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!

There are some stand formats for professional business letter but before you go ahead and start on your own you should always check your company policies.  There tends to be a company policy or a company preference for almost everything you might come across. 

So, first – ask someone if there is a company preference.

If there isn’t see if you can find some samples of business letters that have been written by those that came before you.  It should not be too difficult to find some business letter in the files as most companies will keep a copy of all correspondence that they send out.

Finally, if there is nothing to look back on the Block Format business letter is most widely accepted.  Most businesses prefer this format because it is easiest to look at and it is clear where each section is.

The most recognizable feature of the Block Format letter is the fact that all paragraphs are justified to the left.  There are no indents for paragraphs or for greetings or closings.  Instead, they are identified and kept separate by a blank line.

The Block Format business letter will start with the return address of the company that is sending the letter.  Sometimes this may be in the form of a letterhead that might be centered or right justified.  Unless there is a letterhead though, you should keep it left justified. 

Skip a line and put the date.

Skip a line and then move on to the address of the person/company you are sending the letter to.  Make sure to include the name of the person the letter is addressed to, their position, the company name, and then the address.

Skip a line and put your greeting.

Skip a line and put your SUBJECT.

Skip a line and write your opening paragraph.  This should be a short introduction that includes the purpose of the letter.  It is usually only 2-3 sentences long.

Skip a line between each following paragraph.

Skip a line and put your closing and then skip 3-4 lines for a signature and then type your name (or the name of the person the letter is from) with your title.

If there are enclosures (additional documents they should take note of) skip a line and type ENCLOSURES.  Put the number of enclosures in brackets if there is more than one.

If you are typing the letter for someone else go to the next line and type your initials in capital letters and if there is a typist (besides yourself) put their initials in lowercase letters.

Other types of business letter formats you might use include the Modified Block Format and the Semi-Block Format

Have you ever been to a professional event? A workshop?   A seminar?  An awards ceremony?  If  you haven’t it is time you did.  Why?

Because meeting people, talking, and giving someone a face and a personality to connect to your name is one of the best ways to make yourself memorable.

If you’ve had training in verbal communications (and if you’ve trained as an administrative assistant you should have some training) the best way to put your training to use is to get out there and talk to people.  Talk, ask questions, express your opinions, agree or disagree with people.  How are they reacting to you?  Are they running for the hills after five minutes or are they gathering around you?  Are they laughing when they are supposed to or are they rolling their eyes at badly expressed jokes?  Professional events give you a great opportunity to improve your verbal communications skills.  Even if you don’t have a job where you are expected to have great verbal skills, you will be very glad you worked on them when you leave your evaluation meeting with a healthy raise or a promotion!

Another good reason to attend professional events is to become more comfortable around managers, CEO’s and other company leaders.  I don’t mean you should be sitting around telling dirty jokes with them but you should be able to look unphased when you converse with them.  Most of us find the people that are at the top of the ladder to be at least a little bit unnerving but you can learn to avoid showing that.  Learn to control that nervous hair twisting.  Learn to speak to that scary boss while looking him in the eye, not looking at his tie or his ears.  When those who lead the company see that you are comfortable around them, they will forget that you are not one of them and that can open many doors to you.

Professional events give you many opportunities to get your name known.  When you make live conections with people they will be more likely to remember your name if there is a face connected to it.  They will be even more likely to remember your name if there is a conversation connected to it.  Even better – make sure you have business cards and use them.  People tend to collect business cards and keep them in their wallets.  How can they contact you if they don’t have your contact info?

If you have never attended a professional event, start looking for ones that are relevant to your job or to your industry.  Check out a couple of them.  See if they have an effect on your career.

Last week when I talked about being professional, one of the things that I mentioned was being accountable.  Being accountable means taking responsibility for the end result of our actions and being able to explain why we did it a certain way.  It is standing up to our choices and being responsible for our actions.

So, how can we be accountable in our jobs?

• Have a vision for the future.  If you work for someone else this usually means knowing what the company goals are and what the company’s outlook for the future is.  Every time you make a decision or work on a task, ask yourself if this is furthering the company’s vision.  How is it going to help and propel the company forward?  If it is only slightly working towards moving the company forwards in its goals see if there is a way you can tweak the project or add to it that will make it more goal focused.
• Have an accountability partner.  Find someone in the company that has a similar work ethic to yourself that you can go to when you need a second opinion.  Bounce ideas off one another.  Talk about the possible repercussions.  Having someone to talk to that has a similar mindset to your own can give you the chance to see things that you might be missing otherwise.
• Take responsibility for your actions.  That means taking responsibility whether the results are good or bad.  Sometimes we forget that we need to speak up when we have done something good.  Remember that it is unlikely that others are going to speak up for you so you should speak up when you are proud of something you have done.  On the other hand, when you have made a mistake you should take ownership of it and find a way to make it better by fixing it or getting the task into the hands of someone who can show you how to fix it.
• Take charge of your advancement.  Advancement does not always mean promotions or raises.  Many of our advancements take the form of learning and increased knowledge.  So, take charge of it by taking time to read good magazines and books that can help you on your job.  Go to a seminar or a workshop.  Listen to a webinar online (many are free).  Read and keep up to date with professional sites online in your industry.

What other ways do you hold yourself accountable?

If you are “just” and administrative assistant why do you need to act professional?

 First, you should never think of your job as “just” anything.  No matter what your role in the company is you should be proud of it and realize that all jobs are important.  You are an expert in your field – not “just” a secretary!

Second, when you act like a professional you will get the tasks that require a professional.  You will have more challenging tasks to work on, your job will be more interesting, and there will be less repetitiveness.  Jobs like these require a certain level of professionalism so managers will never appoint someone to a challenging task that thinks of themselves as “just” anything.

So, what do you need to do to project professionalism?

• Appearance.  Yes, appearance does matter.  That doesn’t mean that you need to be a beauty queen or a model.  Most people are not either of those.  But you can take pride in your appearance.  Make sure that your clothes fit you properly (no baggy pants, avoid tight fitting clothes) and make sure that they are properly maintained.  Think about what first comes to your mind when you see a man that is dressed in a business suit that is two sizes too big and wrinkled and smells like it needs a good dry cleaning.  Do you think of him as being professional?  No.  So, take the time to put together a wardrobe of clothing that fits you well and is dry cleaned regularly.  That goes for shoes as well!  Of course, you can’t have them dry cleaned but make sure they are polished and have no scuffs.
• Be a person of action.  Some people like to talk about things until everything has been said at least twice and then they want to summarize it one more time.  Stop talking so much and get down to action.  Make a plan, think of the possibilities, and then put it into action.  This is not to say that it is ok to put a plan into action that has not been fully thought out.  But once you have a plan and you are reasonably sure it will work, put it into action.  Do exactly what you say you are going to do.  Keep your promises.  And finally, follow up on them.  A plan is useless if you put it into action and then do not follow up to see how well it is reaching the desired results!
• Be accountable.  When you have made a mistake, do not try to come up with half a dozen excuses for your actions.  Take responsibility for them.  Remember though that it is not enough to just say, “Yes, it is my fault.  I’m sorry.”  Being accountable means that you must find a way to avoid letting it happen again.  Did you miss a deadline?  Then perhaps you need to take a course on organization or time management.  Find out why the mistake was made and then show accountability by finding a way to make sure that it does not happen again.