Author Archive
Teleclass: “Creating a Career Calling Card – Your Professional Portfolio”
Posted by: | CommentsYou’re invited to our next All Things Admin “Success Series” Teleclass
“Creating a Career Calling Card – Your Professional Portfolio”
Monday, February 22, 2010 – 5 PM Pacific / 6 PM Mountain / 7 PM Central / 8 PM Eastern.
As an administrative professional, how do you demonstrate you can do what you say you know how to do? One way is with a Professional Portfolio of your work and experience. Whether you are actively searching for a new position, demonstrating your value to the team, or simply documenting your career accomplishments, a professional portfolio will set you apart. This isn’t just a tool for job seekers! Every success-minded administrative professional should have one. This teleclass will cover:
- What a Professional portfolio is
- Why administrative professionals need a portfolio
- How to develop your portfolio in hard copy and electronic formats
- How to use a portfolio successfully once you’ve developed it
This call is FREE for all “Success Series” subscribers. All you need to participate is a phone.
Not a member? Join now for only $9.97 a month.
Kinesis Freestyle Solo Keyboard and Freestyle Ascent Stand
Posted by: | CommentsWhen your arm is in a cast, it’s almost impossible to type with both hands due to the extremely uncomfortable angle of a traditional keyboard. I normally use an ergonomic keyboard with a split down the center of the keys. However, even that wasn’t enough of an angle to get my fingers back in touch with the keys so I could type “semi-comfortably” with my cast. So here’s what I discovered to assist me: the Kinesis Freestyle Solo Keyboard and Freestyle Ascent adjustable stand.
This gives ergonomics a whole new look and feel. I can now type in an almost vertical position with my left hand (the casted one) and more horizontal with my right hand. I’m not back to 100% of my typing speed, but it sure beats “hunt and peck” 1-handed! That’s exhausting. So that’s why the Freestyle Solo Keyboard is my personal favorite pick of the week. You may want to give it a try even if you don’t share my cast dilemma.
If you have a personal admin favorite you’d like to share, let us know by posting a comment to this post.
Meeting Scheduling with WhenIsGood.net
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’ve ever tried to schedule a meeting with multiple participants from different companies, then you know what a challenge that can be. Save yourself a lot of e-mail exchanges and hassles with this super website: http://www.whenisgood.net
There is a basic version which is free of charge. It also works great for association committee meeting scheduling. So give it a try and wave bye-bye to charting out the endless email replies when you schedule your next meeting.
If you have an administrative resource you’d like to share, let us know by posting a comment to this post.
What’s your Perceived Professional Quotient?
Posted by: | CommentsWhat sets you apart as an administrative professional?
Is it the way you conduct yourself in social settings? In business settings? Is it the type of speech you use or the positive attitude you display? Is it the way you treat your co-workers and the executives you support?
I think we’ve all worked with someone during our careers who simply stands out. They are the consummate professional in almost every setting with almost all personality types. They always know the right thing to say and the right way to say it. It is impossible to imagine someone not wanting to work with them because they display so many impressive and polished traits. And then we’ve all worked with the opposites.
What three things influence whether or not a person is perceived as professional? According to Erin O’Hara Meyer, PHR, founder of Administrative Excellence, Inc., and author of Administrative Excellence, those three things are IMAGE, CONDUCT, and EXPERTISE.
We have 1/20th of one second to make a first impression. With that first impression, the other individual makes an instant assessment about our knowledge, skills, and abilities. Image encompasses not only how we dress, but how we speak and present our work product each day. Do I capitalize words and punctuate my e-mail messages – even when I’m in a hurry? How do I answer the phone when it may be someone contacting my company for the first time – or the 20th time? Is my desk or office kept in a manner that indicates I’m a professional?
It’s easy to see how conduct is intertwined with overall image, too. Do I maintain the confidentiality that is required for the information I handle each day? Do I gossip or talk negatively about my co-workers, my boss or external partners with which my company does business? All of these things contribute to our Perceived Professional Quotient whether we intend them to or not.
No matter how polished our professional image, though, eventually our actual work product must live up to the image we are projecting. This is where our expertise is critical. What am I doing on a daily basis to further my education? Belonging to a professional association such as the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) is a great place to start, but it’s only the beginning. Taking time each day to build our professional expertise requires planning and effort. But it must be done to continue our professional development. Am I reading books on soft skills or technical areas where I want to improve? Do I utilize some of the terrific online resources for professional development like www.StarDynamics.com and www.productivitypro.com or even the www.iaap-hq.org websites? Have I asked my employer what training classes are available to me?
