If you’ve seen Mad Men you know Christina Hendricks as the beautiful, feisty, and professional Joan Holloway. While she functions as an office manager and administrative assistant, Joan brings a sharp awareness of office politics, and the changing role of women in the workplace, to AMC’s marquee period drama. The office can’t operate without her, as no one else knows how the office is organized. An Administrative Assistant provides support to people within a business, but beyond that this role provides an amazing opportunity to get deeply involved with a company and key executives, leading to future advancement.
Photo Credit: Flickr user ESwift
An administrative assistant provides support to people within a business by being the information and communication manager for an office. Furthermore administrative assistants are increasingly assuming responsibilities once reserved for managerial staff. Top executives need support to do their jobs effectively, and that’s where executive assistants come in: combining the organizational talents of an office manager, the record-keeping savvy of a financial whiz, and the professional foundation of a committed secretary into one flexible role. The great thing about being an Administrative Assistant is that it gives you the opportunity to get your foot in the door and then transition into something else within the company; it’s an opportunity for an entry level person to get in front of important people.
While a typical day for an administrative assistant varies, it generally includes some of these tasks:
On average in 2011 Administrative Assistants made $36,092 per year, while Executive Assistants earned $50,688. Qualified administrative assistants who broaden their knowledge of a company’s operations and enhance their skills may be promoted to senior or executive secretary or administrative assistant, clerical supervisor, or office manager ($23,347-$54,882/year). Administrative support experience also can lead to jobs such as instructor or sales representative. With additional training, many legal secretaries become paralegals.
Here are some hot spots for administrative assistants:
Employers of Executive Assistants increasingly are looking for candidates with a college degree. A degree related to the business or industry will provide you with an advantage in the application process. Although typically not required, testing and certification for proficiency in office skills are available through organizations such as the International Association of Administrative Professionals; National Association of Legal Secretaries, Inc.; Legal Secretaries International, Inc; and International Virtual Assistants Association.
Furthermore, to be an Administrative Assistant you’ll need to have great writing, project management, customer service, and communication skills. Beyond that, discretion, good judgment, organizational or management ability, initiative, and the ability to work independently are especially important for higher-level administrative positions.
If being an administrative assistant still sounds like your cup of tea, here are a few things you should do to get started.
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Rotational Summer Internship | Cincinnati, OH |
| Content Marketer | United States |
| Buyer I (684) | Bartlett, IL |
| Buyer I | Bartlett, IL |
| VP, Marketing and Growth Strategy | Cincinnati, OH |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Salon Manager & Multitasker Extraordinaire | San Francisco, CA |
| Sales Agent for IT Company - Salaried | Anchorage, AK |
| Sr. Linux Administrator | Seattle, WA |
| Aquarist III | Las Vegas, NV |
| Education Intern | Dayton, OH |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Caretaker and Rotator | United States |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Software Developer | Boston, MA |
| Development Assistant | Brighton, MA |
| Executive Assistant & Special Projects Manager | West Conshohocken, PA |
| Grants and Database Administrator | West Conshohocken, PA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Salesforce Team Lead | Austin, TX |
| IT Manager/System Administrator | Austin, TX |
| Audio Video Technician/Installer | Charlotte, NC |
| Unified Communications/TelePresence Analyst | Houston, TX |
| Hardware Lab Intern | Austin, TX |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Product Manager | San Francisco, CA |
| Office Assistant | San Francisco, CA |
| Customer Support | San Francisco, CA |
| Implementation Analyst | San Francisco, CA |
| Fraud Analyst | San Francisco, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Mulligan Funding, LLC | Financial Sales Specialist | Paid Weekly (15 Freeway/Balboa Ave) | San Diego, CA |
| Digital Marketing Specialist | Irvine, CA |
| Credit Administrator | Irvine, CA |
| Accounts Receivable Clerk | Irvine, CA |
| Finance Manager | Vandalia, OH |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Pro Shop Assistant | Riverside, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| ELP Content Writer | Brentwood, TN |
| Split Writer | Brentwood, TN |
| Property & Casualty Client Service Specialist | Plano, TX |
| Bilingual (Spanish) Service Specialist - Auto/Home | Plano, TX |
| Auto/Home (Property & Casualty) Insurance Consultant | Plano, TX |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Engineering Assistant - Research & Development | Rogers, CT |
| Director, Product Management | San Jose, CA |
| Technical Sales & Application Engineer | Cincinnati, OH |
| State and Local Taxation (SALT) Senior Manager | Golden, CO |
| Government Affairs Summer Intern | United States |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Sales Associate | College Station, TX |
| Graphic Designer | Highland Heights, OH |
| Store Manager (FWW) | Florida |
| Store Manager (MIT) | Humble, TX |
| Learning & Development Coordinator | Highland Heights, OH |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Senior Account Executive | Los Angeles, CA |
| Sr. Strategist | Seattle, WA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Production Assistant - Hang Tags | Seattle, WA |
| Production Training Manager | Seattle, WA |
| Technical Support III | Baltimore, MD |
| Warehouse Associate III | Seattle, WA |
| Customer Service Representative | Seattle, WA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Regional Therapy Director | Houston, TX |
| IT Asset Management Business Analyst | Milwaukee, WI |
