Administrative Assistant 

(Female, Age 29) from Carmichael, CA

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 29 who works as a Administrative Assistant in Carmichael, CA. 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 Administrative Assistant
Salary $40,000
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week 40
Company Size (not answered)
Location Carmichael, CA
Years Experience 7 years

Career Ratings

Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)

Years in Career 0
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.
The company has a grand total of approximately 50 employees. We do work ranging from construction to replacing underground fuel tanks to sampling soil and groundwater for hazardous chemicals.

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Budget tracking for projects, word processing, filing, technical support (as needed), payroll, accounting, and all other general administrative tasks.

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
Health, dental, and vision coverage; life insurance.

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
I feel I am fairly well compensated at this time.

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
My job requires that I work with approximately 2-6 coworkers on a daily basis, depending on which people are out on job sites. I also deal with anyone who calls into the office needing assistance. I like the small, family-like feel of this office, but would sometime prefer to have a few more people to regularly communicate with during my day.

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.

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 2
Benefits: 7
Hours: 5
Co-Workers: 3
Supervisors: 4
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 6
The Actual Work: 1

Table of Contents

How you got your job

How did you get your current job?
I had done some drafting work on the side for my current company while I was still working with my previous company, since they did business together.

What was the application process?
The vice president of my current company offered me a full time job, took me to breakfast for an interview, and I accepted. They didn’t interview anyone else.

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
I interviewed with the vice president, who met me through my previous job. He was impressed with my work and asked me to join his company on a full-time basis. We went to breakfast for my “interview”, he asked what pay rate I was looking for, and asked if I was interested in taking the position. That’s pretty much all there was to it.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
He asked what pay rate I was looking for, what I felt my best skills are, if I would be able to work 8-5 Monday-Friday, if I was willing to work overtime and/or weekends when needed, and when I could start working.

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Talk to various companies, either in the environmental engineering field or otherwise, and let them know that you’d like to help get them running in a more organized and efficient manner. A lot of companies don’t have time to worry about all the small details that are still important, and are happy to have someone take care of those items for them.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Good communication skills are definitely the most important, especially in a field like this one where people from different cultures are involved. The next most important would definitely be computer skills (especially involving Microsoft Office programs), and then organizational skills.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes, you definitely need computer training for this job. A lot of other duties can be learned as you go, though.

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Understand that everyone you work with is going to think they are the top priority. You’ll have to learn quickly how to prioritize tasks so that everyone is as happy as possible. It’s also good to always be thinking of faster, more efficient ways to accomplish tasks, to free you up for other things.

Ask a Question of this Mentor

This mentor has opted to receive questions from people interested in this career or job position. Please be respectful of their time and willingness to help. Include some basic relevant background so they can intelligently answer your question.