Let’s continue to enhance our professional image and conduct, and work each day to increase our professional expertise. Then our Perceived Professional Quotient will go beyond mere form into the substance of true administrative excellence. And excellence always sets an administrative professional apart!
To your administrative success!
Julie Perrine CPS/CAP, MBTI Certified
TECH TIPS: Creating Quick E-mail Distribution Lists from Word or Excel
Posted by: | CommentsIf you have a Word Table or an Excel Spreadsheet with a column of e-mail addresses, this is how to convert it quickly into an e-mail distribution list that you can use without manually typing e-mails into Outlook.
For OUTLOOK users starting from Excel or Word:
- Copy the entire column of e-mail addresses desired.
- Paste the column into the TO / CC / BCC of a blank Outlook E-mail message.
- Click out of the field you pasted the information in, and click into another field. The list of e-mail addresses will automatically convert into the e-mail format that Outlook requires to send the message.
Note: Depending on how often the list is updated, you may want to save this list in Word for future use. Or you may want to copy and paste it into the notes portion of an Outlook Contact named with the distribution list title for easy use and retrieval again later.
Here is another way to create an e-mail distro list if the steps listed above don’t work for your e-mail editor program.
From Excel:
- Copy the entire column of e-mail addresses desired.
- Paste the column into a BLANK Word document.
Continuing From Word:
In Word 2003:
- Make sure each cell has only one e-mail per cell in the column of information. If it has two per cell, add a row and give each e-mail address it’s own cell in the column. Remove any commas or other punctuation that was separating the two e-mail addresses in the cell.
- Select or highlight the column of e-mail addresses.
- Click on Table
- Click on Convert
- Click on Table to Text
- Click on Separate Text With Paragraph Marks and Click OK
- Click on Edit Menu
- Click on Replace
- In the Find What field enter “^p” or click on the special button and select the Paragraph Mark from the list.
- In the Replace With Field enter whatever symbol your e-mail program uses to separate multiple e-mails in a series (i.e. the semi-colon or the comma).
- Click on Replace All
- You should have a list of e-mail addresses separated by the desired punctuation ready to copy and paste into the To, CC, or BCC lines of your e-mail program.
- If you want to save this list in Word for future use, you may. Or you may want to copy and paste it into the notes portion of an Outlook Contact named with the distribution list title for easy use and retrieval again later.
In Word 2007
- Make sure each cell has only one e-mail per cell in the column of information. If it has two per cell, add a row and give each e-mail address it’s only cell in the column.
- Select or highlight the column of e-mail addresses.
- Click on Table Tools Layout Tab
- Click on Convert to Text Icon
- Click on Separate Text With Paragraph Marks and Click OK
- Click on Home Menu
- Click on Replace
- In the Find What field enter “^p” or click on the special button and select the Paragraph Mark from the list.
- In the Replace With Field enter whatever symbol your e-mail program uses to separate multiple e-mails in a series (i.e. the semi-colon or the comma).
- Click on Replace All
- You should have a list of e-mail addresses separated by the desired punctuation ready to copy and paste into the To, CC, or BCC lines of your e-mail program.
This tech tip will save you hours of work when you don’t have to enter each e-mail manually, especially if you are working with large group distribution lists.
For questions about this tech tip, to share a tech tip, or to request a tech tip you’d like to learn more about, please send an e-mail to Julie Perrine CPS/CAP at Julie@julieperrine.com.
TECH TIPS: Naming Conventions for Electronic Filing
Posted by: | CommentsHave you ever searched your electronic files over and over again looking for a document?
Do you use a standard file naming system to keep your electronic files organized?
Many use electronic folders to begin tackling electronic file organization, but that doesn’t always solve the issues depending upon how many files you have stored on your system. Here are some ideas to create organization and structure for your electronic files beyond using folders to help you name, file, and retrieve your documents more efficiently.
Consider beginning each file name with a 3 or 4 letter abbreviation to help categorize the file and help you find it more quickly later. Think about the primary types or categories of documents that you create and begin writing them down. Then create a 3 or 4 letter abbreviation to represent that file type. Here are some examples:
- FORM – Forms
- LTR – Letters
- MEMO – Memos
- LBL – Labels
- MAP – Maps
- ENV – Envelopes
- RPT – Reports
- SIGN – Signs
Keep this list and the abbreviations posted next to your computer so you can refer to it quickly when creating files or searching for files until you get used to using this system.
