Administrative Career Tips
Nearly every business in every industry has at least one administrative office, which handles items like paperwork, scheduling, bookkeeping and hiring. With the right approach, an “office job” or an administrative career, can become the launch pad for an entire career as an administrative professional.
Here’s how to think long term:
- Decide where to start. Many offices have entry-level positions that don’t require you to finish college first. Working as a receptionist or filing clerk in a temporary, seasonal or part-time position can help you find the job and employer that offer the best fit for you. Choosing an industry that appeals to you can also help you find a job that you’ll find personally rewarding, as well as professionally promising.
- Think about specializing. If you already have some office experience under your belt, sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and make two lists. List the work you enjoyed doing most and that you got the most praise for, and list the work you liked doing the least. Use these lists to help you discover potential specialist positions, like bookkeeping, credit management, or transcription, that play to your strengths and that you can enjoy.
- Choose an employer that offers upward mobility. When seeking an employer, it’s important to look for one that offers real opportunities for advancement. Develop one or two questions to ask in the interview, such as “How do you help employees develop their skills and advance?” Also, don’t hesitate to look up the business’s former employees on LinkedIn to see where they went – if every one of them left a company to take a more advanced position at another company, chances are good they left because the company didn’t offer them that next step forward.
- Talk to a recruiter. Staffing firms work closely with companies in the industries they serve. They know who needs office staff, which office staff are being promoted or leaving and how the company develops its people and helps them maintain a successful administrative career. Whether you’re looking for a temporary position to get your feet wet or a move into a management or specialist position, your recruiter can help.
The recruiters at Burnett’s Staffing can help you find an employer who will help you build the administrative career you’re dreaming of. If you are looking for a job opportunity in the greater Arlington, TX area, contact us today!
