Top 7 Skills Required to Bag an Administration Job
A company or an organisation exists to provide services or products to its customers. The organisation’s success depends on how effectively it can solve problems with its offerings for its customers. This effectiveness, in turn, depends on how well all the company resources flow together to deliver concrete results.
The people in administrative positions play a crucial role in ensuring this overall effectiveness. Hence, irrespective of the industry, securing administration jobs is met with heavy competition in most cases. Though they have a steady demand, administrative positions are grabbed almost instantaneously.
- Technology-Savvy
In today’s world, being tech-savvy is a prerequisite across industries and job profiles. One of the most common and sought-after requirements of a potential candidate is being familiar with the Microsoft Office suite, especially Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Nowadays, most businesses have a common business process management software known as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). As an administrative employee, you may have to handle search software. They are used to create custom reports and store all company data in one place.
- Self Motivation
Employees working in administrative positions don’t usually have direct supervisors watching over their every move on a daily basis. Therefore, it is easy to become complacent. But that could be a big mistake!
An administrator occupies a crucial role. As an integral part of the company, the administrator’s performance affects its overall functioning. Therefore, being self-motivated in one’s work is very important.
- Time Management
Most administration jobs require strong time management skills. You will find it mentioned as a prerequisite in most job descriptions. As an administrator, you will be responsible for the smooth functioning of all operations that fall under your purview across multiple teams. As such, you must be able to prioritise and effectively manage your time to meet deadlines, and in some cases, help others meet theirs.
- Communication Skills
Effective communication is the most critical skill that you can develop. If you feel that you cannot communicate effectively, there are many free tips and courses available online that you can explore.
Both written and verbal communication skills are required to excel in an administrative position. You will have to communicate with junior to senior members of your company and several external parties. You should wield a bespoke written and spoken command over the primary official language.
- Flexibility
Administrative roles can often get quite demanding. You may be asked to finish tasks at a moment’s notice and on tight deadlines. Therefore, it would help you enormously to cultivate a flexible mentality towards your work. Plan your work according to priority and re-prioritise as and when new tasks are assigned.
- Detail-Oriented
“The devil lies in the details.” Whether you agree with that statement or not, the importance of paying strict attention to minute details is crucial. Details are the building blocks of any form of effective communication.
Keep an eye out for the accuracy of facts, names, numbers, addresses, etc. For all forms of written communication, especially with external parties, ensure the correctness of language, grammar and uniform maintenance of alignment.
- Cordiality
In most administrative positions, employees deal with both internal and external parties to facilitate a smooth flow of operations. Hence, although not explicitly mentioned, a warm and cordial attitude is expected. Putting up a fake smile can work temporarily. But it cannot be a substitute for cultivating a positive and cheerful persona. It will make you more approachable and, in the long run, come in handy to get things done.
