Did you know that you can work as an administrative assistant from home? If you have training or experience as an administrative assistant there is a wide array of choice available to you and they aren't all in office. Thousands of women and men all over the world are working from home as virtual assistants. And I should add, they aren't just making ends meet - they are thriving in satisfying careers. If you're one of those people that feel stifled in an office environment the world of work at home might be just what you're looking for.

Virtual assistants are able to get clients either locally OR online OR they may do a little bit of both. If you want to focus on your local area there are likely tons of businesses that can't afford to hire an admin assistant full-time or even part-time, but given the ability to hire someone on an as needed basis might be just the incentive they need.

Virtual assistants have the option of specializing in an area of administrative work. Perhaps you write great sales text or business letters - that can be a huge area of specialty. Maybe social networking is your interest? VA's are getting paid good money to handle business Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, YouTube accounts, and other social networking areas. You can choose a specialty or several specialties and do what you really love.

Are you interested in exploring the world of Virtual Assistants? Get started by checking out these sites:

- Canadian Virtual Assistant Connection (CVAC): a place to network, learn, and get support.
- Canadian Virtual Assistant Network (CVAN): more networking and learning
- Virtual Assistant Forums: join a community, make friends, network, learn, and even get jobs!

Books you might like:

- The 2-Second Commute: Join the Exploding Ranks of Freelance Virtual Assistants
- The Anti 9-5 Guide - Practical Career Advice for Women Who Think Outside the Cube by Michelle Goodman

So, today we have 10 new jobs to add to our analysis of job skills the employers are looking for when seeking to hire administrative assistants.  I've been looking at different types of admin jobs but I've been trying to keep it as general as possible because I think that all administrative jobs will be reflected here.  Keep in mind that if you are training to work in the legal field or the medical field, the requirements will be much more specific.  Having a general focus will help you out in the long run though.

Today my random 10 jobs come mostly from workopolis.ca but there is one that came from monster.ca.  Monster.ca sometimes has a nice selection of jobs but sometimes not so much.  This weekend there wasn't much to choose from.  You might also noticed that some of the skills have changed a little.  I've modified them to be a little more inclusive and I've added a few as well.  So, here are the job skills under evaluation today:

Work with public/provide info	14
Word	11
Verbal communications	10
Windows/Microsoft Office	10
Excel	9
Accounting software	8
Databases/spreadsheets/data entry	8
Internet	8
Inventory	8
Email	7
General bookkeeping	7
Processing Mial	7
Organized, schedule office work	6
Writing	6
Compile, record, process info	5
Problem solving, decision making, critical thinking	5
Reading	5
Store, update, retreive info	5
Work with others	5
Filing	4
Prepare reports	4
Proofreading	4
Work individually	4
Continuous learning	3
Detail oriented	3
Finding info	3
Swithboard	3
Electronic scheduling/scheduling	2
General admin skills	2
Highly motivated	2
Memory	2
Receive payments	2
Time management	2
Work as part of a team	2
Outgoing/personable	1

Over time this list will definitely be growing!

As you can see, our top 5 list has changed a little bit.  Now in the top 5 we have:

• Work with the public and provide info
• Word
• Verbal Communications
• Windows/Microsoft Office
• Excel

Verbal Communications has replaced Internet and the other 4 are the same - just in a different order.  Tomorrow I'm going to talk about what kind of skills are involved in working with the public and providing information.

Meanwhile, if you want to look at some of these ads yourself, check out the listings for today:

Part Time Office Administrator - Kildonan Place, Winnipeg Job in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
workopolis.com - Administrative Assistant/ Accounts Payable/Bookkeeper - Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA - RIVER CITY SPORTS
workopolis.com - office assistant / bookkeeper - Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA - HEAT PLUS
workopolis.com - Full Cycle Bookkeeper - 30 Hours per week - Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA - ROBERT HALF FINANCE & ACCOUNTING
workopolis.com - ACCOUNTING / OFFICE ASSISTANT - Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA - AN UNNAMED COMPANY
workopolis.com - JR. ACCOUNTING CLERK - Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA - BOX 166, WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
workopolis.com - Administrative/Accounting Assistant - Winnipeg, MB, CANADA - CXA RECRUITING
workopolis.com - Receptionist / Secretary - Rogers Media Television - Winnipeg - Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA - ROGERS
workopolis.com - Receptionist - Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA - BUHLER FURNITURE
workopolis.com - RECEPTIONIST - Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA - AN UNNAMED COMPANY

Welcome to our new weekly feature, Admin Jobs Today!  What is this feature?  Well, every Friday I am going to look at the first 10 jobs for administrative assistants that appear on a job site (chosen at random) and examine the qualifications the employers are looking for when hiring administrative help.  This is a great way for job searchers to learn more about themselves - what skills do they already have?  What skills do the need to work on?  Should they think about going to school to develop their skills further?  Each Friday I will also post the jobs I've looked at so you can look at them more closely as well.

I've started with 29 skills and will show you all of them today and how many employers are requesting those skill but in the future I will focus on the top 10 skills.  The more jobs we look at the better picture we will have of what skills should be focused on.

So today these are the results that I got looking at the first 10 jobs on the Service Canada Job Bank.

Word	10
Windows	9
Excel	8
Internet	8
Work with public/provide info	8
Inventory	8
Email	7
Processing Mial	5
Reading	5
Writing	5
Oral communications	5
Work with others	5
Compile, record, process info	5
Store, update, retreive info	5
Accounting software	5
Prepare reports	4
Proofreading	4
Continuous learning	3
Problem solving, decision making, critical thinking	3
Finding info	3
Databases/spreadsheets	3
General bookkeeping	3
Receive payments	2
Organize, schedule office work	2
Filing	2
Memory	2
Swithboard	1
Electronic scheduling	1

As you can see the top 5 skills that employers are looking for in the 10 jobs that I looked at today are:

1. Word
2. Windows
3. Excel
4. Internet
5. Working with the public and providing info

In the next week, I'll look at some of those skills in more depth and talk about what they mean and what kinds of tasks you might be doing with those skills.

Meanwhile, if you are looking for a job, feel free to check out the jobs that I looked at today:

Job Bank - Job Profile
Job Bank - Job Profile
Job Bank - Job Profile
Job Bank - Job Profile
Job Bank - Job Profile
Job Bank - Job Profile
Job Bank - Job Profile
Job Bank - Job Profile
Job Bank - Job Profile
Job Bank - Job Profile

One of the things that you should consider when thinking about attending a professional business college is the type of jobs you might be able to get.  Are there jobs out there for you when you graduate?  Are there lots of them?  What kind of skills are they looking for?  Well, just to give you and idea of the type of jobs that are available in Manitoba here are a few of them found at the HRDC Job Bank just today:

1. Loans and Grants Administrative Assitant
2. Office Receptionist - Chiropractic Office
3. Legal Secretary
4. Medical Office Assistant
5. Administrative Assistant
6. Office Administration Clerk
7. Computerized Accounting Clerk
8. Accounts Payable Clerk
9. Dental Receptionist
10. Bookkeeper

This is just a sampling of the jobs that are available to people who are interested in an admin career.  There are loads of jobs and with a diploma, a great attitude, and a super resume and cover letter (don't forget that job search is part of every course we offer) that could be you in that job!