General Secretary 101

If you've been thinking about becoming a secretary, you should know that times have changed. While the computer has replaced the typewriter, the secretary is still an important part of the office setting. 

In this General Secretary course, you will learn the foundational skills that all secretaries should have when they are sitting behind a desk.

This course includes:

• What a General Secretary Is
• Types of Secretaries
• Reception
• Scheduling
• Travel Arrangements
• Word Processing
• File System Management
• Spreadsheets  
• Correspondence  
• Dictation
• Office Equipment
• Effective Communication Skills
• Time Management
• Handling Difficult Situations
• Better to Have Training or Experience?

With these lessons, you will learn more about how to be an effective secretary both in your current role, as well as in future roles.

Each lesson provides detailed information that can be used in modern office settings today. Since each lesson builds on the lesson before it, you will begin to learn how to not only provide administrative support, but also how to be a valuable part of an office setting.

Today, secretaries are more than just the ones that handle basic tasks. They also provide the first impression for clients and customers. By offering high-level skills, you can reach out to visitors, customers, and clients, allowing them to see your company as being the one they should choose for their needs.

A secretary is the one that opens the door to presenting a solid reputation for their company. With this General Secretary Course, you will gain the skills to succeed, no matter what industry you choose.

Types of Administrative Support

As with every job, you might find different titles for the role of a secretary, and with good reason. Because different companies need different kinds of administrative support, the staff is named accordingly.

Some of the most common administrative titles include:

• general secretary;
• administrative assistant;
• clerical support staff;
• executive assistant;
• legal assistant;
• legal secretary.

These roles might have similar job duties associated with them, as well as more market-specific duties; i.e., medical record filing for those who are in a health care-related field.

The key differences in the roles above include the idea that the executive assistant can also be a manager of sorts in the office.  This assistant might have supervisory tasks to complete, but this can also be possible for any other titles.

In addition, the legal secretary and assistant will be focused on legal tasks, such as going to court or traveling to find certain documents or evidence for lawyers.

When you are hired in as a general secretary, it can help to get a complete list of the tasks you will complete, as this will determine the type of role you might have in your company. 

Where General Secretaries Are Valuable

Indeed, it is no surprise to people that a general secretary is someone who can add value to a company.  Because the upper management and other key members of the company may have more tasks to accomplish, they need someone else to handle the basic tasks.

In covering the secretary tasks:

• Secretaries can interact with customers. Because others in the company might need to focus on other tasks in their work, they may not have time to interact with customers in a meaningful way. This can make customers feel distanced, while the secretary can speak to the customers directly and help to bridge any real or perceived gap in communication.
• Secretaries can focus on details. While others might be tasked with larger projects, the secretary can handle the details that support the possibility of these projects being productive.  For example, while it might not seem important to order coffee, an office that runs out in the middle of a project may not be as effective.
• The secretary can set up appointments and control schedules. The control of a calendar may not seem like a mighty task, until you try to manage your own when you are busy. Instead, a secretary can be taught the rules of the calendar and then follow those rules in order to ensure the calendar is smooth.
• Administrative personnel can help others make the most of their time. Without the need to focus on minor details and tasks, those who have to manage largely creative tasks and projects will be able to keep their focus in the proper direction.

There are a number of industries in which a general secretary will find himself or herself valuable.

• Health care;
• Finance;
• Legal firms;
• Non-profit organizations;
• Real estate offices.

Of course, this is a small sampling of places where secretaries can find work that allows them to be helpful and supportive in ways the company might not be able to handle on its own.

Indeed, it can be said that most companies could and do make use of secretaries in one way or another, no matter what title they give them. 

That said, you might be concerned about the idea that a person might be "only" a secretary when she or he starts in that role and then becomes skilled in the role.

This is certainly not the only route a person with administrative skills and experience can take.

Instead, a general secretary might become an office manager, taking on more responsibility in an organization, or this person can also become a team leader.

When you are in the general secretary role, you are getting the experience of managing resources, while also being able to help out those who are in bigger roles that might need further assistance in the future.

That need may come with a shiny new job title.

In many companies, the general secretary role is the entry-level role, certainly, but it is also the foot in the door that outsiders may not be privy to.