusing on expenses. And companies are tightening their belts and cracking the whip where they may not have done previously.

My company just instituted its first expense policy guidelines. Up until now, they had always expected that employees would be price-conscientious while dining out or choosing a hotel. Unfortunately, people took advantage of this and we were seeing receipts for $1000 bottles of wine and expensive valet parking service on the company dime.

As an assistant, you will likely be reviewing bills for vendors and checking credit card statements for egregious purchases. A great way to view this part of your job is to treat your boss’s expenses as you would your own. Pretty simple.

If your own electric bill suddenly doubled, you would undoubtedly call the provider and find out why. You should take the same responsibility if something looks fishy or out of whack when your boss’s name is on the account. Notice a $4.00 charge on his credit card from an unknown source? Take the five minutes to call customer service and see what it is.

The same thing goes when making purchasing plane tickets or making hotel reservations for your boss. Even though she has made it very clear that she only stays at the Mandarin when traveling to London, if their rate has doubled since the last time she visited, she will want to know that before booking. In email correspondence, just simply noting the rate of hotel rooms, plane tickets, and other purchases is a good practice to get in the habit of.

Your boss may not mention it, but will appreciate that you care about fiscal responsibility. This will show your strong work ethic and respect of the company culture. And in the end, this will be a payoff for you as they know that you truly care about the job that you do and will compensate you appropriately.

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