Starting to investigate a new job option will often be a laborious task,
fraught with bad and inconsistent advice...
Because of the current financial climate, many ordinary people are seeking to protect their futures through training into an alternative career.
If you're pondering what career to take - begin your journey with our breakdowns of many different career-paths.
It's simple - just click on the career option to get going...
Administrators and clerical personnel are critical to a company's performance. Their duties vary hugely, depending on the size and structure of the team they're working with.
You might be looking at clerical work for the first time. Maybe you hope to get back into work after taking time out? Or you may be moving on in your career and need extra top-up skills.
Whether your needs are elementary or advanced, you'll come across a wealth of training websites telling you all you need to know.
Administrators support businesses at all levels, from the junior clerical assistant to the management executive. Good computer user-skills are critical for any member of an admin team. For example, you'll be expected to deal with emails, work with Microsoft Word and Excel (at least) and know your way around the internet.If you need to polish up these skills, look at the various colleges who supply both in-centre and distance learning training programmes.
Have a good look at what each are offering and do some comparisons. Look at some on this page to get you going. If you hold down the ctrl button on your keyboard and type 'D', you can bookmark any page you wish to come back to.
New clerical workers should also have a certain level of competence in communication skills and such like. Short courses are available at beginner level in a variety of subjects that are useful to the junior administrator.
As your experience builds, why not develop your skills further? Look out for training that teaches you inter-personal skills to support your manager and even your whole department. When everyone has demands on your time, it's easy to get stressed. Time management courses can be extremely useful for the overstretched administrator. Your written work must also be of a high standard, as what you send out represents how people view the company. Short courses on commercial writing skills can be very beneficial.
Those aiming for top jobs in administration must be prepared to embark in on-going training whilst building up their working experience. To become indispensible you have to have something that most others don't have. Add extra skill-sets alongside the standard clerical options, and study hard to get distinctions. It's not rocket science that the more scenarios you can deal with, the more employable and valuable you will become!
"Failure is not the worst thing in the world. The very worst is not to try." - Anon.
Many senior managers are looking for exceptionally well-versed administrative personnel to deal with their increasingly high demands. You'll find the list below covers a few of the course headings to consider:
Discover how to recognise potentially harmful scenarios and to build your attitude reservoir. Reduce the time spent on wasted effort by getting to grips with better preparation techniques.
Understand how to work in water-tight compartments. Find out the most efficient ways to organise any administrative project and see it through to completion. When you learn how to more efficiently work through your tasks, you'll reduce backlogs and have a greater capacity to diary in last minute requests.
Controlling Awkward ScenariosLearn the importance of effective telephone skills to correctly identify the other person's needs. Discover how to get outstanding rapport and co-operation between staff members and clients. Study collaboration and teamwork.
Adopt a powerful understanding of how to communicate well and be understood first time. Practise listening checks as a natural part of your dialogue with others. Use body language and good eye contact to establish rapport. Adopt a better style of written communication.
You might also think of specialising as your career progresses. The following are just a few of the many areas you could get into: Human Resources, Event Management, Project Management etc.
Doing the research costs nothing, and you may just find exactly what you're looking for! If you pay attention to the details and enjoy facilitating others, you could make an excellent clerical or administrative worker - and who knows where that could lead to down the road? You'll have a head start if you adopt the attitude of a winner and grasp the metal now.