Projected starting salaries for administrative professionals could see a decrease by an average of 2.2% in 2010. The good news: If you’re good at adapting to unexpected situations and able to quickly learn new skills, you’re the sort of person who will still thrive.
Do you read the publications that your customers, suppliers and outsourcing vendors read? If not, you’re putting yourself at a critical disadvantage and inviting unpleasant surprises.
What does it take to reach the top of your game professionally? Women, at least, can learn much from a new book, How Remarkable Women Lead, by Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston. The authors spent five years on research and 100 in-depth interviews with women leaders from around the world. They discovered that women who excel share these five qualities:
Think like an inventor by looking for opportunity in failure. British inventor James Dyson says that in trying to develop a fine blade of high-speed air for another product, his team accidentally came up with new hand-dryer technology. “We saw, in that moment of failure, an idea that had huge advantages in another field,” he says.
As the year draws to a close, think about what you’d like to accomplish in the first 90 days of the new year. What goals will you set, and what specific actions will you put in place to achieve those goals? What’s more, whom will you sit down with every 90 days to review your progress?
As the person closest to your work, you’re also the best one to identify ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs associated with your job—which is exactly what most C-suite executives and business owners focus on. Just because they don’t ask for your innovative ideas doesn’t mean they’re not interested. Get your creative juices flowing with these five questions:
According to a study by the International Association of Administrative Professionals and OfficeTeam, managers rank promotions and cash bonuses as the most effective ways of recognizing employee accomplishments. But administrative pros put two other appreciation tactics at the top of their list:
Skip straight to someone’s voice mail by using Slydial, a service that lets you leave a message for someone you know you can’t reach in person … Take your job search to Twitter. Some companies are using Twitter to fill positions that tend to attract tons of applicants on job boards, such as administrative roles, one HR vice president tells The Wall Street Journal … Put a meandering meeting back on track by addressing those who veer off-topic.
Just doing your job isn’t enough these days. “With the reality of a tight employment market, adding value beyond your job description is a must for everybody,” says Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone. He recently offered a few tips on his blog for being indispensable in your workplace:
Do economic events have you redefining your idea of the “perfect” job? Not so fast. A new Randstad Work Watch survey reveals that 83% of U.S. adults would not change their personal definition of the perfect job once the economy improves. And what are the most important attributes listed by Americans?
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