I Want to Move Up from being an Administrative Assistant
I went to college to study Communications and was one of the top students there but the only jobs I'm able to get are Administrative/Executive Assistant positions. I was initially told this was the way to enter companies but few move up from there. This has been going on for years and quite frankly I really hate these jobs with a passion! Would love to hear some advice on "movin' on up!"
This is a very competitive job market, with millions of unemployed people, so appreciate that you have a job. (Not trying to imply that you don't. I recommend you start networking with people in the communications/marketing department at your company - see if they will have lunch or coffee with you so you can get a better idea of what they are looking for, understand any skills gaps you may have, and give them a chance to get to know you. Use this time to build your skills further with online courses, etc. - and keep networking. It will happen for you, but it may take some time. Don't give up! Be persistent and patient. Best of luck!
1) Pay attention the other department (you want to be with) in the company. Building relationship or provide assist for that department in the way that your boss or that specific department don't mind. 2) Providing idea or doing something above or beyond your job description (again..has to be your supervisor is comfortable) to show you are capable doing more than your job. 3) If your company just has no place to grow, then find other company with the position you want. At the end, not all the boss of company will "automatically" move you. It's always your own responsibility to "move on". If there is no road for you, try your best to create one. Good Luck.
Once upon a time, the easiest way for a woman to get her foot in the door was by being an administrative assistant. I believe those days are gratefully over.
From where you are today, I would suggest you first decide on what you want to do in communications. Determine if this is available at your current company or do you need to look for work elsewhere? If you have to look elsewhere, start exploring other companies to see which ones you want to work for.
See what the requirements/qualifications for the positions you want are. Do you have all the skills you need to do the job or would you benefit from more training. Certainly, you will want experience in order to prove your value.
Look for opportunities both where you work, through volunteering, and side gigs to get experience. If you are not already clear on the big picture of your employer, learn. Know its mission, vision, value, and goals. Be aware of its problems. Understand how you, your department, and the department you want to work for can make a difference with these. Determine how you personally can help solve the problems, achieve the goals, and improve the bottom line by helping the business either save or make money.
Look for ways you can use your current position and what you want to do in communications to make that difference. Can you make a proposal about this to your manager--a brief but formal proposal? If you can't do this through your current job directly--maybe you can do this through a joint departmental project with the department you would want to work with.
In order to get to that point, you probably would want both a mentor and a sponsor at your employer. A sponsor is someone who advocates and networks on your behalf. In this case, your goal would be to get to become known within the department you want to work in--the department you might be able to do a joint project with--providing your manager agrees. (The chances are good if you can prove that you can get all of your other work done. This could be by delegating to someone else; unfortunately, that is usually the admin.)
If this can't be done, look for volunteer opportunities or maybe possibilities for helping a start up get off the ground. Startups might not be able to pay you outright. If you do it as a freelancer, then you would have the freedom to accept payment on the back-end based upon performance: how much you made or saved the company. This could be in the form of commissions, overrides, bonuses. (Taking it in stocks is a bit more complicated, so consult an attorney or CPA before doing so.)
That's a lot of information packed in a small space. I hope it makes sufficient sense that you can act on it. If not, please, ask questions.
I was in a similar position at one point in time. I ended up needing to leave my current workplace to pursue my interests elsewhere. However, before doing that, I did a ton of informational interviews with people who had jobs similar to what I was interested in. I'd ask them how they ended up in that position, any advice they were willing to give, the types of skills they saw being the most important for that position, etc.
If you feel like you're really light on the skills a position you want is interested in, find ways to obtain more of those skills. Find non-profits that might want communications assistance, look at local job sites for people looking for the types of things that you want to get into. While you may be doing these things for free or minimal pay, you'll get the experience and recommendations from doing so.
At one point in time, the company where I was at - where I wanted to get out of being an administrative assistant - told me the only true way you moved into a position that was more aligned with what I wanted to do was to quit and come back. Very few people were ever promoted out of their job class/titles. So, if I wanted to be a Manager, I'd have to leave and then apply to something like that later. Very discouraging, to say the least, but I ended up doing other things that were much more what I want to be doing.
I didn't read every comment above so some of my suggestions might be repeats.
1. Define what you want to do next and what you want your career to look like in 10/20 years
2. Find a mentor in your field either at your current job or in another company in your desired industry. Having trouble finding a mentor, ask here on FGB.
3. Keep your eyes and ears open (in real life and digitally) - I'm guessing that you already have your radar up for jobs in your career, but it's worth saying again.
4. If you feel that you are lacking experience in your next career and you think that is what is holding you back, then get some experience.
If you want to do a Corporate Communications job and you don't have any experience, then volunteer your time to help some female-founded startups or woman-owned businesses with their press releases or brand management or whatever you can manage within the large field of Corporate Communications.
I'm not suggesting that you to work full-time for free, but you might be able to find a few hours in your week to help some woman-owned businesses/startups (or whatever industry or sector rings true to you) which would give you experience on your resume.
And those few hours of volunteering work might spin into a real job and will certainly help beef up your resume (assuming you feel that some real world experience in your career will help you get out of the administration career you are in now)
Anon - I completely agree with Christine Jacques - identify what you would like to do next and search for that outside of your current company. Since you are competent they will be hesitant to let you go or even help you find a position in the company that suits what you want to do. If you're not already, become more active on LinkedIn, you never know who you might connect with that may have a position or know of one that you would be interested in. Good luck!
The curse of being competent: You're stuck in the job because you are good at it, and your company doesn't want to give up that resource. It could be time to identify a job doing what you really want to do, but in another company.
Yes! Sometimes you have to move on to move up!
I've been in educational administrative jobs, for the most part. I'd never say outright that I hated them, no worries there! Thank you all for the suggestions. Last night I signed up for courses on Alison.com. :-)
I was in a similar situation at one time. Graduated with degree in English, was working in data management for a pharmaceutical company, hated it. I wanted a job that suited me, and I knew part of that involved having more autonomy to work from home. So I started looking at what careers were out there. Found instructional design, got a masters, never looked back. Been working from home for 20 years now. So my point is, identify what you want in a job, then figure out what careers will give you what you want, then develop whatever skills you need to get there.
Volunteering is a great way to stretch your skills and show off your capability -- whenever you're ready to level up.
Also healthcare or similar heavy client facing roles often pull administrators or operational managers from Executive assistant roles. What industry do you work in now?