Simple “easy to remember” & SECURE Passwords
Today I woke up to one of the worst things that could happen in this day and age… a truly terrible occurence that I wouldn’t wish on my worst nightmare—well, I probably wouldn’t care it if happened to my worst nightmare but close—... ready for it?
My personal Gmail account was hacked & hijacked!
It was one of those really nasty hacks where a worm emailed everyone I have ever emailed during the entire time I’ve had this email account. The subject read: “Dear Friends” which made it super sneaky in that most of my friends opened the email. Luckily, it was a sales email and nothing “Trojan Horse” about it that would infect their accounts too.
The body of the email talked about how I had just bought a TV at a great price from this website in China, that the link in the email actually took you to, so you too could buy a great, cheap TV! Most of my friends caught that the writing of the email wasn’t how I write but some fell for it.
I got emails back asking if I had changed jobs or “What kind of TV did you get?”... as I said, a very sneaky email hack attack indeed.
Anyway, that brings us to an article that I want to point you to from Slate.com that details how to create really solid, hard to hack passwords for all of your email, social media and Internet accounts. We’ve all got numerous accounts floating around on the web, it’s time to really protect them. It’s a great article and I used the technique it teaches to create a new and improved password for my “on life support” email account.
So, if you want to learn how to make super-easy-to-remember and solid-as-a-rock-passwords, check the article out. I sure feel better after using this system to change my password; come on hacker hijackers, I’m ready for ya!
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
Permalink
Assistant tip: Use your “Out Of Office Assistant”
The “Out of office assistant” is a feature most all email platforms have that allow you to send an automatic message to anyone who emails you.
This is used while you’re out of the office on vacation, for a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon or any other reason that keeps you away from your email and unable to respond.
The more information and specifics you can include in these messages, the better. In this way, you can direct people to HR, accounting, new business or any other department that you direct emails to throughout your work day. Then, when you do get back in the office, a lot of the issues or questions that would have been waiting for you have taken care of themselves.
Most importantly though is that you will be directing anyone who is looking for your boss to the person covering for you who will then be able to help them out. It is this feature that truly is the reason for using an “Out of office assistant”. Since both you and your boss know that emails are being answered and direction being given, you can be totally relaxed while on your much needed vacation.
You should also take this thinking one step further and change your voice mail message on your phone to reflect your absence and to direct calls to the person covering for you. Now you’re fully covered.
Being able to take off your Executive assistant or Admin assistant hat while away from the office is critical for long term success and this little technology tip goes a long way toward making that possible.
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkThe Devil Is In The Details
I’m sure you’ve heard this expression before:
“The devil is in the details”... right?
It’s a great expression that can be applied to any number of different circumstances but here at ProAssisting, we truly believe in this statement when it comes to assisting… any kind of assisting, period.
The ultimate step to being a great assistant is to gain the complete trust of your boss. When this trust is built, even if you do screw something up (which is rare because you’ve spent time doing your job right to build that trust), you’ll get a pass and they’ll let the mistake go.
So the logical question is: how do you build that trust? - WARNING: get ready for my baseball analogy…
You build that trust be consistently hitting singles and doubles with the occasional triple or home run. And consistently hitting singles and doubles amounts to: making the car service reservations perfect every time; if your boss can’t find the car, you struck out… by making sure the schedule for the next day is up to date and confirmed; if an appointment never shows, you’re out… by making sure your boss’ desk is stocked with their favorite pens and paper; if they have to ask, out again.
These little things, details if you will, are the singles and doubles that you need to nail every time to gain your boss’s complete trust and then have a chance at hitting the triples and home runs by taking on bigger and more important projects. Hit one of those out of the park and you’re well on your way to being a “right hand” and either an eventual promotion or raise, your choice.
In the end though, the devil IS in the details and if you can keep that front of mind when assisting anyone, you’ll be well on your way to gaining their trust.
Flickr Creative Commons image by Chris Blakeley
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkHow Much Is Your Work Worth?
Salary.com is a great resource for finding out how much you can make in your job depending on what your title is, what city you’re going to be or already are working in, what industry you’re in, the size of your company or the company you’re applying at and your level of eduction.
Taking all of that into consideration, their service will spit out a bell curve showing the low, middle and high end of compensation of such a position in the location of your choosing.
This type of information can be very useful when negotiating for a job or a raise… by knowing what you’re worth, you’ll be better armed with information you need to get what you want.
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkOff Topic: Did you know? Technology.
This is the first blog post on our site that really doesn’t have anything to do with executive assisting, admin assisting, assisting in general or work!... isn’t that nice?
The below video is one you can watch when you have a little down time and want to get a glimpse of how technology has grown over the last couple of years and how it will continue to grow down the road. Just some eye-opening statistics and information that we found interesting and thought you might too.
Don’t worry though, tomorrow we’ll get back to giving you the tips, tricks and resources assistants use to succeed that we’re known for. [Sales plug alert!] - If can’t wait until tomorrow and you want to get all of our training, tools, templates, checklists and any answer to any assisting question you have right now, go ahead and enroll!
Now for the show:
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkFriending your boss online?... BE CAREFUL!
