Since Administrative Professionals are so involved with every aspect of the businesses they work for they need to have many skillls.  If you have started an admin career or are taking a course to train for an admin career your skills need to be portable and transferable.  That means that your skills can be put to use to effectively complete a wide array of projects.  So, what are the top 10 skills that administrative professionals need to have?

1. Organizational skills - professionals in your office will be depending on you to know where files are, to know when their meetings are, and to know what the priorties are for the day, among other things.  Your organizational skills will be imperative to keeping all this information straight.
2. Written communications skills - every day you will use writing as a form of communication when you write emails, formal letters, and even reports.  You will need to understand grammar and be familiar with the writing process.
3. Verbal communication skills - since you are the first person that clients and business partners will have contact with, either by phone or in person, it is essential that your verbal communication skills be up to par.  You may also need to give presentations or present information to small groups of people so you need to be comfortable speaking in front of people.
4. Cultural awareness - in our world it is not only possible but it is very probable that you will be working with people from different cultures.  By being culturally aware you will be more likely to be successful and to be thought of as a professional.
5. Microsoft Office skills - while there are other programs that are specific to individual fields, Microsoft Office is still one of the most widely used programs among business professionals - knowing how to use Word, PowerPoint, Access, and Excel is just the beginning of your learning but if you are comfortable with these programs you will be more likely to learn other programs more easily.
6. Typing skills - not only will you need typing skills to do your own work efficiently but you'll also likely need to type up documents for other people.  And administrative professional should have a minimum of 45 keystrokes per minute but should aim higher; many companies request 60 keystrokes per minute or more!
7. Concentrations skills - I don't hear this one mentioned very often but since you are likely to be working at the front desk there will be a lot of traffic around your desk.  If you are not able to concentrate while others are talking you will have a difficult time completeing your work!
8. Efficiency - know the difference between effectiveness and efficiency.  You need to have both but efficiency is key.  The ability to get work done quickly and properly will make you indispensible!
9. Self-motivation - there isn't always going to be someone standing over your should telling you what to do so make sure you know what you are responsible for.  When you've completed all your tasks have a list of things that you can work on.
10. Being ethical - this is one of the skills that everyone must develop in the business world but the administrative professional that has a strong work ethic will go far.  They will stand out in the minds of their superiors and they will be promoted before others.

So - do you have all of these skills?  Or are there some that you can work on?  This is just a short list of the skills that students develop at Robertson College when they are taking one of our administrative professional courses at our business college.  If you have been thinking of pursuing an admin career come and see one of our career counsellors who will be happy to tell you more about the opportunities at Robertson College.

If  you are working on a Word document that is going to be sent out to multiple pe0ple and you want it to stand out a little bit you can use dropped caps at the beginning of key paragraphs to make them stand out from the others.  We have talked about this in my class a little bit and have learned that techniques like this can be effective in calling attention to important items in a document.

This is so easy to do in Word 2007!

How to Geek has the best instructions on how to use dropped caps - so click here!

Are you interested in learning more about Micosoft Office documents?  All of our administrative courses at Robertson College teach you how to use Word, Excel, Power Point, and Access.  Click here to learn more about how you can start an administrative career at Robertson College.

There may be times when you hate technology - it seems like it is always breaking down or it doesn't work the way you think it should. Or maybe you just hate learning new technology because it can be very intimidating. Whatever you think of technology there are definitely times when it can drive you crazy. But it can also make your job a lot easier.

As administrative assistants it seems that people are always needing things from us and they never need it in a reasonable time frame. They always need it right now - or sooner if possible. It can seem like it would be impossible to get things done but thanks to technology there is often a way to get things done faster than we'd imagine.

What are some of the tools that are available today that can help us excel at our jobs?

• databases
• spreadsheets
• documents
• organizers
• online tools
• email

There are many types of technology that you will use in your administrative career and knowing how to use them and when to use them makes the difference between being effective and being efficient.  When you examine different professional business colleges for a course that is right for you it is important to look at what those business colleges teach and how much value they put on efficiency.  At Robertson College we give you a variety of tools, teach you how to use them, and make sure you know when to use them.  Your administrative career will speed ahead when you have the best tools at your fingertips.

