If there’s one thing that every workplace has in common, it’s the demand for great administrators. Retail, the NHS, insurance, charities – each of these and more is always on the lookout for people who can make everything run smoothly. In the UK alone, nearly 5 million people work in admin jobs and the demand isn’t going to fall anytime soon.
Administration work is everywhere because it’s important. In effect, if you’re in admin, you’re keeping your organisation on track to do what it does, everyday. That’s a lot of responsibility!
Admin work has a bad rap as boring, pen-pushing and bureaucratic but nothing could be further from the truth. Because every organisation needs administrators at all levels, the work is varied, skilled and has a great career path. Want to know more? Here’s why you should consider working in admin:
You’ll find entry-level admin work great for dipping your toe into an industry to test it out. Think you want a career in the charity sector? Take a summer job in your nearest charity HQ – you’ll get an idea if it’s for you. In an entry-level admin role you’ll be taught some valuable transferable skills like software skills, teamwork, and time management.
If you’re already skilled – maybe you’ve a second language or you’re a whizz on Instagram – there is specialised, higher-paying admin work waiting for you, perhaps in marketing admin for a theatre or art gallery, or in events admin for a global conference company. Identify what you love doing because you’ll easily find an admin role you can do it in!
You’ll find that many admin roles cover a wide range of tasks – and this means that if you pay attention and work hard, you’ll skill up in no time. Admin is the perfect job to learn multi-tasking and, if you’re open to self-improvement, you’ll never get bored. And because every size of company needs admin support, you can choose to work for a big company for the opportunity to specialise or a smaller company for the variety and greater levels of responsibility. One minute you might be organising team training, the next you’ll be talking to customers or updating the company intranet. But wherever you work, there’s plenty of opportunity to exercise your initiative and get noticed.
Of course, if you like to mix and match, there’s plenty of temp admin work to hop between. You’ll gain a rich experience in different types of sectors (and lots of skills!).
Administration is a professional career. You can start as an administrative assistant and work your way up to company secretary. This is just one route. Admin is a common starting point to a range of different professional qualifications. For instance, many people like you start as admin assistants in specialist departments like HR or marketing, and then train to be qualified HR or marketing practitioners. What’s not to love?
If you’ve never considered an admin role, it’s time to think differently. There’s a perfect admin job waiting for you just round the corner!