Administrative/secretarial/reception jobs have evolved very rapidly since the computer was added to the office environment. Administration has become an increasingly competitive sector with a rapidly expanding set of duties. Many people who have worked in offices for many years are now finding themselves struggling to get back into the workforce.
A few factors have contributed to this change in admin:
- More people are competing for fewer jobs, meaning employers can be increasingly selective
- As computers have been added to the role, so too has additional duties – it’s often difficult to find an admin role without being highly proficient with a number of different software, duties and processes
- Employer expectations have evolved to the point where admin/office workers are expected to be able to multitask and perform various roles within the company.
What are these roles? A company may be hiring someone for “admin”, or “clerical”, or “reception”, but that company often has great expectations for what the individual will be able to do. Some additional proficiencies in administrative work include: customer service, word processing, maintaining databases, inventory and ordering, business-to-business communications, marketing, written/email/social media communications, payroll, bookkeeping, accounts payable/receivable – the list of potential duties goes on and on.
