usa job typing

As an admin it is sometimes hard to know when you should go ahead and make a decision and when you need to wait for your boss.  Recently, on an admin site, someone suggested setting out every scenario she could think of and ranking whether it needs the boss's approval or not.  Although I understand why she would want to do that, I thought an easier way would be to break it down as follows: Will it impact your company? If it is something that could embarrass your company or bind it financially in any way, this is definitely something your boss should be deciding, not the admin.  Will it inconvenience your boss? If it is something that will impact your boss directly then it should be done in collaboration with them such as making travel arrangements, booking meetings outside of business hours or during their lunch hour or booking them with someone they have never met or may not want to meet.  Things that will directly affect them should be...

As women working in an office with men, who are more than likely in authority, this is something we undoubtedly will come across at some time in our careers.  I think men probably experience it as well, but it is not reported as often. I recall as a young woman working for a large mostly male organization in the late 70s, it was just an expected thing that you would get your bum pinched while walking by someone's desk or have sexual remarks made about you. At the time I just went with the flow and thought it was normal, although I found it uncomfortable. Nowadays this would not be acceptable behaviour. We have come a long way in the law, but also in our thinking on what good office behaviour is. Further to my blog post on Workplace Harassment and Bullying , I was contacted by a lawyer from California who asked if they could post an article on sexual harassment.  I thought it would be interesting to hear from an expert so they could actually give...

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was giving a webinar on minute-taking yesterday.  There were a few questions that as I pondered last night, I wanted to give a more fulsome answer to today.  Since some of you are on my blog, I thought this would be a good way to answer those questions. Do you need to record in the minutes when someone abstains from a vote? This is a good question, but doesn't have a simple answer.  It all depends on what type of meeting you are recording at and what rules they follow.  The meeting recorder should have a good grasp of the rules of order that their meeting follows as that will help to answer questions like this.  But rest assured it is always OK to go back and find the answer.  I keep the rule book with me in the meeting and have tabbed it to some things that I want to be able to find quickly.  Here are some frequently asked questions about voting at a meeting. For the m...

The first time my boss asked me to take minutes I gulped and the fear took over.  I'm sure many of you can relate and know exactly what I mean.  As I was walking to the boardroom I chattered nervously to him that I hadn't taken minutes since high school.  It ended up being a ploy to get me to the boardroom for a baby shower - Surprise!!! Whew, I had dodged a bullet, but I knew this, I never wanted to take a job that required minute taking.  But fast forward a bit and now I really enjoy taking minutes. So what changed? Well... I wanted to progress in my career and knew if I was going to do that I would have to learn to take minutes.  There are not many Executive Assistant jobs that don't require minute taking.  In our office all the administrative assistants also have to take minutes.  I'm the type of person that when I want to do something I learn everything there is about it.  I bugged everyone I knew that had ever taken...

I use the Ctrl keys so frequently that I almost forgot a few good ones.  To open a new blank document in Word, press Ctrl n .  To open a document, press Ctrl o .  Ctrl F4 will close the document, Alt F4 will close the document and the program.  If you haven't saved the document, it will prompt you to Save, Don't Save or Cancel.  Or you can press Ctrl s before you close it. Many of these Ctrl key functions will work in other Microsoft programs, but not always.  The regular formatting ones such as Ctrl b , Ctrl i , Ctrl s  and Ctrl u etc. do work, but some of the others do not work in Outlook, Excel or PowerPoint. The one we are probably most familiar with is of course Ctrl Alt Delete.  I think we all know what that one is for.

Someone at work was trying to paste something by right clicking and using the paste option.  There were three options to choose from with a symbol for a paint brush, an arrow and the letter 'A'.  She tried one and it wasn't the paste she wanted so she said in frustration, "I never know which one to choose."  Each of the paste options do have a purpose, but for what we were trying to do I told her to just press Ctrl v and that would do it.  I have been using Ctrl keys for years and they are so simple and easy to use. For those not familiar with the Ctrl key, it is located in the lower left-hand corner of the keyboard. To use it you need to press the Ctrl key and while holding it down press the letter for whatever you wish to do.  For example, these are very user friendly because the letter relates to what you want to do: Ctrl s  for S ave Ctrl p  for P rint Ctrl f  for F ind Ctrl c for C ...

As many of you know, I have been in administrative work for over thirty years.  As much as I've enjoyed it, a lot of injuries come with our line of work.  Recently, I was being assessed by a personal trainer at my gym and was complaining about my weak arms and she immediately asked what profession I was in.  As soon as I told her what I did for a living she gave a knowing nod.  She then listed a number of things that office workers suffered from because of our long hours sitting at the computer.  I had experienced most of them.  I am hoping she will be able to help me get some strength back, but in the meantime someone sent me this article that I thought was important to share to avoid some of these problems. 18 Important Ergonomics Tips for Online Students &Workers. http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2012/01/18/18-important-ergonomics-tips-for-online-students-workers/ If you are a younger worker, please take note of the tips as it will cert...