The role of the secretary is diverse and can be very demanding as they provide administrative support to the key players within any organisation.

General secretarial duties include diary management, travel arrangement, audio typing, faxing, filing and dealing with telephone enquiries. Excellent IT and interpersonal skills are essential to the role.

Job titles include Secretary, Team Secretary, Legal Secretary, Bilingual Secretary and Secretarial Manager.

Job description

The role of the secretary is to provide administrative support within a business, either to an individual or to a group of senior members of staff. The nature of the role does vary quite considerably depending upon which industry or sector you are working in though certain elements of the job remain the same, regardless of where you're working.

Secretaries are invaluable to any business and to the senior managers/directors they support. You provide not only the administrative backbone a business needs to operate smoothly and efficiently but also the organisational structure any senior staff member needs to perform their job.

Day to day tasks will vary immensely but can include:

• Diary management including travel arrangements
• Production of documents and reports on a variety of software packages
• Attending meetings, taking minutes and distributing minutes to key staff
• Arranging meetings and liaising with secretaries in other departments
• Managing and maintaining complex filing systems
• Dealing with incoming and outgoing post
• Faxing, photocopying, shredding and scanning documents
• Fielding phone calls and answering queries from internal and external sources

This is a classic 9 to 5 role though you may be required to work after hours from time to time depending upon workloads. Flexible working hours are sometimes available, especially when candidates are returning to work after maternity leave. There are also a wide range of part time secretarial jobs out there and the temp market is always strong.

Qualifications aren't a necessary requirement of the job, though it doesn't harm your chances if you have a recognised secretarial qualification (Pitmans or RSA are good examples) under your belt. You can further your chances by improving your skills - taking courses to improve your copy an audio typing speeds, improve your IT skills eg Excel and Powerpoint, taking a course in shorthand and perhaps even learning a new language. Employers are looking for experience in a similar role and the more you can demonstrate this in your CV, the better your chances. Some of the skills that employers are looking for include:

• Proficiency in a wide range of software packages
• An unflappable approach
• Great interpersonal skills
• Typing speeds in excess of 40 wpm
• Shorthand skills are a distinct advantage
• Meeting deadlines consistently and accurately

Salary Information

Location, location, location - this is always a key factor in salary levels though as a junior secretary starting their career, salary expectations should be around the £12000 to £15000 per year. As you progress through your career, salaries begin to rise and an experienced secretary can earn up to £20000. In London, this can be much higher and some senior secretaries earn in excess of £30000.

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