| BIA - Self Governance Grant Accountant | Ketchikan, AK |
| Loan Officer/Originator | Boca Raton, FL |
| Manager, Program Portfolio | Vermont |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Education & Events Intern | New York, NY |
| Retail General Manager | New York, NY |
| Grocery Stocker | New York, NY |
| Bakery Sales Associate | New York, NY |
| Stocker | Chicago, IL |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Computer Forensics Programming Internship | Chicago, IL |
| Office Manager | Chicago, IL |
| Associate Computer Forensics Examiner | Chicago, IL |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Sales Development Representative | San Francisco, CA |
| Account Manager | San Francisco, CA |
| Marketing Manager | San Francisco, CA |
| Account Analyst | San Francisco, CA |
| DevOps Engineer | San Francisco, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Business Development Analyst | San Francisco, CA |
| Account Manager | New York, NY |
| Analyst | Omaha, NE |
| Account Executive, Airline Vertical | New York, NY |
| Technical Operations Specialist - New York | New York, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Assistant Editor- Mandatory | New York, NY |
| TV/Film Development Intern | Santa Monica, CA |
| Assistant Editor | Santa Monica, CA |
| Digital Media Intern | Santa Monica, CA |
| Digital Video Production Intern | Santa Monica, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Arts Programming Intern for Non-Profit | New York, NY |
| IT & Web Intern | New York, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Customer Service Representative | Fredericksburg, VA |
| Management Development Program, Claims Management Training | Fredericksburg, VA |
| Sales Representative | Fredericksburg, VA |
| Claims Representative | Tucson, AZ |
| Cloud Applications Manager & NetSuite Architect | North Bay, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Administrative Assistant Intern – Summer 2015 | Detroit, MI |
| Client Relations Intern – Summer 2015 | Detroit, MI |
| Business Analyst | Detroit, MI |
| Summer Internship 2015 | Detroit, MI |
| Summer Internship - Analyst | Detroit, MI |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Shipping Manager | Somerville, MA |
| Assistant Production Manager - PM Shift | Somerville, MA |
| Part Time Chocolate Guide (15-20 hrs/wk) | Somerville, MA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Vice President, Communications | United States |
| Student internship - Stakeholder Research & Sustainability Strategy | Portland, OR |
| Staff Associate | New York, NY |
| Account Coordinator (1) | United States |
| Graphic Design Specialist | Atlanta, GA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Lead Software Engineer, Ruby on Rails | Boston, MA |
| Lead Software Engineer, Scrummaster | Boston, MA |
| PRN Pediatric Speech Therapist | Gastonia, NC |
| Software Engineer, Front end Python Django, Javascript | Boston, MA |
| PHP Developer - Marketing Department | Greenwood, IN |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Transaction Analyst | San Antonio, TX |
| Franchise Developer | Waco, TX |
| Franchise Administration Specialist | Irvine, CA |
| Home Based Franchise Administration Specialist | Dayton, OH |
| Franchise Developer | Madison, AL |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Research Associate (Temporary Assignment) | Irvine, CA |
| Field Researcher - Garland / Richardson / Rowlett | Dallas, TX |
| Brand Strategist and Writer | Minneapolis, MN |
| Event Producer | Washington, DC |
| Senior Research Associate | Philadelphia, PA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| UX Visual Design Intern | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| Assistant Manager - Massage Studio (Sales Experience Preferred) | Boston, MA |
| Wellness Intern | Columbia, MD |
| Part Time Intern/Office Admin | Fort Lee, NJ |
| Certified Pilates Fitness Instructor | Southlake, TX |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Assistant Fashion Designer | Los Angeles, CA |
| Analyst, Preferential Bidding System | Fort Worth, TX |
| Planner Crew Resources Production | Fort Worth, TX |
| Assistant Vice President - Development | Cincinnati, OH |
| Senior Product Development Specialist | Connecticut |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Systems Analyst Principal | Rockville, MD |
| Advice Business Analyst | Chicago, IL |
| Administrative Assistant | Chicago, IL |
| User Experience Architect | Chicago, IL |
| Big Data Architect- Software Engineering | Chicago, IL |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Summer Undergraduate College Internship Program at DOROT | New York, NY |
| Associate Executive Director for Program, Volunteer Management and Evaluation | New York, NY |
| Raiser's Edge Donor Database Coordinator | New York, NY |
| Social Media and Marketing | New York, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Dentist - GP (Kingston NY) | Kingston, NY |
| President, Kemin Personal Care | Des Moines, IA |
| Marketing Assistant | Los Angeles, CA |
| Inside Account Representative | Burlington, MA |
| Dermatology Physician - Permanent: Dermatology position near Atlantic City, New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Software Engineer, Full-Stack | Mountain View, CA |
| Account Executive, Strategic Accounts | Mountain View, CA |
| Senior Account Executive, Strategic Accounts | Mountain View, CA |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Business Develop Mgr | United States |
| Sales Assistant | Louisville, KY |
| Interior Designer | Augusta, GA |
| Maintenance Planner/Scheduler | Haworth, NJ |
| Product Engineer ~ Holland, MI | Holland, MI |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| Research Assistant Professor/Turfgrass | Las Cruces, NM |
| C15053 COMMUNITY, NATURAL RESOURCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EDUCATOR - MARINETTE COUNTY | Wisconsin |
| Coordinator, Alumni Relations | Fort Collins, CO |
| SCH DIR & PROF | Gainesville, FL |
| Agriculture Economic Development Specialist | Canandaigua, NY |
| Job Title | Location |
|---|---|
| PR intern | Boston, MA |
| Physician Assistant - Head & Neck Surgery | Houston, TX |
| Laboratory Technician | Torrance, CA |
| Patient Service Rep - Kailua, Administration | United States |
| TISSUE RECOVERY COORDINATOR | Fort Worth, TX |
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