Nature of the Work

As the reliance on technology continues to expand in offices, the role of the administrative professional has evolved greatly. Office automation and organizational restructuring have led administrative professionals to assume greater responsibilities that were once the responsibilities of managerial and professional staff. In spite of these changes, however, the core responsibilities for administrative professionals have remained much the same: performing and coordinating an office's administrative activities and storing, retrieving, and integrating information for dissemination to staff and clients.

Administrative professionals perform a variety of administrative and clerical duties necessary to run an organization efficiently. They serve as information and communication managers for an office; plan and schedule meetings and appointments; organize and maintain paper and electronic files; manage projects; conduct research; and disseminate information by using the telephone, mail services, web sites, and e-mail. They may also handle travel and guest arrangements.