An Administration Officer is responsible for various administrative duties including the setting up and running of administrative systems, typing of letters and reports and arranging meetings. These are just a few of the functions involved.

A Chartered Secretary is not a normal admin secretary. Chartered Secretaries hold a very senior managerial position in the company and are usually working their way to becoming a director. They need to make sure all departments are well organised, productive, efficient and profitable. It’s a very responsible job.

Company Secretaries form part of the executive team of an organisation. They act as an important link between individual departments in the company and the board of directors.

Calling guys and girls – A Data Entry Operater is a Data Capturer. Their main task is to enter information (data) onto the computer. The important information needs to be captured accurately and then stored on the company’s database. A Data Entry Operator needs to touch type accurately and quickly.

A Girl Friday is also known as an Office Clerk. They are like assistants that help with a variety of tasks around the office, from filing, to typing to answering the phone etc. A Girl Friday can be found in large companies, government departments, schools, hospitals etc.

A Hotel/Resort Receptionist is the first person guests speak to at the establishment. They work at the front desk and make sure that all the guests’ needs are taken care of. Their job is to make sure that guests are made to feel welcome at all times.

Legal Secretaries perform secretarial duties in legal firms handling a wide variety of specialised tasks that require knowledge of legal terminology and procedures. Good Legal Secretaries can earn high salaries.

A Machine Shorthand Reporter records the spoken word in a legal court, at parliamentary hearings, during television programming and assisting the deaf and hearing impaired. Machine Shorthand Reporters use shorthand writing, stenotype shorthand machines, and computer-assisted transcription software and sound recording equipment.

A Medical Secretary is usually the ‘face’ of the practice and the first person a patient sees when arriving for their appointment. Medical Secretaries have the very important job fo making sure the practice is in good running order and that everything runs smoothly and effectively.

Medical transcription is the process where a person, a Medical Transcriptionist, accurately and swiftly transcribes (converts) medical records dictated by medical professionals into text documents.

Office Clerks perform clerical duties that involve the efficient running of the office. These duties include various tasks such as answering telephones, bookkeeping, typing or word processing, office machine operation, and filing.

An Office Supervisor is responsible for managing office staff as well as making sure the office is running efficiently and effectively. Office Supervisors often work in medium or large companies and usually in the administrative department. Office Supervisors must know and understand all the functions of the department.

Personal Assistants (PA’s) are usually called the “right-hand” of a person in a senior position, such as CEO’s, senior managers, high profile government officials and celebrities. The job of a Personal Assistant is to support the employer’s in their daily duties and ease their workload.

A Receptionist is a front-line person who receives and welcomes visitors and clients and directs them to where they need to go. The nature of the job depends on where the Receptionist works. Most Receptionists take and transfer telephone calls, screen calls, take messages and answer enquiries.

Calling guys and girls … Anyone who wants to become a Secretary can! As a Secretary it is important to be knowledgeable about the day to day running of the office. It is important to have excellent communication skills and to be an efficient performer. There are lots of different kinds of Secretaries.

A Switchboard Operator is a professional person who manages the switchboard which is the telephone system used by the company. Some Switchboard Operators may also be the company’s receptionist.

A Typist’s (or word processor operator’s) responsibility is to type out and produce letters, reports and other important documents. You should be computer literate and be well skilled in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. If you have not taken typing at school, you can still study and become a Typist.