If you've reached the point when you've had enough
- where do you turn for advice on a new career?
What with our current economic climate, a growing percentage of ordinary people are seeking to protect or improve their futures through re-training into an alternative career. If you're evaluating what path to take - you could do worse than starting with our breakdowns of 15 different career-paths.
Click on one of the options and kick-off your research!
Good Administrators are the backbone of any successful commercial organisation. Working in this sector requires a number of skills and abilities - and each day is never the same! Maybe you've arrived at this site because you want to start training for a career in admin. You could have taken time out to have children, and now want to get back in. You might even have great clerical skills but need some certifications. You'll discover a full range of retraining courses when you start to surf around the internet.
As we've already mentioned, administration covers a very wide range of skills. Knowing how to use a computer is of prime importance to the admin or clerical worker. You will need to demonstrate that you can work in Microsoft Office, send and receive emails and deal with web-related data.
Do you need to fine-tune these skills? You're not alone - but there's lots of training choices for basic to intermediary computer user skills. Research the market to find which ones will best cater for your needs - you could start the process by checking out some of the companies displaying on this page. By entering Ctrl D you can Bookmark pages that you'd like to easily find again.
Alongside good computer skills, a newcomer to clerical work will need additional organisational skills. Beginner training can be undertaken in telephone skills, minute taking, speed-reading, business writing, filing systems and stock-taking etc.
It's always a good idea to keep learning new skills as you progress up the career ladder. Any training you do that adds value to the department you're working in will be seen as a plus. Administrators can feel overwhelmed by the demands of several different departments. Learning how to make the best use of your time can be invaluable. More skilled writing techniques will be called for as you progress - further training in this area will definitely pay dividends.
Senior administrators in the business world today need to bring a multitude of skills to the table. Naturally you'll have got the foundations under your belt, but top jobs ask for much more than that.
The generous salaries paid to top level administrators reflect the diversity of competencies they're able to offer.
"A person shows what he is by what he does with what he has." - Anon.
More advanced courses will prepare students to efficiently tackle the increasingly high administrative expectations of today's senior executives. The following training areas are just a few examples to consider:
Become skilled at turning negative difficulties into positive challenges by recognising key behavioural tendencies. Extend your productivity by learning more sophisticated methods to problem solve.
Learn the techniques for focusing-in on the task in hand. Learn organisational procedures and follow-through processes. Learn how to systematically assess what to place most importance on, what to get help with and what to defer.
Identify how to encourage harmonious relationships with positive, motivating dialogue. Learn amazing methods to raise the positive expectations and attitudes of everyone around you - including yourself! Gain a relationship of trust by showing that you care.
Find out how to deliver clear unambiguous messages to everyone you wish to communicate with. Develop effective listening skills. Discover how to communicate for greater results. Master the art of writing with clarity and brevity.
You may choose to specialise once you've been in industry for a while. There are a whole host of specialities to consider - for example - Finance and Budgeting, Project Management, Business Law, Integrated Office Systems and Event Management.
Therefore ACT NOW, and start your research! Hopefully you've read enough to know that administration covers a whole range of careers and options. It could very well offer a good working life for you. The opportunities are waiting for you. Show what you're made of by grasping them now!