Office Manager
(Female, Age 22) from Tucson, AZ
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 22 who works as a Office Manager in Tucson, AZ. 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 | Office Manager |
---|---|
Salary | $40,000 |
Other Compensation | None Set |
Hours/Week | 40 |
Company Size | (not answered) |
Location | Tucson, AZ |
Years Experience | 7 Years |
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.
We appraise commercial and residential real estate in the greater Arizona area.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I answer the phones, handle computer problems and repairs, produce reports, create report exhibits, handle the company website, create company graphics, maintain office supplies, do payroll for 5 employees in quickbooks, prepare quarterly tax reports.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
Up to $100 covered monthly for health insurance, gas reimbursement, 2 weeks paid vacation per year
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
I feel I am well compensated.
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 like working with others most of the time. I am the only person in an office of 12 who is fully computer literate, so I need to have a lot of patience with coworkers as I have to explain how to do several tasks on the computer.
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.
I work in an office located within an office park. It’s very professional and I love the 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: 6
Hours: 2
Co-Workers: 4
Supervisors: 5
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 3
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 | I am not at work yet. |
8am to 9am | I arrive to work at 8:30am. There was an air conditioning crisis that I had to deal with immediately upon arriving, as our AC was blowing hot air. After that was settled I proceeded to check my office voice messages. |
9am to 10am | I needed to catch up on all the backed up work from yesterday. I started gathering data on new commercial property appraisals that had been ordered. I printed out detailed zoning, aerial and plat maps of these properties. I filled out all the relative information on our “pink sheets” which is a data sheet of the subject property. |
10am to 11am | I continued working on pink sheets until 10:30am. I decided it was time to switch over to preparing color exhibits for a report that will be going out on Friday. I outlined the subject property on an aerial and zoning map in Photoshop. |
11am to 12pm | I switch back to working on gathering data for pink sheets. A call came in from an upset client that we had completed an appraisal for several months ago. He needed specific paperwork for his immigration file. I instructed him to leave a message with the president of the company. |
12pm to 1pm | I didn’t have time to take a lunch hour today so I proceeded to work through my normal lunch hour of 12 – 1pm. New software came in via UPS that needed to be loaded on everybodys computers in order for them to look up real estate comparable properties. Of course a few of them had trouble, so I had to walk them through the “click next” instructions and eventually got them all setup. |
1pm to 2pm | Production time. One of the appraisers had a report ready to go. I printed out all necessary copies of color exhibit pages. We typically produce 3 reports and keep 1 for the file, so 4 original color copies of everything need to be printed. I copy all the black and white pages of the report, stick in the color pages where need be, and bind the 3 reports with out exremelly high tech binding machine. Not really. You can only punch about 15 pages at a time, and with reports 100+ pages at 3 copies each, you do the math at how long THAT process takes. |
2pm to 3pm | The company owner decided he wanted to learn how to find zoning maps. I give him the web address and give him detailed instructions but he still wants me to be in his office and watch over him while he attemps this task. After 45 minutes, he has successfully printed out 1 zoning map and I answer a few more calls until 3pm. |
3pm to 4pm | I leave to go to the post office to drop off outgoing mail and pickup the incoming. That takes about 30 minutes since traffic was extra busy this afternoon. I then take another 30 minutes to pass out the mail and file bills. |
4pm to 5pm | I took about an hour to type up an improved sales tab for an appraisal report that will be going out next week. A sales tab is where we list the improved sales in our report in a grid, usually in Excel, and list their location, tax ID number, owner, taxes, zoning, acreage, square footage, sales price and date, docket and page number and any additional comments the appraiser may have about the sale. |
5pm to 6pm | I wrap things up for the day by returning the sales tab and pink sheets to the appropriate appraisers, take a stock of supplies so I can make an order in the morning, and lock up personnel/financial files. Finally at 5:30pm I make my way home. |
6pm to 7pm | I have left for the day. |
7pm to 8pm | Not at work. |
8pm to 9pm | Not at work. |
9pm to 10pm | Not at work. |
10pm to 11pm | Not at work. |
11pm to 12am | Not at work. |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
I found my current job on www.tucsonhelpwanted.com
What was the application process?
I saw their fax number on their job listing and faxed them my resume.
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes I did, as soon as I faxed my resume they called me and setup an interview for the next day. I initially met with the main office manager and answered a few basic questions such as salary requirement and hours. We then went into the conference room with the owner of the company and he discussed the company history with me and asked me about my previous employment.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
They asked me what my typical office duties entailed at my previous jobs, if I would be available immediately or not, and if I had reliable transportation.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes they fully explained what my duties would be and I had a detailed manual to help me perform them.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
The person that had my position before me left a huge office manual with detailed instructions on how to work our residential appraisal software, how to answer the telephones, transfer calls, perform the basic office duties, etc. If I had a question I would ask the main office manager for assistance within the first month.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes in a way, I believe I have better communication and organization skills having finished high school and breifly went to college over somebody who did not finish high school.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
N/A
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
I would recommend that they create a detailed and stylish resume that has text big enough to read when faxed. Then have them go online to a job listing website and look for clerical and administrative jobs in their area and fax or drop off their resume to the desired companies.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
I think the average person looking for a position like mine needs to have vast computer skills, typing skills, communication skills and organizational skills. Also it is good that they know how to handle stress.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Not necessarily, however computer knowledge needs to be there whether it was training or self-taught.
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
I would tell them to take everything day by day and not to become too overwhelmed at the beginning of the job. It will take months before they get used to the routine and get everything in the right working order.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes it is. I believe I make a pretty decent living for my age and education level. If I were to choose to go back to school my boss would be more then happy to pay for my higher education. I also believe being at this company will also prepare me for a more hectic and involved environment if I were to leave.
What are your current career goals?
I want to start my own web design business, become a mommy, get a dog and a cat (and make them be best friends forever) and buy a house of my own. Not necessarily in that order.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
I think I have pretty much shared everything! Oh.. and I love by job!
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
Prior Job 1 | Roadside Operater | 4 months | 18000 | I would process incoming phone calls made from people who needed roadside assistance. I would schedule them to have emergency towing of their vehicle, tire changes, locksmith work, etc. |
Prior Job 2 | Communication Service for the Deaf | 8 months | 16500 | I would process incoming phone calls for the hearing impaired. Deaf people would call in on their TTY machine and give me a number to dial, I would call the number and voice everything that was typed by the deaf person, essentially having the conversation for them. I would type back to the deaf person everything that the person on the other line was saying verbatim. This worked vice versa when hearing people would call in wanting to make a call to a deaf person on their TTY machine. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.5
GPA | School | Degree | |
College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.7 | Pima College | Liberal Arts |
Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
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