Sr. Administrative Assistant
(Female, Age 42) from Appleton, WI
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 42 who works as a Sr. Administrative Assistant in Appleton, WI. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
Job Title | Sr. Administrative Assistant |
---|---|
Salary | $42,000 |
Other Compensation | None Set |
Hours/Week | 40 |
Company Size | (not answered) |
Location | Appleton, WI |
Years Experience | 1 month |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
Years in Career | 0 |
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Education | (not answered) |
Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
Manufacturing facility. There are currently 8000 people employed by my company world-wide.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I’m the Sr. Admin to the VP of Human Resources. I take care of employee Leave of Absences, monitor several online systems pertaining to HR, create correspondence, schedule meetings and take minutes, arrange travel, etc.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
Health, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Vacation, Sick, Personal Days, Short-term and Long-term Disability
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
Under
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes. I interact with several others in my department including the recruiters, compensation and benefits, other site HR generalists, etc.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
It is the corporate office…very nice building and very modern. Its a relaxed atmosphere.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 2
Hours: 3
Co-Workers: 4
Supervisors: 6
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 5
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
5am to 6am | |
6am to 7am | |
7am to 8am | Driving to work…begin my day at 7:30 a.m. Turn on my computer, check for new emails, get calendars printed, and get situated for the day. |
8am to 9am | Respond to emails…type up things others in the department need…schedule meetings…answer phone call questions pertaining to HR, etc. Do phone screens, schedule interviews, do reference checks, set-up interview rooms. |
9am to 10am | Respond to HR requests via email, phone, interoffice mail. Help the recruiters as necessary and do phone screens, schedule interviews, do reference checks, set-up interview rooms. Prepare any meeting materials, if needed. |
10am to 11am | Continue to type up things others in the department need…schedule meetings…answer phone call questions pertaining to HR, etc. Help the recruiters as necessary and do phone screens, schedule interviews, do reference checks, set-up interview rooms. Prepare any meeting materials, if needed. |
11am to 12pm | Get the mail…sort the mail for our floor…and deliver it. Then come back to my desk and open the mail pertinent to me and my boss. Take care of anything that I can handle at that point, or give it to my boss. |
12pm to 1pm | Lunch for 1/2 hour. |
1pm to 2pm | Check to see what my boss (the VP) needs for his afternoon meetings and pull those materials together. Then, continue to type up things others in the department need…schedule meetings…answer phone call questions pertaining to HR, etc. Help the recruiters as needed, and prepare any meeting materials or project work that others in the department need. |
2pm to 3pm | Check with others in the department if there is time to see what they need help completing. Generally, that will be checking references, preparing interview packets, processing paperwork pertaining to individual employees, and typing up miscellaneous documentation. |
3pm to 4pm | Finish responding to emails or other requests and tieing up any loose ends from the day and shut down my computer and head home. |
4pm to 5pm | Drive home from work. |
5pm to 6pm | |
6pm to 7pm | |
7pm to 8pm | |
8pm to 9pm | |
9pm to 10pm | |
10pm to 11pm | |
11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
A friend told me about the opening; my old position had just been eliminated through a corporate restructure.
What was the application process?
I submitted a resume via email and it went from there.
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes. I submitted my resume, was called for a phone interview that afternoon and was brought in for a formal interview that next week. I interviewed with 3 different people, one on one. After the interview, they told me that it’d be a day before they’d all be getting back together. But, in reality, I was offered the position the next day.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
What types of things did I currently do to bring value to the organization? Why did I decide to go to school for office administration? What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses? Describe a time when you had two people needing something at the same time…how did you handle it? Name a process or procedure that you implemented in your current position and how it benefited the organization.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes…its been going very well. They took the time to explain policies and procedures. There was a great orientation process and the people on my team have been very helpful, as well. I ask a lot of questions when I need to, and I’m always provided feedback.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
I don’t have any HR training, but if I did, it would surely help. I’m learning, but there is a LOT to learn!!
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. Having a degree opened that door for me. The company is big into education, so having that degree behind me got me noticed.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
I had an internship several years ago so yes, it helped. It gives you a feel for the office environment and the sort of thing that will be expected of you. Its probably a person’s first look at a real working environment.
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Take a lot of HR classes, as well as administrative assistant type classes. I have a B.S. degree and that pretty much opened the door for me. I’d recommend that, too.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
You need social skills and organizational skills. You need to be highly organized in this position and be able to communicate (with an open mind) with all employees.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes. I needed an B.S. Degree…and have that.
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Go for it. Its interesting. I’ve only been in HR for a few weeks and really like it so far. I came from Operations and its a lot different, but I feel that HR has a lot more to offer people.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Not really. I’m not sure where I want to end up, but don’t really plan to retire from here. I’d like some better benefits somewhere else. This job was available when I was being eliminated through a corporate restructure at my old job, so I took it. I’m still keeping my eyes open though!
What are your current career goals?
I’m not sure…HR is opening my eyes to a brand new range of career choices. I really don’t know where I want to end up. I’m considering Recruiting or possibly an HR Generalist role for now.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Nothing at this point. Its hard because I’ve only been in my current role for 4-5 weeks. I’ve LOVED my last two jobs and only left because of downsizing through corporate restructures.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
Prior Job 1 | Administrative Assistant | 6 Years | 39.9 | Responsible for providing administrative assistance to the VP of Operations and his staff; managed company-wide travel program; managed corporate mailroom; ordered all office supplies, as well as all corporate identification (letterhead, memo paper, business cards, etc.); was the corporate facilities manager; and helped out all other departments when needed. |
Prior Job 2 | Administrative Assistant | 12 Years | 32000 | Responsible for providing administrative assistance to the Vice President of Support Services; handled all hospital-wide contracts; managed hospital-wide housing rentals; coordinated hospital-wide management staff meetings and took minutes; and helped out other departments when needed. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.5
GPA | School | Degree | |
College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.5 | Winona State University | B.S. Office Systems Administration |
Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
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