Knowing what you do not want to do is just as important as knowing what you do want to do.  It narrows down your scope so that you can focus on what you do want to do.

So, the first thing you should do is think about all the jobs and activities you have done in the past and rule out what you don’t like doing.

Do you hate working by yourself?  Do you prefer to work with your hands or would you rather be in an office.  Do you like small groups of people or large teams where you can have lots of interaction?  Are you a people person?  Do you prefer activities where you can be creative or is logic more your style?  Do you like words or numbers?

Think back to the last job that you had.  Since you are here, I would assume that you are looking for a new career and since you’re looking for a new career I’m going to assume that you had those days when you didn’t want to get out of bed and head off to work. What was it that you did not want to do? 

Fill in the blank:

If I have to _________ one more time, I’m going to go crazy!

These are the kind of things that make us not give 100% at work so if at all possible it is best to rule these things out.

If you’re interested in learning more about choosing a career you can come back to The Admin Professional blog but if you really want something of value join our Robertson College Facebook page.  In the very near future we’ll be giving away a workbook on How to Choose a Career.  It will be filled with advice and exercises that you can do to help you in finding the perfect career for you!

Working in an office where morale is low is hard – there is no doubt about that.  But you are just an admin assistant.  What can you do about it?

People look to the administrative assistant for many things and keeping up morale is just one of them.

Here are a few of the ways that you can help improve the morale of your office:

1. Smile when you talk to people.  I know I have said this before but this one deserves to be repeated.  There is nothing that improves mood better than talking to someone that is smiling.
2. Thank people.  Again – this deserves to be repeated.  When people feel appreciated they feel good about the job they are doing.
3. Ask people for their opinion.  When you ask someone for their thoughts, opinions, or ideas you are telling them that what they have to say is important.  No matter what position people hold they like to know that others value their knowledge and thoughts.
4. Suggest group events.  Go out as a group for lunch.  Go to a movie together on a weekend.  Participate in charity events.  When people get to know each other work becomes a place they are more comfortable in.
5. Laugh and make others laugh.  Practical jokes in the office can go a long way if they are harmless and don’t take up a lot of time. 
6. Start an office library.  When staff feel stimulated they are more likely to put their full effort into their jobs.  They are also more likely to implement new ideas and be proud of what they know.  Ask everyone to bring in books and magazines that they are willing to share.  They can be focused on topics that are relevant to the business but you can also share hobbies and common interests like social media or sports that everyone is interested in.

People are most motivated when they feel intellectually challenged, appreciated, and when they are laughing so improve morale by helping others (and yourself) to meet those needs.

Now, don’t get excited – this isn’t that kind of blog post!  This is about putting the supply room under your control and making it a place where you rule. 

Of course, one of the main things that you are likely to be in charge of as an administrative assistant is supplies.  If you run out of paper, printer ink, pens, or any other office supplies, guess who people are going to run to?  That’s right – you!

If you want to take charge of your supply room the first thing you need to do is regular inventory checks.  Have an inventory list and do a check on inventory at least once a week.  The bigger the office is that you work in the more often you are going to need to do inventory but if you have a good list it will not take as long.

Another thing you should do is have a place for everything.  You shouldn’t need to check three separate places in the supply room for your pens.  They should be in the same place every time.  Yes, this means you will likely need to go in and tidy things up on occasion but this is one of those five minute jobs that you can do when you are in between tasks. Also, try to keep related items together.  For example, keep pens, pencils, erasers, and highlighters all in the same area.  Keep paper, notepads, and sticky notes in the same place.  It will make it easier to find things.

Finally, if you want less work for yourself, ask staff to fill out a requisition form 24 hours before they need supplies.  This ensure that you are the only one taking supplies from the supply room and items are not getting misplaced.  It will help you to stay on top of the inventory and you will be able to analyze which departments are using what supplies and how much they are using in a time period.

You know how it happens – the boss comes in and she’s cranky.  Her dog made a mess in her shoe because her alarm clock didn’t go off and the dog didn’t get let out when it needed to and then she went to start the car and found that she had a flat tire and then the traffic was horrible.  We’ve all had those days.

And the truth is that your boss’s mood when they come in can affect everyone!  Not only does it put them on edge but everyone seems to pick up on it and in turn becomes cranky and irritable.

So, what can you do?  Here are a few things you can do to help your boss when he/she is in a bad mood:

• Greet them with a smile – smiling faces make a big difference. 
• Give your boss an opportunity to vent.  Venting about little things like this often makes you realize that it isn’t that big of a deal and it makes you feel better.  A simple statement like, “Are you ok?  Is there anything you want to talk about?” can give them the chance to get it off their chest.
• Give them time – sometimes the boss just needs a little bit of time to move on to something else so unless it is really critical that someone see them ask them to come back in half an hour.  Depending on the type of person your boss is you might want to come right out and ask them if they want to see anyone.  That will give them the opportunity to tell you that they need some time without visitors.

Everyone has those days where they just need a little bit more time in the morning and a bad morning can get out of hand fast when everyone is banging on your door.

Help your boss out by giving them a little space if you can see they’ve had a bad day.  Give them a smile and a chance to vent.  When your boss gets past whatever it was that put them in the bad mood in the first place and gets back to normal everyone will thank you.

Now if you boss is like that all the time…that’s another blog post!

When you have a job as important as that of an administrative assistant it is a good idea to have a backup plan in case you cannot make it in to work.  Things happen right?  You get sick, your car breaks down, emergencies happen – so make sure that when it does happen the office is not going to be left high and dry.

So what should you do?

First think of all the tasks that you do that absolutely must be taken care of every day.  The phones need to be answered.  Mail needs to be taken care of.  Filling needs to be done.  What else do you do on a regular basis?  Do you need to manage projects?  Do you need to put in orders?  Send out invoices?

Once you have compiled a list of things that you need to do you need to find people that can take care of those things for you.  Keep in mind that no one person is going to be able to leave all of their duties behind to do your job so break it into smaller tasks. 

Have one person answer the phone from 9 am to 11 am.  Find another person to answer the phone from 11 am to 1 pm.  And so on.  They can forward the main phone line into their office if there is a phone system in place that allows people to forward calls from their offices.  If there is not you may have to have just one person work from your desk for the day or have two people split the job into morning and afternoon.

Remember that each person that takes on one of your jobs will need to be familiar with the job so take the time to train them and then have detailed instructions available.  Project related tasks are best assigned to people that are already on the project and understand it.  Is there someone on the project team that has shown that they work hard and can handle the extra responsibility for a day or two?

Finally, you will want to make sure that others in the office know who will be in charge of important details when you are gone.  Draft an email to someone who will be aware of your absence so that they can send out an email to everyone that should be notified of your absence.  In that email  make sure to include phone numbers and email addresses of the people who are helping you.

Having a backup plan is a great way to make sure that others in the office do not suffer.  But remember that you co-workers will need to have a backup plan as well, so return the favor and help out others when they are sick as well.