Never Ask How to Use the Photocopier

Someone asked me recently what my fellow PAs/EAs ask me most regularly. My answer? "How to do ____ in such-and-such software package." This answer seemed a little lacking in communicating the gap I see in alot of administrators I've worked with, and alot of the gaps I see in my own skill sets.

In Perth, Western Australia, I've had so many administrators (who've had a longer career than I) say things like, "Leah, I can't remember how to put a new toner cartridge in the photocopier, can you help me?" or, "Leah, I don't know how to change the margins of this document in MS Word, can you help me?". This surprises and disturbs me. In order to provide competent and efficient support to our managers, we need to know how to do these things!

Perhaps we as EAs don't spend enough time seeking and developing knowledge - we're too busy coordinating itineraries, flicking emails and "liaising" (that dreaded word, liaising) to actually sit down and regularly review our skill sets. We only do it in a mad dash when we're job-hunting, sometimes to sadly find out that we are found wanting compared to our competition in the market. I know that I, for one, am guilty of not focussing enough on developing my skills.

So I thought I'd put it out there - this is what 7 years of administration work has taught me the core skills of a brilliant assistant are.

Digital skills

• A touch typing speed of at least 60wpm (with a minimum of 95% accuracy).
• Comfortable use of keyboard shortcuts - they save a heck of a lot of time, and make you look just a little bit wow if someone is watching you work.
• Absolutely brilliant with MS Outlook. If you can't use Outlook to advantage, don't bother writing "Diary Management" on your CV.
• Equally brilliant with MS Word. This means you'll know how to use track changes, insert tables of contents, do a mail merge, create hyperlinks, use styles etc.
• Comfortable inside MS Excel. Knowing how to create and edit formulas (not just the simple ones) and how to make your spreadsheet print out so it's readable - and looks good!
• Knowing how to use and fix photocopier, coffee machine, binder, data projector, etc...

Communication Skills

• Excellent spelling and grammar
• Ability to interact with people from all walks of life - street people to high flying executives, and every variation in between.
• Ability to grasp and comment on the larger concepts of the meetings we attend and documents we edit for our bosses. This is more than just proof reading for that one typo that always finds its way into that all-important tender!
• Ability to conversate, negotiate, intellectualise, socialise, debate and rationalise with your boss, your boss’ boss, the courier driver, the receptionist, the barista, the travel agent, the consultant, the IT guy, and the technical specialist who sits on level 5 – basically? everyone. 
• Knowing when to speak up (and having the courage to do so), and knowing when to shut up (and having the common sense to do so).

Other Skills

• Truckloads of common sense
• Empathy
• A good memory - remembering the names of wives/children; remembering who drinks what; and most importantly details of both office and industry politics so you don’t put your foot in it!
• A sense of humour, having personality is a must at work!
• Multi-tasking and prioritising
• A sense of invisibility when necessary
• Just a touch of magic - we couldn't get it all done if we didn't have that!