A secretary in an office environment is normally extremely busy. A professional secretary must be organized, detail oriented, efficient, and have strong interpersonal skills. In many circumstances, it is up to the secretary to make sure an office runs smoothly and without mishap.
There are numerous secretarial duties. Here are some examples of what a secretary may do during the course of one day:
* plan and schedule meetings
* conduct research for projects (via phone, fax, email)
* organize travel arrangements
* create spreadsheets
* manage and maintain databases
* answering the telephone
* greeting and liaising with clients
* word processing
* dictation
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These days, secretaries are taking on additional tasks including managing and maintaining projects using desktop publishing software and computer graphics.
In addition, in larger offices, secretaries may team up with other support staff and share tasks in order to maximize their efforts and work in the a more efficient and timely manner.
* There’s a chance that fewer secretaries will be needed with the current trend of office automation and organizational restructuring within office environments.
* However, if workers leave this widespread field, then many jobs will suddenly become available.
* It has been proven that the best qualified secretaries are the ones who have a grasp of today’s software applications and computer systems.
It is imperative for secretaries to undergo training in order to understand and anticipate the needs within an office environment. With today’s fast-changing technology, there are always new equipment and procedures to tackle. Therefore, it’s essential for secretaries and other office administrators to be flexible and versatile when they train.
In turn, it may be necessary to participate in classes—either in a classroom or online—in order to get the heads up about new office technologies, including the latest computer systems and software packages, scanners, and Internet tools. In addition, it may be required to learn how to maintain and purchase this latest equipment.
Business and Secretarial Training at DeVry University:
Featured Undergraduate Business and Secretarial Training Programs at DeVry University
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Several organizations offer testing and certification for entry-level secretarial positions. Designations include:
* Certified Professional Secretary (CPS) or the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP)
* Accredited Legal Secretary (ALS): After one year of work experience in the legal field, it is possible to become certified as a legal support professional. Or, a student can take an approved training course and then sit for a test to earn an ALS designation.
* Professional Legal Secretary (PLS): This is an advanced certification available to legal support professionals. It is also an examination for proficiency as a paralegal.
* Certified Legal Secretary Specialist (CLSS): This designation is for those with five years of law-related work experience. Although in some cases certain requirements may be ignored, it is necessary to sit for an exam before becoming a CLSS. Areas of specialty are intellectual property, criminal law, civil litigation, probate, and business law.
Secretarial Job Positions
Depending on your certification and level of work experience, you may qualify for different secretarial positions.
If you do not wish to perform that many clerical tasks, than you may look to a career as an executive secretary. It will be your job to take care of more complicated tasks such as researching projects and preparing reports, supervising staff and training members of the work force.
If you have an interest in legal matters, you may want to pursue a career as a legal secretary. It is the job of a legal secretary to prepare legal papers including summonses, motions, complaints, responses and subpoenas.
Legal secretaries may be asked to review other legal documents and journals and they may spend time researching a variety of legal matters. Legal secretaries work under the supervision of attorneys or paralegals.
It is the job of a medical secretary to assist physicians or medical scientists. They may be called upon to take dictations, prepare correspondence or reports, or research medical topics. It’s common for medical secretaries to help with reports and medical charts, medical histories and patients’ records.
It is helpful if you are familiar with medical terminology and basic hospital or laboratory procedures. A medical secretary may be asked to research certain subjects for medical articles or scientific papers.
Online Business and Secretarial Degrees at Everest University Online
* There’s a chance that fewer secretaries will be needed with the current trend of office automation and organizational restructuring within office environments.
* However, if workers leave this widespread field, then many jobs will suddenly become available.
* It has been proven that the best qualified secretaries are the ones who have a grasp of today’s software applications and computer systems.
Programs for Business and Secretarial Training Schools:
A career as an Administrative Assistant requires organizational skills, inter-personal skills and an overall general knowledge of the field of administration. Often the unsung hero and backbone of big business, Administrative Assistants need to be well versed in a variety of computer applications as well as possess a solid knowledge of their company’s business. The training for a career as an Administrative Assistant ranges from receiving an educational certificate to a four-year Bachelor’s Degree.
Request information directly from one of these recommended Secretarial schools and start your career today!
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