A Secretary’s Working Day 2021 – Not As Simple As It Sounds!

The image of a girl with a model-sized body or a beautiful face in an office uniform, holding files in hand, confidently walking beside the director seems to have become a framed image for the secretary job. This is the biggest misconception that many people think about secretaries. Read on to see how far the media distortion has misled you.

What Does A Secretary Do? What Are The Duties And Responsibilities?

By and large, secretary is a person specializing in performing tasks related to the management and administration in the office. As a secretary, your primary mission is to keep your business operating smoothly by handling administrative and organizational tasks.

Hence, there is no need for consideration before attending an interview for a position in the list of “secretary jobs near me” if you do not have a beautiful appearance. As long as you dress gracefully and elegantly with neat hair, agile manners, enthusiastic and confident voices, these are enough to catch the employer’s attention when applying for a secretary job. 

A Secretary’s Working Day In 2021 - Not As Simple As It Sounds!
A secretary’s primary mission is to keep the business operating smoothly- Source: thebalancesmb.com

Typical responsibilities of the job include:

Arrange Schedules

  • Scheduling and organizing meetings, conferences; maintaining appointment diaries.
  • Recording and synthesizing the content of the sessions for the management and administration.
  • Organize consultation to listen directly to departments or officials and record opinions in the minutes.
  • Record the leader’s opinion and transfer that opinion to the units or individuals for their written comments.

Receive And Process Information

  • Sorting documents and tasks to be done, assisting the leader in solving the incoming documents.
  • Making sure the incoming documents are resolved quickly, accurately, and confidentially.
  • Managing databases: Organising papers, documents, and records.
  • Composing texts, check typographical and grammatical errors in existing documents.
  • Gathering the data situation, look up references when necessary.
  • Receiving, classifying, arranging, and processing information, papers, and documents from other departments.
  • Translating documents upon request.

Welcoming Guests Or Customers

  • Answering phone calls and forwarding them if necessary
  • Welcoming guests and solving some tasks within your limits and understanding.
  • Arranging waiting seats for guests.
  • Preparing a means of transcription for meetings.
  • Preparing the beverage and focusing on service.

Arrange Business Trips For Superiors

  • Outlining and planning the trip: the purpose of the journey, destination, departure time, arrival time, stops, etc.
  • Making travel arrangements, planning business schedules, and arranging appointments: Date, time, who to meet, where to meet, what documents need to be (file number), etc.
  • Profiling trip: Document for each meeting of the leader
  • Booking transport tickets.
  • In charge of a hotel reservation: Location, room types, prices, booking method.
  • Making advance payment and settlement of expenses.

Secretary Pay Rate In 2021

In general, a typical secretary in the United States earns about 44,100 USD annually. More specifically, the income range is from 22,900 USD to 67,400 USD. This average annual wage included accommodation, transportation, and other benefits. This figure, however, can vary significantly based on academic qualifications, and prior experience. The possession of the essential skills mentioned later in this article is also a factor contributing to the salary variation.

Let’s go deeper into the salary of secretary jobs near me based on some different criteria:

Secretary Pay Rate In 2021
Secretary Salary Distribution – Source: salaryexplorer.com
Secretary Pay Rate by years of Experience In 2021
Next, Secretary Salary Comparison by Years of Experience – Source: salaryexplorer.com
Secretary Pay Rate By education In 2021
Secretary Salary Comparison By Education – Source: salaryexplorer.com
Secretary Pay Rate by gender In 2021
Secretary Salary Comparison By Gender – Source: salaryexplorer.com

Besides the basic salary, let’s take a closer look into the secretary’s income raise, bonus, and incentive rates in the United States.

Average salary increment in the U.S
Secretary Average Annual Salary Increment Percentage – Source: salaryexplorer.com
Secretary Bonus and Incentive Pay rate
Secretary Bonus and Incentive Rates – Source: salaryexplorer.com

Also, what are the best paying cities in the United States for executive secretaries?

Also, what are the best paying cities in the United States for executive secretaries?
Highest paying cities for executive secretaries – Source: www.bls.gov

Secretary Jobs Near Me Outlook: Entry-level And Executive 

Entry-level Secretary Jobs Near Me

These days, university students and new graduates often do part-time or temporary jobs as a secretary. These posts are usually the part-time administrative assistant in a recruitment agency during the holidays or after graduating. This kind of office experience can be an advantage on a CV. 

However, if you choose to specialize in this administrative career, advance your career by taking on a more senior managerial position. Depending on the structure of your company, this position can be a team leader, an executive assistant, a senior administrator, or even an office manager.

Executive Secretary Jobs Near Me

If you want to be an executive secretary, one of the first things you need to consider is how much education you will need.

More specifically, unlike entry-level secretarial or office assistant posts, which are often open to students and new graduates, executive secretary positions are typically held by higher-level staff. They have completed the post-secondary education, vocational training, or even advanced qualifications and experience. 

According to Zippia.com, executive secretaries with a bachelor’s degree account for 37.7% of the total. Regarding higher education, 7.8% of the executive secretaries hold a master’s degree. Though some executive secretaries have a college degree, it is still possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED. GED is a test consisting of 4 main areas, namely Mathematical Reasoning, Reasoning Through Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies.