Give a quick read of the image below from a post on Facebook of a woman complaining about her job and her boss:
As social networking online grows, you might forget just who you’ve “friended” or who you’ve allowed to “follow” you so you better be sure to either:
1. Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t say to your boss/mother.
Or…
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkAssistant tip: Use screen shots
To go along with our post about screencasting, we also want to make you aware of or remind you if you’ve forgotten, how useful screen shots can be to a working assistant.
In case you don’t know what we’re talking about here, a screen shot is a an image of you computer screen. It can either be an image of the whole screen, of the active window on your screen or a portion of your screen that you select. You then have the option of forward these images either embedded within an email or as an attachment to whoever you want.
These types of images can save you a lot of time if you know of the screen shot option, know how to create them and think to use them when the time is right.
You can take a screen shot of your web browser when looking for a flight for your boss and then forward that shot to them so they can see all of their options right there in front of them instead of you having to go back and forth to find the right one. You can take a screen shot of a computer error you’re running up against and forward it to your IT department for troubleshooting. You can take a screen shot of three different options of a gift that you boss wants to get their spouse.
All of these instances will speed up the process of getting an answer to your question or getting an issue resolved. And now with iPhones and other cell phones out there able to see these images either in emails or attached to them, this will work even when your boss is out of the office.
Learning how to take a screen shot takes about 10 seconds… we promise. Click here to learn how to take one on a PC computer and click here to learn how to take one on a Mac computer.
It’s easy and just another tool for your assistant tool box.
Flickr Creative Commons image by Slaff
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkHowToNailAnInterview.com
HowToNailAnInterview.com is such a great site… we’ve been watching these videos over the last couple of weeks and they are truly priceless.
There is really no reason anyone with an Internet connection who’s read the 20 interview tips listed on the site and viewed the accompanying videos, should blow an interview.
Below is the first video in the series and you can find the rest of them at the site: HowToNailAnInterview.com - they’re up there now so check ‘em out if you’re interviewing soon and then after that, nail it!
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkExplaining being laid off while in an interview
Laid off, fired, let go… whatever you call it, it stinks.
However there are a few things you can do prior to getting an interview and say when you’re in the interview hot seat—you will get back into the interview hot seat—that will reflect in a very positive light to your future employer.
Let’s start first with what you can say about your situation when you’re in the interview:
If you were laid off because of down-sizing due to the downturn in the economy, you can explain it as such and that’s it. Say that you enjoyed your past employer and the position you filled for them and that you understood why they had to let you go. In these trying times, any hiring manager will understand and look at this as an opportunity to get a quality employee that they wouldn’t have otherwise had the chance with.
Now, if you were laid off because of poor performance or a poor personality fit, this is a bit tougher to explain. From family problems, financial problems or educational issues (not having the proper training to work effectively) to you weren’t a good fit for the company culture or your job evolved beyond your core competences, any could be the reasons why it didn’t work out.
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkWhere have all the airline seats gone?
Has anyone else noticed the rash of disappearing airline seats lately?
I make a lot of travel arrangements for my boss and most of the time, she knows the airline schedules better than I do since she’s always up in the air… so to speak. But lately, when she says something along the lines of: “Get me on the 6:30 US Air from PITT to LGA.”, I can’t find the flight; it was always there before but now… it’s gone.
Flummoxed—I always wanted to use that word—by the disappearance, she has to take a later flight which lands at an airport farther from her home than LGA. I know that she believes me when I tell her that the flight is canceled but I still get a little frustrated at the airline for up and canceling a flight that we’ve come to depend on.
Then, yesterday, I came across an article in Yahoo titled: ”Airlines offer lightest fall schedules since 2001”
It’s not that the airline is out to get us! As the article explains:
The U.S. airline industry is shrinking to a size not seen since the months after the 2001 terror attacks .
The airlines have been trimming flights for the past two years, matching the falling demand for air travel. Additional capacity cuts are under way at American, the nation’s second-largest carrier, and at No. 3 United.
It could get worse.
Great… “it could get worse”; that’s just what we needed to hear but at least now I have something to show the boss when she recites another flight from memory that’s been canceled. It’s not us, it’s the economy!
Flickr Creative Commons image by Olastuen
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkAssistant tip: Batch your tasks
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.
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkThe #1 Rule of Being an Assistant is…
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
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkA new tool for Executive and Admin Assistants: Screencasting
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.
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkWhat We Can’t Teach Your - Blog Series Part 3
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.
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
PermalinkProAssisting Links powered by IngBoo
Stay in the know!
Assistant Training for Professional Success
Archives
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Debbie on 'Email Triage: What it is and how it can help you'
MVaughn on 'So you wanna be a Virtual Assistant (VA)?'
Ethan on 'Email Triage: What it is and how it can help you'
Debbie on 'Email Triage: What it is and how it can help you'
myspace layouts on 'Simple "easy to remember" & SECURE Passwords'
Virtual assistant india on 'So you wanna be a Virtual Assistant (VA)?'
Compliance Monitoring on 'With cloud computing, who needs to back-up their data?'
Ethan on 'A new tool for Executive and Admin Assistants: Screencasting'
Marc Achtelig on 'A new tool for Executive and Admin Assistants: Screencasting'
Bill Rostron on 'Sweet - SarcMark: A punctuation mark for sarcasm!'