Secretary
Career information and advice on being a Secretary

A Secretary can work in a variety of companies and organisations providing clerical support to Managers or teams of employees. 

Secretaries play an important role in the day-to-day functioning of a company by ensuring that seamless communication takes place between relevant parties, appointments are scheduled, and day-to-day communication such as sending faxes, emails and answering the telephone is attended to.

Secretary Functions May include

As a Secretary you may be expected to do basic office administrative work such as typing letters and other documents, filing, dealing with incoming and outgoing post, photocopying and printing. You may also be expected to sort and distribute post that comes in, as well as arranging post and couriers for outgoing packages.

Your day-to-day functions may include setting Manager’s appointments, answering the telephone and dealing with enquiries.  Secretaries are often referred to as “gate-keepers” within an organisation as they screen calls before they are put through to the managers. They are also responsible for co-ordinating diaries and ensuring that appointments are secured with relevant people. 

In the event of your Manager being unavailable due to meetings, or being out of the office, you will act as the primary port of call and for this reason you must always have your finger on the pulse of what is occurring in the office environment.  Some travel arrangements might need to be made especially for training events and seminars. 

In your role as a Secretary it is strongly advisable to have good typing skills, as you will often be required to take minutes at meetings, possibly using shorthand.  You may also be responsible for ensuring that your company database is maintained by spending time updating information held, often needing to liase with internal departments as well as external clients.