How do I Become an Administrative Officer?

There are four skill sets usually required to become an administrative officer: communication, computer software, organizational, and interpersonal. An administrative officer has a range of responsibilities, typically focused on the operations of the business or organization. This type of position is found in large organizations, with multiple layers of administrative and management. People who report the greatest satisfaction working as an administrative officer typically enjoy working with people and managing multiple tasks.

Most people complete a degree or diploma in business administration or management in order to become an administrative officer. These programs are available at both the community college and university level. Community college programs usually are one to two years in length, and a university degree is three to four years in length. The primary benefit to a college program is the focus on developing practical skills, while a university training program usually is more theoretical in nature.

Communication skills are essential for anyone who wants to get a job as an administrative officer. Candidates usually must be able to write for a range of different audiences, providing clear instructions and guidelines for others. Oral communication skills are a large part of any business relationship, and the administrative officer is an essential part of the communication strategy.

Office productivity software programs typically are required for almost every task that an administrative officer performs. He or she must have expert-level skills in the tools used by the organization. It can be very important to keep these skills up-to-date by taking upgrade courses when a new version of the software is released. Typing and other technological skills can be obtained through a self-training program, but most people learn these skills in a college training program.

Once you become an administrative officer, organizational skills become very important. In most organizations, the administrative officer is involved in some aspect of every major project or initiative. Working with conflicting priorities and completing tasks for a range of different projects is essential. In most firms, the administrative officer is central to providing organizational services to senior management as well.

Interpersonal skills necessary to become an administrative officer include conflict management, assertiveness, and personal discipline. The ability to work with people in a range of different positions usually is very important. In addition, this position often has a confidentiality requirement due to the nature of the materials that the administrative officer must review. Personal discretion and tact is very important for anyone in this position.