How to Obtain a Position as a Senior Administrative Assistant

The position of senior administrative assistant is an integral one in any large corporation or organization. In this job, you will have a wide range for responsibilities ranging from performing clerical tasks to consulting work. Although you may be working closely with several members of the senior administration, you will report directly to only one person, which is usually the Director or the CEO. Since this senior executive will likely be involved in many meetings and have to do a lot of traveling, you will manage the calendar, scheduling appointments and making travel arrangements. Arranging meetings is another of your responsibilities and you will have to handle the processing of the expense claims associated with reimbursement of any travel expenses.

As the senior administrative assistant, you will provide administrative support for a senior executive in the form of preparing and editing documents and handle the correspondence to and from the office. You will have to type the documents needed for meetings and do some of the research for information needed to create these documents. In the case of meetings involving groups of professionals, your job will be to arrange the facility for the meeting, ensure that all the equipment for presentations is in the room and for sending out the agenda for the meeting to all participants. When larger events take place, you will work closely with the event planner to ensure that they meet the goals and expectations of the attendees.

A large corporation deals with many vendors and suppliers. In your capacity as senior administrative assistant, you will have to handle contracts and negotiations for specific services. Therefore, you need to be knowledgeable about contracts and the negotiating process. In addition, to these duties, you will also be responsible for the general administration of the office. In this position, you will likely be in an office of your own complete with all the office equipment that you need. Developing and maintaining a filing system, sorting and distributing mail, answering the telephone and email, performing simple repairs to the office equipment and ordering and restocking supplies – these are just some of the daily tasks that will take up some of your time.



In order to obtain a position as senior administrative assistant, ideally you should be a graduate of a two or four-year course in Office Administration. However, you can obtain this position with a high school diploma and extensive experience on the job, which will give you the practical skills you need for this job. You should have extensive knowledge of the procedures for providing administrative support and for operating all types of office equipment. Since the computer will be the main tool you use in this job, you should be proficient in Microsoft Word applications and the specific software used in the office, such as accounting software. You may be responsible for training new administrative support staff. In addition to the practical skills needed for senior administrative assistant, you do need strong oral and written communication skills, be a team player and have good interpersonal skills.