Administrative Assistant's Update

JANUARY 2018 6 Continued on page 7 Is C-suite the right move for you? By Rhonda Scharf Are you tempted by the thought of that "big job"? The one in which you're travelling first class, making big deci- sions, seeing the world and even hav- ing your own assistant. The business card that makes people say, "Wow!" The opportunity is there. C-suite admins are well paid, well respected and the eyes, ears and partner of someone in the C-suite at a large, well recognized and respected company. They are Master Admins. Being a C-suite admin is challeng- ing, to say the least. Do you have what it takes to perform at that level? Skills are part of the equation, but there is more – much more. The C-suite admin needs to balance three qualities: competency, passion and flexibility. Competency The C-suite admin fully understands the challenges of the administra- tive profession. She (we'll make her female for the sake of simplicity here but of course, this person could be male) has, at a minimum, a recog- nized designation (CAP or QAA). She has an undergraduate degree or high- er. She can make MS Office perform miracles. She can do calendaring and travel planning in her sleep (when she has to do it herself at all—her admin usually does it for her). She sits at the board of directors table and contributes and is not in- timidated. She is well educated, expe- rienced and knowledgeable about the industry she is in. She is well read and attends at least one educational event a year. She is completely competent, a consummate professional. Passion Competency is just the starting point for the C-suite admin. Passion for her job brings her up a notch. What she does isn't just a job, it's a career. It's what she was meant to do. This passion drives her in every - thing she does professionally. She looks forward to challenges. She has left jobs when they offered little chal- lenge. Her satisfaction in life has a lot to do with her satisfaction in her job. When people complain about going to work, she feels bad for them. She is part of the elite group who truly love what they do. Flexibility The C-suite admin isn't at the point in her life when she needs to be wor- ried about schedules. No car pool that leaves every evening at 5:01. No daycare to pick the children up from. She is a "career woman." That isn't to say she doesn't have a personal life, because she does; but she also has the flexibility to travel, work late or be on call during off-hours. She doesn't mind having her work cell phone with her all the time and doesn't think twice about responding to an email or a text on Saturdays. She enjoys being able to pitch in whenever needed. Now that you've seen the require - ments necessary for you to be an admin in the C-suite, and likely mea- sured up yourself against them, let's see if you are meant to be there! You have the: Flexibility & Passion – Working in the C-suite sounds like an incredible job! You get excited every time you see a job posting. You want to have that desk in front of the CEO's office. You are thrilled to be on call 24-7 and consider yourself a "career employee" all the way, but you just don't have enough experience or knowledge of your company's industry. You understand what pharmaceu - ticals are, but you don't really know what they are talking about in meet- ings most of the time. You understand what a construction company does generally, but you don't understand the laws governing it, or how exactly Credit: Andrey_Popov (Shutterstock)

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