You Never Know it All, Administrative Assistants and Executive Assistants

A COMMON MISTAKE
What's a common mistake that some administrative assistants and executive assistants make in assessing their professional development, educational and training needs?

It's using "years of service" as a criteria to determine your executive assistant and administrative assistant training and development needs, especially when you have many, many years of service.

That's a mistake.

Even "bragging" about years of service can sometimes be a mistake (read onward for why).

CONFIDENCE VS. KNOWLEDGE
It's too easy to think, "I've been an administrative assistant (or executive assistant) for 10, 15, 30 years and know it all." I'm experienced! After all, you feel confident in doing your job with those years under your belt. We all do.

But don't mistake "confidence" for "knowing it all." It's an easy mistake to make if you're not on the lookout for it. And you may not be if you become too complacent due to your confidence due to your years of service.

DANGER!
When you think you "know it all," you're in the danger zone of becoming too complacent with your professional development.

And by the way, that can be really, really dangerous if you ever lose your job and need to get in the job search routine again – and you won't have a clue usually when that's about to happen. Just ask some of the many administrative assistants and executive assistants who are currently unemployed due to the downward swing in the economy. Many never saw it coming!

Nobody ... and I mean nobody ... ever knows it all – no matter how long on the job. That goes for all administrative assistants and executive assistants.

LIFE MOVES (ONLY THE LIFELESS STOP MOVING FORWARD)
The world is dynamic. What's happening in it is dynamic. Your employer is dynamic – and often trying to be creative and innovative.

Your employer doesn't need a "know it all" taking up office space. Your employer needs an administrative assistant or executive assistant who proactively seeks out new information and ideas and works it into your company's and job's processes and procedures and brainstorming activities. He or she needs someone who shows initiative on the job and in your role -- independently.

DON'T JUST LEARN "ON THE JOB"
Prospective employers need ongoing learners. And by that, I don't mean administrative assistants and executives who "learn on the job" but rather ones who keep learning through professional development and training. So in a way, I mean ones who "learn off the job." What professional development and training do you do outside of the office (whether on your dollar or the company's check)?

WHO WOULD YOU HIRE?
Think about it. If you were an employer, would you want to hire the administrative assistant or executive assistant who says: "I know it all, I've done it all, I've seen it all, and I can do it all for you."

Or the one who says: "I know a lot. I've done a lot. I've seen a lot. And I can do a lot for you. Yet I know I still have and will always have a lot to learn – because me, you and this company are dynamic, not static. I want to bring you experience AND innovation and creativity – the total package."

The one you would hire and desire from those two choices is pretty obvious now, isn't it.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?
Today's employment is all about, "What can you do next for me," and not, "What have you done."

So you can't sit on your can when it comes to your ONGOING professional development.

You can't be dynamic, creative or innovative when you already think you know it all. That's taking a "static" position. If you're an administrative assistant or executive assistant saying, "You can't teach me new tricks because I've been at this umpteen years," then get learning.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE
Make it a challenge to find out about things you don't know (or forgot).

This will keep you innovative and dynamic in your job and also help you to avoid job burnout. "Knowing it all" (or thinking you do) leads to boredom on the job and no risk-taking. That means no growth, no excitement, no forward motion. That's a chair-warmer. Don't be just filling a chair!

Never "know it all."

I HAVEN'T BEEN HERE THAT LONG
Never brag about your "years of service" as an administrative assistant or executive assistant unless you can somehow do it in a way that makes you look dynamic and innovative.

Otherwise, that's "backward thinking." Today's administrative professionals and employers are into "forward thinking."

Today's employers don't just want a "reliable" administrative assistant or executive assistant; they want an "innovative" one.

Yet you can and probably should look in the rear-view mirror when you use your experience as a foundation for forward thinking. That means there is a need to look both ways, just like when you drive: know what's behind you but contemplate all the places you can go while looking forward. When you drive, you spend a lot more time looking forward than in the rear-view mirror, though, unless you're backing up and going in reverse. So talk (or brag) about where you're going, not where you just came from.

"BEEN THERE, DONE THAT" ISN'T MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO
So think what can I learn next, not what do I already know and what have I already done. "Been there, done that" makes you a "has-been."

Be a dynamic, forward thinker. Stress that, not that you've "been around the block" and keep circling it.

Current and prospective employers will love you for it!

They'll start wondering: "How does she know all these things? How does she come up with these great ideas?"

Never stop learning. That means invest in your professional development and skills training ongoing.

GET HELP MOVING FORWARD
The Effective Admin professional development, training and educational materials can provide you and all administrative assistants and executive assistants with ongoing information and ideas you can use at work and in your career -- so you'll never grow stagnant as an administrative assistant or executive assistant. You will be in demand.

Employers and co-workers will be praising you for what you are doing and not simply for what you've done. They'll be asking, "What's your next big idea?" and not asking, "How close are you to retirement?"

You never "know it all" as an administrative assistant or executive assistant. Don't retire on the job!

Check out The Effective Admin (TEA) Success Store for administrative assistants and executive assistants like you who need to refresh current skills and learn new skills and ideas. It provides exclusive informational products you can't find elsewhere (except at the Virtual Association for Administrative Professionals, which is owned and operated by TEA). All the materials there are self-study. Learn without traveling; do it on your time and at your pace.

Contact me if you have questions about The Effective Admin or VAAP products.

And feel free to leave your thoughts below about the importance of ongoing learning, innovation, and forward-thinking (or anything else in this article) as it pertains to administrative assistants and executive assistants.