What is the most important skill a Secretary need to possess in order to perform beyond expectation?

Answer 1

The patience of a Saint and a sense of humour!

Answer 2

One of the most important things i have found is learning how your bosses mind works, and knowing his personality, this is the first step of being a good secretary to someone. you need good word processing skills, a polite and professional manner, you need to be able to multi task have good organizational skills and also be able to prioritize your work. there is a lot that goes into being a good secretary, and as i started out my career as a junior secretary and have worked my way up to being the personal assistant(another term for personal secretary) to the managing director of a company, i know that when you work to the best of your ability and show that you are flexible and willing to work and learn new things you will progress well in your career.

Answer 3

Patience, good organisation , good diary practise, pleasant , dress well, cheerful voice , a feeling of knowing you are on top of it all , confidence , the ability to absorb the crux of what may be asked of you, good typing skills, filing skills , knowing where everything is that maybe wanted, probably gleaning knowledge from other sources be they possible problems for your boss, before he is hit with them from another direction, being the right hand person and show your loyalty to him, do not do a John Prescott secretary, stint , they then think you are a tart and will find away to get you out without, to much fuss, to conclude, just make yourself indispensable.

Answer 4

Most important skill would be "organized".

They don't waste time looking for items. Tasks are completed in a timely fashion. This helps with multitasking. Organized people usually keep detailed accounts of history, etc.

Since you only asked for one item I would say it's definetely being organized. English (written and oral) is another important skill of any organization. That could really bring you up in the work force also.

Answer 5

it really depends on what job its for and what tasks they give you. Multi task, do it the way they want it done, not how u want it done, honesty, loyalty to the company, do not gossip,(a lot), dont take many personal phone calls for yourself, if your on the internet, make sure its for business purposes only, don't argue with customers, professional phone ettiquet, great typing skills, double checking your work, make sure you balance in your quickbooks, etc, you name it, you probably have to do it, you're more and likely going to have all the stuff filter down to you. You are at the end of the $hit tunnel and you catch all of it. So GOOD LUCK. I know, because i am an assistant/account as well. It sux!

Answer 6

An excellent command of English and the ability to write in a clear, concise manner.
One of the finest secretaries I knew had a boss who didn't have a HS diploma, He worked his way up.
When she produced a memo under his name it was perfect, all who read it could understand it and there were rarely any questions about it.
,When was dictated it came out like this."Tell them F#$%^& idiots, that they gotta stop doing it this way and they gotta start doing it that way because if they don't I'm gonna be pissed off and kick someone's ***."
She was constantly laughing about what she had to do,but every person there thought the world of her. )((She had a 2 yr degree in secretarial sciences)

Answer 7

To be a competent secretary, you will need to learn how your boss works, what his/her role and objectives are within the company, what correspondence, telephone and personal enquiries he/she would like you to refer to him/her, or whether he/she prefers to take his/her calls at certain times of the day. Knowing these sorts of things will make your job easier too. The idea is to save your Manager time with the daily routine matters and be as helpful as you possibly can! also being helpful trustworthy, reliable,honest, confidential, organizational skills,immaculate appearance,good communication skills,good telephone etiquette,ability to take instructions and carry them out, ability to type speedily and accurately !

Answer 8

A desire to move up the ladder. The worst secretaries I have ever known were the one who were content in their position. No offense to anyone. It's just a very hard job that pays very little. It's not the smartest situation to be in for very long.

Answer 9

There could be serveral - these come to mind:

Be intuitive to what your boss' needs. If he does needs a report every Monday - get in done on Friday so it's on his desk when he arrives on Monday.
Know the software you use inside & out
Get things done before they are due or as quickly as possible
Never be late for work
Being an excellent multi-tasker

Answer 10

organisation and ability to prioritise work. Working on your own initiative is also important. Above all, being un-flappable in the face of a crisis! Ive been a PA for 10years and these are my top skills :D xx

Answer 11

Two word ......Attention to Detail. Okay 3 words. You make sure every detail is seen to and no detail is too small you will excel. If you take phone messages make sure you have name, date, time, telephone number, what they want, their file, the info the boss needs to answer the question. Make sure the copier is never out of toner or paper. You never run out of you boss's favorite pens or notepads. Any thing.