The Results-Oriented Secretarial Workplace

Secretarial jobs, whether in a department, out in the field or helping one executive, are involved in a lot of detail. When secretarial people are so engrossed in the details of their jobs, it's easy for them, for anyone actually, to lose sight of the job's major contribution.

A Results-Oriented Secretarial Job Description is different from a traditional job description because it focuses an employee on the several job results that answer the question: What results must this secretarial affairs job accomplish for the organization?

Secretarial Job Standards added to job expectations tighten management controls by clarifying how well and when results must be accomplished.

Secretarial Job Objectives establish management and employee plans by highlighting important current and future results needed.

Job-specific Secretarial Employee Management Forms maintain consistent and secretarially sound management actions by basing manager-employee interactions on job results.

The Purpose of Secretarial Jobs

Stated in a results-oriented, three-line style, secretarial affairs jobs--

ENHANCE A DEPARTMENT OR EXECUTIVE'S EFFECTIVENESS by

transcribing, formatting, inputting, editing, retrieving, copying and transmitting text, data and graphics; reading and routing correspondence; maintaining calendars for department personnel or an executive; arranging meetings, conferences, teleconferences, and travel; referring inquiries to an appropriate resource.

Types of Secretarial Jobs

Some secretarial jobs work exclusively for one executive or manager to allow him/her to concentrate on managerial issues. Other secretarial jobs work for a department and assist a number of people with administrative tasks.

Still other secretarial jobs work within special functions, such as, engineering, where they acquire specialized knowledge of the specialty. And, of course, when secretaries do not work for one person, somebody has to manage and supervise the secretarial people and processes.

Secretarial Job Management Tools

Here are actual job examples of how secretarial affairs job actions can be focused on results and kept on track using each of our job management tools:

Results-Oriented Secretarial Job Descriptions form the foundation of all job management tools. Our uniquely structured job descriptions focus on the result to be accomplished first and prominently, followed by the duties performed in order to accomplish the result. For example,

RECOMMENDS SECRETARIAL ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Secretarial Job Standards sharpen employee attention and management control by defining and communicating how well the secretarial affairs results must be accomplished and what benchmarks will be used to measure job results. For example, for the job result above, the job standards might be:

• Secretarial situations are correctly understood.
• All options are identified and evaluated.
• Secretarial recommendations are ready when needed.

Secretarial Job Objectives point the direction for employee actions by focusing job efforts on current and future secretarial affairs issues. Job objectives are written in the three-line, results-oriented structure. For example, for the job result above, a job objective might be:

SPEED-UP DECISION MAKING by

reducing time to deliver secretarial affairs recommendations by 10% by (date).

Secretarial Employee Management Forms tied specifically to each secretarial affairs job description are more helpful (and secretarial) than generic forms used for all different kinds of jobs. Job-specific forms are used to state job qualifications, guide job interview questions, orient new employees, plan job training, and appraise job performance.

Secretarial Job Qualifications are stated in the same terms used in the job description. They are not translated into generic (typically behavioral) terms. For example:

RECOMMENDS SECRETARIAL ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Secretarial Job Interview guide questions are inserted directly below each job result in the job description: For example:

• "What specific job responsibilities have you had in this area?"
• "Where did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "When did you have these job responsibilities?"
• "How did you go about accomplishing these responsibilities?"
• "What accomplishment in this area gave you the most pride?"
• "In this area, what were some of your biggest challenges?"
• "How did you overcome the challenges?"

The Secretarial Job Orientation guide reformats the job description sequence so that job explanations, policies, protocols, processes, and procedures are logical and complete and can easily be checked off. For example:

RECOMMENDS SECRETARIAL ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Here's the procedure and format we use to analyze and present secretarial affairs recommendations."

The Secretarial Job Training plan guides a thorough examination of actual job knowledge, skills, and abilities as described in the job description that need improvement or that might be enhanced. For example:

RECOMMENDS SECRETARIAL ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

The manager might say: "Analytical skills would be improved by enrolling in a statistical analysis class."

The Secretarial Job Performance Appraisal guide is a job-specific form. It is not a universal form used for all jobs. The guide adds an appraisal scale below each job result in the job description so that attention can be drawn to each job requirement and expectation. For example:

RECOMMENDS SECRETARIAL ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

__ Great! Just want we wanted.
__ We have a problem.
__ Improvement is needed.
__ Much, much more than we asked for.

Comments: _________________

Secretarial Résumé Template

Potential employers want to know what a job applicant has accomplished in his/her secretarial affairs work career. They don't want to be bored with minor details. Our Résumé Template provides:

• an outline to help assemble personal background information.
• a Results-Oriented Job Description to provide the secretarial affairs job language-focused on results-needed to write an effective résumé.
• Secretarial Job Objectives to orient thinking in terms of accomplishments.
• instructions on how to use a Results-Oriented Secretarial Job Description and Secretarial Job Objectives to express job accomplishments.

Use the secretarial affairs job description responsibility statement as a base:

RECOMMENDS SECRETARIAL ACTIONS by

analyzing system controls.

Select the secretarial affairs job objective that fits your experience:

REDUCE COSTS 10% by

improving secretarial affairs processes.

Combine the two into a résumé statement:

Reduced costs 10% by analyzing, identifying, and recommending new secretarial affairs system controls.

Secretarial Career Links

International Association of Administrative Professionals

Professional association of administrative professionals, information, education, training, standards of excellence, continuing education, authorized programs and publications.

CareerOverview.com, Secretary

Non-commercial website dedicated to providing aspiring career professionals and students with relevant, reliable and up-to-date career and job information whereby helping them to make better, more informed career choices.

The Princeton Review, Career Profile: Secretary

A day in the life article on secretary.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Secretaries

Training and education needed for secretarial jobs, earnings, expected job prospects, what secretaries do on the job, and working conditions.