Administrative Career Offers Bright Future in the New Economy

Administrative professionals have come a long way since the days of merely supporting the line managers and their bosses. Whether working as a personal or executive assistant or as an office manager, you are in a career that has grown in leaps and bounds.

Technology and corporate restructuring have created jobs that are more demanding than ever before. It’s not about how hard you work. It’s about how smart you work. Your future lies in your hands.

Career Management is as much about the future of an organization as it is about you. It is about staying relevant. It is about taking ownership of your own career. Unlike in the past, career management is now YOUR responsibility, with your employer facilitating it.

Career management is a strategic human resources tool that involves achieving a synergy between the needs of the employer and the needs of the individual.

Within the ‘new’ employment relationship of today, Career Management becomes a joint venture whereby both parties gain benefits. For the individual they feel ‘invested’ in, for the company, Career Management can be used to enhance a learning organization and utilised as a retention strategy. Essentially Career Management is an ongoing process of continual alignment between individual and organisational needs. Successful change/career management within an organisation creates an aligned workforce, ready and able to meet changing business needs.

The responsibility of the organisation in the career management process is to provide a supportive environment for key staff they wish to invest in. This environment encourages individuals to be self reliant, attuned to the opportunities within the organisation and able to capitalize on the constant change many organisations face. Career Management leads to a closer alignment between the goals and needs of both employees and the organisation. This in turn facilitates a ‘better fit,’ contributing to improved employee retention particularly in a time of where global talent shortage and increasing staff turnover costs soar.

Career Paths.

Companies are creating a multitude of career paths for individuals in administrative positions. Administrative professionals have moved into training, supervision, desktop publishing, information management, research and human resource management. They are charged with equipment purchase and maintenance, customer service, project management and qualification of external vendors.

Changing Roles.

The number-one skill sought by employers when hiring administrative professionals is technology-savvy. YOU should master not only the workings of word processing, spreadsheets, databases, graphics and desktop publishing, but also with the ability to gather research data and information at the snap of your fingers. , With more managers handling there own correspondence and more files being stored electronically, the nature of administrative work is changing dramatically. Managers are tackling more of the "back-room" roles, while the roles of administrative professionals are evolving to more "front-line" and problem solving.

The Future of the Profession.

With businesses operating in a global economy, administrative professionals will have increasing opportunities to interact via e-mail, audio- and web-conferencing, and even face-to-face with customers and associates from around the world. The winners will be of you who master technology, effectively use your interpersonal and communication skills, have the ability to track and organize, are creative in solving problems, and most importantly, have the willingness to learn and grow, and accept challenges. ARE YOU ONE OF THEM? There is a world of opportunity waiting for YOU.