What Is a Professional Secretary?
A Professional Secretary performs tasks similar to an executive or administrative assistant. Generally, a Professional Secretary coordinates the daily routines of an office and organizes the office schedules and paperwork. Schools offering Administrative Assistant degrees can also be found in these popular choices.
Professional Secretary
The International Association of Administrative Professionals (www.iaap-hq.org), a not-for-profit organization, describes the duties of Professional Secretaries. The term Professional Secretary is somewhat outdated and has been replaced with other job titles, such as administrative assistant or executive assistant.
Professional Secretary - Phone Calls and Visitors
A Professional Secretary acts as a gateway between visitors, callers and other workers in the office. The Professional Secretary knows enough about the office he or she works in to answer inquiries about the specifics of the office. He or she screens visitors and phone calls and arranges callbacks or appointments. A Professional Secretary may also need to find back-up material related to the caller or visitor to prepare his or her boss to talk about different issues with different people. He or she may also prepare a meeting area for visitors and take care of any requested amenities. On the phone, a Professional Secretary may be responsible for conducting phone surveys or inquiring after information.
Professional Secretary - Other Communication
In addition to answering the phone and helping visitors, a Professional Secretary must handle written communications and the mail, as well as inter-office communications. A Professional Secretary generally sorts the mail for the boss or the office, prioritizing it and throwing out junk mail. Sometimes he or she will be responsible for replying to the banal correspondence by preparing responses for the boss's signature. A Professional Secretary also prioritizes work based on deadlines and communication with others in the office.
Professional Secretary - Appointments and Meetings
A Professional Secretary not only maintains a boss's schedule, but also prepares the boss for meetings and appointments. The Professional Secretary keeps a calendar of the boss's appointments as well as all meetings within the office and determines what events the boss needs to attend. She arranges his or her employer's commitments to avoid overlaps and to make sure that the boss has enough time to prepare for such commitments. Oftentimes the Professional Secretary prepares an agenda for meetings, arranges for the facilities and amenities and records the discourse in the meeting.
Professional Secretary - Other Responsibilities
A Professional Secretary has many duties, ranging from priority duties to routine duties. Other responsibilities of a Professional Secretary may include:
- Supervising other clerical staff
- Keeping an updated mail and phone directory
- Ordering office supplies when needed
- Organizing files and other data
To continue researching, browse degree options below for course curriculum, prerequisites and financial aid information. Or, learn more about the subject by reading the related articles below:
Subscribe to RSS feed for
Office Administration and Assisting FAQs