Additionally, choosing the right major is a critical move when pursuing an executive secretary career. Other career experiences may help you become an executive secretary. In fact, many executive secretary jobs near me need prior experience as an administrative assistant, a secretary, or an office manager.

3 Steps to Stop Being Busy and Start Being Productive
Other career experiences may help you become an executive secretary – Source: entrepreneur.com

Moreover, there are specific basic skills that many executive secretaries need to have to accomplish their responsibilities.

Does A Secretary Profession Fit You?

Consider applying for a position in the list of “clerk jobs near me” if you have some of the following essential skills needed in a secretary.

Expertise

A deep understanding of your profession and the duties assigned is the most basic prerequisite of a secretary. You also need to have the ability to master the profession, manipulate some basic skills in the operation of the administrative office and use office equipment in a modern office room proficiently.

Management Skills

Obviously, to smoothly handle administrative and organizational tasks, you need to think, react quickly, self-reflect, organize the work well, and coordinate management work. As an office job requiring flexibility, a secretary need to decide the crucial issues accurately and promptly, and know how to manage time, arrange tasks, and allocate time properly.

Communication Skills

Standard secretaries not only behave appropriately, politely, harmoniously with everyone, but also be self-restraint, observant, intelligent, and know to absorb the appropriate advice in all situations. Besides, having an attitude and a voice with high confidence and persuasion is a plus point of a professional secretary.

In this contemporary modern context, the office secretary also needs to use foreign languages, have a broad social understanding, and quickly adapt to all circumstances.

Secretary Jobs Near Me - Communication Skills
Communication skills are vital in fulfilling secretary-related tasks – Source: acabiz.vn

Insight

Notably, the secretary is the right hand for the leadership in giving, receiving, and processing information. Therefore, when recruiting personnel, employers always need a sensitive office secretary who can skillfully handle all related events. An example of insight is knowing what information is vital in a new company contract.

Good Memory

Necessary phone numbers, meeting date and time, what date the boss has an appointment with the client, or simply “What is the date today?” are what a good office secretary needs to note and keep in mind. 

Accordingly, to keep your remembrance better, try setting up your own timetables or memo calendars. A good memory will raise your image in the eyes of your boss.

Independence and Consistency

Of course, being independent does not mean that you have the total authority to decide all the affairs in the company. Still, when encountering unexpected situations, you can also solve the issues satisfactorily. If your boss is away, you have to address problems such as delaying appointments, insolvency, negotiating a new contract, etc. If not, handle the jobs in a direction beneficial to your company.

Secretary Jobs Near Me - Independence and Consistency
A professional secretary can handle unexpected problems satisfactorily – Source: Gladson Xavier from pexels.com

You Are Now Qualified To Become A Secretary. So How To Get Started?

Step 1: Take Office Courses

Basically, high school graduates who have taken office courses are eligible for entry-level positions in listing “clerk jobs near me”. These courses are often a part of vocational programs or general high school classes teaching basic office skills. On the other hand, if you cannot take office courses while in high school, don’t worry as you can learn those skills through community colleges or vocational schools.

Step 2: Pick A Field

Secretaries perform in many areas, but most are in legal, medical, or business organizations. In these case, before doing training or applying for a position, it is necessary for secretary wannabes to determine which profession they are interested in.

Step 3: Pursue The Proper Education Level

Nowadays, many community colleges provide one-year and two-year office management programs about report writing, bookkeeping, text editing, desktop publishing, and business communication, etc.

In the event that potential secretaries want to get engaged in the legal or medical field, they need to attend schools that offer programs providing them knowledge of medical or law terminology and procedures.

Step 4: Take The Secretary Position

Firstly, make a list of available secretary vacancies in your area. Then send your CV or resume to suitable companies or organizations. Write a cover letter if necessary.

Let’s start the cover letter with a paragraph getting right to the point. Do not take several paragraphs to state your purpose. 

Additionally, present your educational credentials and other related skills in places that are easy to see and easily attract the recruiter’s attention. One plus point that makes your cover letter more compelling is linking these academic achievements and skills with what you can bring to the company.

Of course, make sure that your cover letter flows well and contains no typos or grammatical errors. One error could disqualify you for a secretary job, as a professional secretary cannot encounter these writing errors.

Do not forget to leave your contact information such as email address, phone number, home address for the recruiter to contact, just as you would do if you were applying for other jobs.

Secretary Jobs Near Me
Let’s start by sending your CV or resume – Source: thebalancecareers.com

Our Final Recommendation – Secretary Jobs Near Me

In summary, if you are interested in this profession and feel qualified to pursue it, let’s make a list of secretary jobs near me. There might be a perfect-fitting job waiting for you right now!

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Emma Anderson

Emma Anderson is a career consultant and freelance writer for JobandEdu by night. Layla assists students, and new hires in determining a suitable career path and walk them through the application process. She decides to pursue writing since she thinks everyone should have access to information about potential careers, such as the application process and the company's culture. She's into writing, driving her with stuff that interests her in all her good reads.