Administrative Assistant's and Secretary's Handbook, 5th Edition

Chapter 1

Overview for the New Administrative Assistant

Why Are You Needed?

As an administrative assistant, you are hired to relieve your busy employer of a great deal of work, especially the details of office procedure and other matters that do not require your employer’s personal involvement. You’ll act as a liaison between your boss and the rest of the company. Sometimes you’ll act as a buffer. Depending on the size of the company, you may also be called on to perform tasks normally outside the secretarial role in sales, banking, billing, payroll, accounting, advertising, public relations, purchasing, and more. Everything you do for your employer must duplicate as closely as possible what he or she would do if not absorbed in work that couldn’t ...