Secretary: Description and the best paid jobs

Secretary

Description… and where to find the best paid jobs

Secretary Definition (meaning)

A person hired to perform administrative duties, routine work, make appointments and assist with correspondence.

Secretary job description

Secretary duties and responsibilities include:

Answering and directing phone calls
Responding to and directing emails
Arranging meetings
Managing the diary or calendar of management
Make travel arrangements
Maintain a filing system
Assist in report preparation
Maintain records of employees, customers and suppliers

Secretarial work can be full time or part time.

Secretary skills

A Secretary role involves using these skills:

Great communication
Attention to detail
Flexibility
Ability to work as part of a team
Time management
Being organised
Ability to negotiate and be assertive when required
Diplomacy, discretion and tact when needed
Being proactive
Computer and software skills
Secretary shorthand

A typical secretary typing speed should be 30wpm (words per minute) or more. Ideally 60wpm or higher is considered most desirable.

The secretary role in a meeting is most commonly to take notes and support the meetings participants record the discussion, outcome and decisions made.

The most in demand secretary qualities are the ability to support the team or management, efficiently and effectively.

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Secretary VS administrative assistant

While secretaries are in an administrative role, an administrative assistant usually has more or a leadership role. Secretaries may be required to work on reception while an administrative assistant takes on more responsibility and may be required to organise, schedule and create agendas for meetings.

An administrative assistant is usually required to think independently and anticipate what company needs will be. They may also be required to perform higher skill level tasks such as bookkeeping including managing a company’s budget and handling accounts payable or receivable.

The administrative assistant will then have a secretary assist them with data entry and delivering what management requires the administrative assistant to do.

Secretary Assistant

An assistant secretary will assist a more senior secretary or their team. The skills required are very similar to that of a secretary, the main difference being that the assistant is in a more junior role

A personal assistant is a different role to assistant secretary. To learn more about being a personal assistant check this out

Secretary VS receptionist

While there is a lot of overlap between the 2 roles, a receptionist has more customer or patient contact. A receptionist usually sits at a reception desk in the foyer or lobby of an organisation and greets customers and patients as they come in. A secretary may fill in for reception, however they usually don’t have the people contact a receptionist does.