Are you stuck trying to figure out how to develop in your role and further your professional career? Continued education is key to success – especially in an industry where everything is moving at warp speed. There are many ways to improve the skills you already have, as well as broaden your existing skill set – Let’s talk about thinking outside the box.
Tasks given to you by the Executive will most likely require a mixture of soft and hard skills, hybrid skills. Skills Administrative and Executive Assistants need to become an expert in are less evident to individuals who do not have too many hours of experience. To improve these skills, you need to commit to a plan for improvement and continue the pursuit as you gain more experience.
Ways to Improve the Skills You Have
Before you begin executing your skills improvement plan, you need to understand what type of learning style works best for your personality and lifestyle. First, you may be a visual learner, where you prefer to learn a lesson by following instructions written out for you. Second, many people are auditory learners, which means you choose instructions to be said aloud and may even repeat them to yourself. The third type of learning style is kinesthetic, meaning you have an easier time retaining steps to skill improvement when you can experience them hands-on. Once you know which learning style to use, you can effectively plan to improve the skills you need.
An article on Indeed.com entitled How to Develop Your Skill Set suggests setting goals for yourself as a way to improve your skills and states, “consider organizing a timeline to achieve your goal by setting a beginning and end date, as well as smaller goals to achieve along the way.” Experts in being an Executive Assistant recommend finding a mentor you can learn from and seek feedback from your team and boss about your strengths and weaknesses. You will also boost your skills more effectively by taking advantage of continuing education courses and company training. You can even take classes outside your industry, which will give you a wider variety of skills to impress your boss. Remember the training offered by AdminUniverse? If not, you can find more information here.
Think Outside the Administrative Skills Box
Now, let’s discuss what skills confident Executive Assistants recommend boosting. Refer back to the blog post entitled 17 Executive Assistant Skills In 2021 For Insane Effectiveness on SnackNation.com. This article lays out a descriptive picture of the modern-day EA’s position when it says, “executives lean on their assistants not just for admin help, but for strategic counsel, technical expertise, and critical analysis. EAs are expected to dabble in things as wide and varied as project management, event planning, and internal communications.”
Below you will find a rough list of skills suggested by Jeff Murphy, the author of the article mentioned above from SnackNation.com.
- All the Best-Kept Secrets
Throughout your career as an EA, it is crucial to improve problem-solving skills by keeping a digital or written list of a wide range of contacts along with an arsenal of tips and tricks that have successfully gotten you out of a bind.
- Calm Under Pressure
An Executive Assistant’s skillful emotional regulation positively affects his or her boss’s ability to cope with a high-pressure job properly. Check out the SnackNation.com titled 14 Easy Ways to Create a Zen Office Space on a Budget for ways to keep calm and clear.
- Dogged Resourcefulness
You use resourcefulness skills by utilizing your best-kept secrets or resources. Common strategies you would think to utilize in your everyday life outside of work, like Craigslist, often make up your resources list.
- Tech Prowess
Understanding the devices, applications, and programs you use the most on the job and knowing how to troubleshoot common problems your boss experiences are valuable skills to have.
If you continue to the next blog post, we dive deeper into the last thirteen skills discussed in this valuable publication. See you there!
