Administrative Assistant's Update

March 2019

Focuses on the training and development needs of admin professionals and features topics such as hard skills (software competencies, writing, communication, filing) and soft skills (teamwork, time management, leadership).

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By Jennifer Lewington AAU Associate Editor Senior admin Sue Munro was among more than 500 employees laid off in a downsizing by Yellow Pages, a digital media and marketing compa- ny, in early 2018. Despite the shock of losing a job through no fault of her own, Munro didn't skip a beat. The day she received the news, she went home and uploaded her resume to Indeed.com, a major online job search site. That was her first step in a job search that took six months, 70 applications and some low moments before landing a position suited to her skills and experience. "I treated it like a fulltime job," she says, of her job hunt. "There were days I put in 10 hours a day and would not leave my desk for lunch." Her re-employment campaign had multiple prongs: recruitment counsel - ling offered by Yellow Pages; network- ing with other laid-off admins; and a commitment to pursue almost all job listings, if only to practice interview- ing skills. She also paid attention to her emotional wellbeing, allowing time to grieve the job loss but staying positive amid adversity. Her approach wins a big thumbs- up from career coach Colleen Clarke, who describes Munro as a "model job searcher." Adds Clarke: "If she were my client I would be hugging her all over the place. She knew what she was doing." To those sud - denly downsized out of a job, Laura Grassia, branch manager of OfficeTeam and Accoun- temps at Robert Half Canada, offers hope. "There is demand out there" for admin professionals, says Grassia, noting that an admin-focused tem- porary employment agency like hers "is the best way to get back into the market while you are still working on your own." She too praises Munro's job hunt professionalism. "At the end of the day, you are in charge of the path you are going to take moving forward," says Grassia, who sees no stigma for those down- sized through no fault of their own. For Munro, an empty-nester with a mortgage, time was of the essence as her three years with Yellow Pages only added up to six weeks of severance. "Fear really motivated me to make MARCH 2019 P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T F O R C A N A D A ' S O F F I C E S U P P O R T S T A F F Administrative Assistant's UPDATE UPDATE PM #40065782 INSIDE A resume refresh � � � � � � � � 2 Does it reflect the tools you need in today's marketplace? Your LinkedIn image � � � � � 3 The tools are there for you to create a standout profile Who needs coaching? � � � � � 5 Some insights into how you might grow with a coach Polaris Office � � � � � � � � � � � 6 It enables you to access MS Office from the road Admins, execs training together Training is now a game changer for admins, says Bonnie Low-Kramen, founder of Ultimate Assistant, who speaks in workshops around the world. "What I see as the next frontier for training are opportunities to have executive assistants in rooms with their leaders and managers. I have been facilitating more and more of these sessions. The ROI is real and immediate," Low-Kramen says. "Education and professional development that is specific to the role is changing the profes - sional very quickly," she observes. "Whatever you decide for your career in 2019, choose training that is relevant to you." Continued on page 4 Sue Munro Laura Grassia Colleen Clarke Treated job search 'like fulltime job' EA rebounds after job loss

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