The Office Assistant is primarily in an office to help the Manger, Secretary, and other officials who need certain job functions done.
Primary Responsibilities:
- The Office Assistant may help to maintain a good office environment by answering phones.
- The Office Assistant is often put in charge of filing.
- The Office Assistant is usually selected for any special projects.
Many times the Office Assistant is asking to do a variety of duties to help relieve the work load of others in the office. For instance the Office Assistant maybe in charge of keeping the database entries up to date. The Office Assistant may need to process new clients in putting their information or other vital statics that are needed in regards to the client to help others assist the new client. The Office Assistant is often the one who prepares mailing lists, labels and does the postage on outgoing mail.
When there is a mail out campaign from the Advertising Department the Office Assistant is often ask to help take care of this by preparing the mail, addressing and mailing it out to the designated areas. The Office Assistant must monitor and order office supplies as it is needed. The Office Assistant is in charge of all incoming mail making sure that it is distributed and/or filed properly. The Office Assistant is the one who does all errands that helps with the daily functions of the office such as:
- The Office Assistant is the one who normally goes to the post office to do the daily mail-outs.
- The Office Assistant is the one who makes the deposits at the bank.
- The Office Assistant does other errands like going to Staples, Kinko’s, etc.
- The Office Assistant does reception duties as returning calls, upon request.
The Office Assistant assists the staff as needed in doing duties like research work, typing, correspondence, faxes and filing. The duties of the Office Assistant are varied and she normally reports to the Business Manager for the different specific job functions that are needed to be done. Every Office Assistant needs direction in order to complete daily functions, however, there are certain tasks that she completes on a daily basis without any directions. Running errands, taking care of the mail, daily database are some of the common functions of an Office Assistant done on a regular basis.
The Office Assistant works in different departments handling functions that are often suppose to be kept confidential so she is suppose to not be an office gossip. Communication is a very needful skill but that is in the function of relating information to supervisors as instructed. She is not supposed to be relating any information from one supervisor to another that is not pertaining to the job function. The company requires a person who can manage her duties, explain to others information when it is needed but still remains discreet to internal affairs. The Office Assistant is in contact with clients at times so it is a very needful thing to be able to communicate verbally and in letter form. The Office Assistant is often asking to write letters to new clients or to old clients explaining new policies or products. She will be instructed on what she should do from the appropriate manager.
The Office Assistant should have some formal education in computers and math skills in order to properly perform her duties. Many times the Office Assistant is trained by the Office Manager to do the functions that are needed by the company she is working for because each place may have a different set of duties. It still helps the Office Assistant to be prepared with high school or equivalent diploma and some Business College training. An Associate’s degree is very helpful to maintain your position as an Office Assistant with studies in computer programs and English grammar. Many Office Assistants take courses in Accounting because at times these skills are very helpful in working your way up in the corporation to a higher position.
The Office Assistant needs knowledge in Microsoft Word and Excel when it comes to computer software programs. Most Office Assistants need experience or knowledge in group messaging along with e-mail programs. The ability to use the internet is a major plus especially the ability to do research work. Many Office Assistants need to be self-starters with little to know instructions once the daily functions have been assigned and she knows her daily functions.