The Future Of The Office Admin Role

With technology rapidly advancing and flexible work-from-home policies becoming the norm, roles such as the office admin are evolving to become more in line with the future of work. While common responsibilities such as managing an executive’s travel arrangements, calendar, and expenses are still necessities, tasks such as these are being made easier for executives to manage themselves through apps and other tools. To adapt, the admin role is shifting to become more of a hybrid job for companies—moving in the direction of operations-based tasks and even taking on new titles.

If you’re an admin looking for your next move, you may be wondering what this means for the trajectory of your career. In this time of change, here’s how to make yourself more marketable:

Play up your versatile skills

With admin roles moving into new territory, it’s important to audit your resume and online profile(s) to make sure you’re putting an emphasis on what will help you stand out.

Be sure to highlight any versatile technological, analytical, or design skills which would make you an operational asset across an organization.

Some examples include:

Data management software, such as Microsoft Excel
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, such as Salesforce
Email marketing solutions, such as HubSpot
Design programs, such as Adobe Creative Suite

If you don’t have these types of skills under your belt—consider taking online courses to become more familiar. You may even be able to earn certificates of completion, which you can share on your LinkedIn profile or list on your resume.

Be flexible

In times of change, it’s important to approach any situation with an open mindset. You might be accustomed to doing specific tasks, but those tasks may currently be in low demand—especially as travel and in-person events are limited right now.

As things shift, be open to taking on responsibilities such as inbox management, managing vendor relationships, or even personal assistant-related tasks. While these may be outside of your wheelhouse, your willingness to adapt will provide you a competitive advantage.

Search outside the box

The role of the office admin isn’t the only things that’s changing to be more in line with the future of work. If you’re having a hard time finding jobs to apply to, it might be because you’re not looking for the right roles. As companies seem to be moving away from the “admin” terminology, consider searching for roles with “assistant” in the title. Some titles you may want to be on the lookout for include:

Operations Assistant
Sales or Marketing Assistant
Research Assistant
Program Assistant (for nonprofit organizations)

While these jobs titles are tied to helping specific departments, instead of an individual person, they still require support at an administrative capacity. They also offer an opportunity for you to learn about different parts of the business, and potentially move into those types of roles in the future.

Consider going back to school

If you’re having trouble finding a good fit, or don’t feel like your skills are up-to-par with the demands of today’s admin role—you may want to consider taking the leap to continue your education. This decision of course is not for everyone, so consider all the possibilities before determining if it’s the right move for you.