Secretary

Secretary job description: Typical employers | Qualifications and training | Key skills | Useful links | Find jobs and courses

Typical responsibilities of the job include:

• answering telephone calls
• maintaining diaries
• arranging appointments
• taking messages
• typing and word processing
• filing
• organising and servicing meetings (producing agendas and taking minutes)
• managing databases
• prioritising workloads
• recruiting, training and supervising junior staff
• handling correspondence
• implementing new procedures and administrative systems
• liaising with relevant organisations
• co-ordinating mail-shots and similar publicity tasks.

The work offers excellent promotional prospects via advancement into senior administrative and secretarial positions, or by moving into related employment areas, such as marketing, human resources and public relations. There are many similarities with the work of Personal Assistants (PAs).

Typical employers of secretaries

• local and national government
• universities
• hospitals
• businesses
• charities
• financial institutions
• law firms.

Many positions require typing, word processing and/or shorthand qualifications - a range of secretarial training courses are available at further education colleges. Relevant experience can be gained via temporary agency work (‘temping'), which can in turn lead to permanent work.

Jobs are advertised online, by careers services and recruitment agencies and in local, regional and national newspapers (particularly the Guardian and The Times).

Qualifications and training required

Formal academic qualifications are not always needed, although a degree in English, business, IT, languages, information science, administration or management may be beneficial. Previous office or commercial work experience can also be helpful. It is vital to have good IT and administrative skills.

Key skills for secretaries

• interpersonal skills
• team working skills
• organisational skills
• negotiation skills
• communication skills.