Message to new professional assistants globally

My message is to find what your best skills are and fully embrace them. Everybody has a niche and if you play your strengths you will benefit the most from it. Often a lot of people are asked what their weaknesses are and it’s really important to identify those so that you can try to pump it up but in my experience what I’ve learned is that trying to build up a skill that isn’t necessary in need in you as a person can be frustrating diminish your work in other areas and sometimes it’s just not the best fit, so that’s why is really important to figure it out if you are the best at communication and handling meetings and talking to different partners for your executives or if you are somebody who is really not the best talking to people but you are amazing in organizing. Obviously, there is so much more to the position of an administrative specialist or assistant but really what I just want is to make sure is that everybody here is to play to their strengths. Find them and cultivate them because that is what’s going to get you motivated in your position, knowing that you do your job well is one of the most fulfilling and motivating things that you can carry with you throughout your professional life.

How hard do you work on your professional education and development?

I would like to say that I actually work fairly hard on that. I look for a minimum of two to three different professional development opportunities of the week just because maybe my position is a little bit more unique working for an international non-profit organization and domestic violence but knowing your clients and the needs that they will face let alone, try to identify ways to improve services, make it easier for everyone in your team involved and picking up skills for yourself so you’re not stressed out wondering how to do everything is amazing. I’m one of those people who refills my cup by learning. It makes me happy and I think about it as a form of self-care. As wonderful as it is to be in a position where someone trusts your judgment and doesn’t question what you say it’s absolutely ok to say “ Hey I don’t know about that”, and take an extra step further and go find out about it, go learn and try to find a way to intergraded into your work. That’s why professional education and development are so important. If you are lost on trying to figure out where you can use a little bit of help or what will benefit you in learning reach out to your team they are one of the most reliable sources of feedback you are ever going to get especially if it’s coming from who your supervisor is because they are going to tell you exactly what they need to rely on you for. You have the most supportive role as an assistant and it’s really important that you are able to perform that job well and that’s not just whatever tasks you’re doing for your job but that also comes with the collaborative environment of working on a team and working with people. Identify what makes you thrive what makes you excited to learn and go find it.

My best Crisis Management Tip

I have a background in studying for my PSW in social work with an emphasis on trauma and I have had several crisis management trainings at this point. So my best tip for that would be to wait to implement any kind of action until you’ve managed to deescalate the situation. Now that’s not to say that this situation is any less urgent that you are not in a crisis or that is not a problem to resolve, not by any means. Everybody first response to a problem is to react and that can be fear, that can be anger, that can be just freezing because they are not really sure what to do or who to call or how do they address this. So your most valuable tip is going to be stopping at that moment, identifying how you are feeling coming back down to a calm state, and figuring out who your crisis management team is, if that’s you and your team that’s fantastic. Move through and delegate tasks to each person so everyone is not overwhelmed. Make sure you’re building enough time for self-care, especially during times of crisis because as much as you want to resolve this as quickly as possible and it can create extra workplace stress. It is perfectly ok to take 5-10 minutes to yourself even if you are at work, to calm down, make sure that you are cool and your thoughts are organized and you are able to think clearly because if you are just organized and you don’t know where to look and where to turn you are not going to be resolving any kind of crisis. Self-care is a very large part of maintaining your composure. So make sure you are taking care of yourself as well as your team and enjoy the power of connection.