The nice element of this is all of your file types show up together on the menu list and then in alphabetical order by the name of the file.
This is also handy if you do travel itineraries for multiple executives. Here’s an example of a file naming convention for travel itineraries:
- XXXXXX – Location – Name or Initials of Traveler (i.e. 073007 – Tampa FL – JLP)
- XXXXXX – Location, Event, Name of Traveler (i.e. 073007 – Tampa FL IAAP Conv JLP)
When using dates in your file names, consider using full six-digit dates so they always align accurately. You may also consider starting with a 2-digit or 4-digtit year, so you can find things by the year, then the month and day. Using the same sample data from above, that would look like this:
- 2007 0730 Tampa FL JLP
It’s easy to rename files that you already have created by going in to Microsoft Explorer and adding the prefix or format to your file names. Click on the file name once to select it. Click on the file name again (don’t double click) to open the editing box. The file name will appear in a box with your cursor highlighted at the beginning. You can rename the file, then click outside the file name box and it’s renamed.
For questions about this tech tip, to share a tech tip, or to request a tech tip you’d like to learn more about, please send an e-mail to Julie Perrine CPS/CAP at Julie@julieperrine.com
Putting My Own Oxygen Mask On First
Posted by: | CommentsOne of my professional goals for 2009 is to “put my own oxygen mask on first.” As practical and easy as that may sound, client projects and tasks are usually more pressing (or exciting)…and they pay better than my own do. Or do they?
As an entrepreneur, if I’m losing leads or opportunities because I’m not regularly updating my blog or developing and promoting new products and services for my own business, I’m robbing myself. I’m cutting off the very oxygen I require to stay alive and fresh as a business owner.
As an administrative professional, if I’m not reading good materials, keeping up on the latest technology and office trends, and pursuing my own professional development plan, I’m also cutting off the oxygen supply required to keep me sharp and vital to the team I’m supporting.
When you fly, they always tell you to put on your own oxygen mask first because you can’t help others around you if you start to pass out from a lack of oxygen. And this happens much more quickly than you realize it will! The same applies to our personal and professional lives. Don’t let a lack of oxygen cut off your future growth and development. What are YOU going to do TODAY to put YOUR own oxygen mask on first?
To your administrative success,
Julie Perrine CPS/CAP
Certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Administrator
http://www.julieperrine.com/
Make Professional Development YOUR Responsibility
Posted by: | CommentsIn tighter economic times, training and development is typically one of the first areas where many companies tighten their belts. I’ve recently heard many administrative professionals lamenting this and offering it up as a reason for not being able to pursue additional training or professional development opportunities they wanted to this year. But whose responsibility is your professional development?
STOP WASTING TIME. START GROWING.
If you wait for someone else to take an interest in your professional growth, you’re wasting valuable time and opportunities. While some of the higher cost training programs may not as doable if you are financing them on your own budget, there are still lots of economical and no
cost training options around if you know where to look. Here are just a few ideas to get you thinking:
- Local chapters of professional organizations typically hold monthly programs on topics that relate to your profession (my personal favorite is the International Association of Administrative Professionals)
- Local conferences and workshops
- Community College Continuing Education Programs
- Online webinars and teleclasses (my personal favorites are Laura Stack The Productivity Pro and Joan Burge with Office Dynamics)
- Networking groups (even if you only visit as a guest to hear a particular speaker – get out there and get networking at the same time)
- Chamber of Commerce
- Local business building organizations or small business incubators
- Local libraries
All you need to do is watch the calendar of events section of any local newspaper or advertiser and you’ll start seeing opportunities you never knew were out there…many for just the cost of dinner and your time!
Don’t underestimate the power of READING A BOOK. The libraries and bookstore shelves are filled awesome books on numerous administrative topics. You’ll see several recommendations on my reading list on the right hand side of this blog.
TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR CAREER
I believe providing consistent and quality training for employees and continuing to provide opportunities for them to improve their skills and abilities is actually one of the vital pieces to thriving in times like this. But it’s not your employer’s responsibility. It’s YOURS! So stop dwelling on what your employer can’t do for you and start finding new innovative ways to determine what YOU can do for YOU!
When your next review rolls around and you can still show your employer all of the positive and proactive steps you took to advance your career in spite of the challenges that existed, you’ll stand out as a true administrative professional. You will have gained new skills, honed existing ones, and achieved more than you thought possible. Ultimately, YOU will be the one in control of your career.
Get started now!
To your administrative success,
Julie Perrine CPS/CAP
Certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Administrator
http://www.julieperrine.com/