Doing research is often part of our job and although it isn't always the most exciting task in the world we need to give it proper attention.  One of the things we need to focus on is finding authoritative sites that actually present relevant data to what we are researching for and that means finding material that is not just written by anyone - it needs to be written by someone who knows what they are talking about.  So, today I have four reference sites for you that can give you a wide variety of information but are quality sources.

One of the first sites that I frequent when looking for information is the Statistics Canada site.  You'll find loads of info on the country as a whole, individual stats on the provinces, and even information on cities and towns.  If you need to know how many children are being born or how many people are moving out of a community, this is the site to get the most relevant answers.

The Government of Canada website will provide you with more information than you might have guessed. Programs, benefits, and laws are only the beginning of what you can find there.  The Government of Canada produces a wide variety of literature that is free for the people and is available in PDF form.  This makes it easy to download it and save it for later if you find something that you think might be important for you later.  

Finally, if you're in Manitoba, the Government of Manitoba website will give you more focused information.  And of course there are provincial sites for all of the provinces and territories in Canada.  These provincial web sites are invaluable if you need information on provincial laws but they are also helpful if you want to know what topic are important and current for your area.

Those are just a starting point.  Spend some time doing your own investigating and watch for sites that end in .org, .edu, .gov, .biz - .com sites can have relevant info as well but you'll need to verify the source.

A cluttered desk can be the cause of many bad habits like procrastination, inefficient work habits, and distraction.  If you're anything like me keeping a clutter free desk is a constant battle.  I really have to work on that on a daily basis.  I don't know where all the clutter comes from but it just seems to build throughout the day.

So, here are six ways that I am trying to battle the clutter monster:

• Keepsakes - yes, I know we all love having pictures of our kids and loved ones on our desk.  But once there are more than one or two of them they are just taking up space.  And they tend to collect dust, which means your desk looks more cluttered than it really is.  My rule is one or two personal, non-functional items.  The rest get moved to other areas.  The top of the filing cabinet, window sills, upper areas that aren't good for storing things you actually use are all good places for your personal items.
• Tools - you know what I mean.  The stapler, hole puncher, paper cutter - they all take up space but do you really need to have them on your desk?  If you don't use them at least once a day or more find another place for them.  Put them in a drawer or find another part of the room for them so that they aren't taking up space on your desk.
• Use a notepad.  If you have one notepad that you use to jot down phone numbers and messages and other important information you won't need to have all those sticky notes all over the place.  Those things can build up fast and if there are a lot of them they certainly add to the clutter.  And how many times have you looked at a sticky note to realize that it is about something that you don't even remember any more?  Use one note pad for all of your notes and when something is completed, go into your notepad and strike it off.  That way you'll know that only the things that aren't stricken are relevant.
• File it.  Don't leave papers sitting all over your desk.  Don't even leave them in neat little piles.  The only things that should be on your desk are the things that you are going to need within the next 24-48 hours.  If you aren't going to use it in that time period - FILE IT!  That's what file cabinets are for!
• Keep only the items you need on your desk.  Do your really need to have a pen in every color of the rainbow on your desk?  Not very likely - unless you do some kind of artistic work that requires you to work in many different colors.  Keep a blue pen, a pencil, and maybe a red pen on your desk and put the rest away.  Same goes for other small objects.  You might need an eraser or white-out but most of the smaller items on our desk are not needed throughout the day - put them away.
• Clean Desk Policy - implement the clean desk policy.  At the end of each day - or even several times a day like before you go for lunch - take 5-10 minutes to clear your desk.  Only the most immediately needed materials should be out there.  Everything else gets put away or filed.  Trust me - this is a very satisfying 5-10 minutes because when you come back after lunch or the next morning you can immediately focus on your first task at hand.