usa job typing

I have mentioned it a few times that when my desk is cluttered then I feel cluttered.  I like to put everything in its place so I will find it easily.  Is it any wonder if my Outlook is messy and cluttered that I feel the same way? I was at a recent IAAP Chapter meeting and we were discussing best practices for organizing our Inboxes and there were a lot of good ideas.  The bottom line is to keep it simple.  I've been meaning to tackle my Inbox so decided I would try that theory and is it ever nice.  My Inbox is empty and it feels wonderful!  Similar to when I have a nice and tidy desk. The first step is take control of your emails and don't let them take control of you One of the things I have found helpful is to turn my email notification off.  I don't miss anything as I check my Inbox regularly and the good thing is if I am in the middle of something, I don't get distracted by that little message in the corner that...

This is basically a review of, and a pros/cons rant about, Borderlands 2. If you're not into it, just don't read it! I'll write about stuff you like some other time. Maybe. So! I'm not the kind of person to say "I told you so." Noooo. Never. Well, never, unless , of course, I get to say it loudly, within hearing of a biggish stadium full of people. Which I can. So here goes: I told you so . Toldya toldya toldya. My predictions from my previous post, "The Borderlands Gun Collectors Club", all came completely 100% true, with Hyperionesque accuracy, Jakobsian impact, Maliwaney inflammatoryness, Tedioric blasting and surprisingly, even Vladofish speed. I made out like a Bandit. I predicted, as you may recall, that (A) it'd be a great game ("duh"), (B) they'd screw up the token economy because they only partly understand it, and (C) as a direct result of B, players would gradually head back to Borderlands. Three weeks af...

I once worked with someone who had body language that you could read like a book. Stern looks, sad demeanor, very angry looking at times, interrupting while you were talking, especially when they were not in agreement, by harrumphing, sighing and rolling the eyes. It was disconcerting, but this person didn't appear to be aware they were doing it. I think the first step is to acknowledge you are doing it and recognize that it as a problem. Once you realize that it is happening, you can watch for it and correct your behaviour. You have to look at yourself as a total package with hard skills (such as what you need to do to get the job done) and soft skills (such as how you are perceived by others, how you treat people, how you behave around people). You can be the best there is as an organizer, event planner or trainer, but if you don't come across as friendly or approachable, you will not be successful. I was at a course recently for new supervisors and they ...

I have been involved in conducting a few interviews for admin jobs and here are two of the main things I have noticed about those who are unsuccessful: resumes are out of date and not relevant to the job applied for and the person was not prepared for the interview. When you go for an interview you have to keep in mind that they really do want to hire someone, but you have to make it worth their while to hire you. Look at being unemployed as a full-time job and what you are trying to do is sell yourself. Here is what I recommend. 1) Do try the temp agencies. It is better to be working. When on a temp job, work as if you are on probation all the time. You never know who is observing you. 2) When you go on an interview and are not successful, ask for feedback. What could you have done better? What was it that they didn't think qualified you for the job? Many times I have interviewed people and wished they would ask because I wanted to tell them what they could do differently so ...

The admin role is a service-oriented position.  Basically we are there to serve management - whether that be one executive or multiple managers and staff members.  Managing our time can become more challenging when serving more than one person.  Not that the volume is greater, because as someone who serves the CEO of our organization, I know that is not the case, but because it is coming from multiple sources it can seem overwhelming.  This is where we have to be creative in managing our time and workloads and an admin team can be invaluable in helping you accomplish that. In this time of government cutbacks each of us is responsible to show that our job adds value to the organization.  I find when we are part of a functioning admin team, then we can show that even more.  We are each responsible for managing our workloads and sometimes the work just becomes too much for one person and we throw our hands up and sa...

I haven't been posting in awhile as I have been considering retiring the blog.  I will continue to write a few articles now and then, but have been spending more time on finalizing another book, giving webinars on minute taking and I would like to expand into other speaking opportunities where I feel my expertise can be used.  I will leave my blog up and running as there are over 400 articles that I want available to anyone who needs them, so please search the blog and I am sure you will find something or email me at patriciaannrobb@gmail.com with any questions you might have and I will try and answer them.

I received an email referencing a survey conducted by Staples.  Please find below a copy/paste from a portion of that email.  The link to the full article with the survey results can be found here . April 25 marks the 60th anniversary of National Administrative Professionals' Day, a holiday that recognizes the more than 13 million people working in administrative assistant and admin support roles in the U.S., according to the Department of Labor. For the holiday, Staples.com conducted a survey to discover people's perceptions of the office admin. The fun survey, conducted via Staples media channels, found admins to be more crucial to businesses than the boss, with nearly two-thirds reporting the office would more likely fall apart without the admin (65.2 percent) than without the boss (30.3 percent). Other findings: � Respondents confess admins know their day better than a spouse (41.6 percent vs. 33.5 percent). � More people are #TeamPam than #TeamJoan � Pam Ha...