The life of an entrepreneur is glamorous but may not be for you just yet – although there are lots of things to recommend it, you may not feel ready to run your own business right now. Maybe you feel that you have not built up the right skills yet or do not have much real-world business experience to fall back on. These are perfectly valid and very sensible reasons to hold back on setting up your own business for now. It will prevent you from losing money and also getting stressed out due to not knowing what it takes to run your own company. Consider a staffing agency if you think hiring someone to make your life easier would be beneficial. An assistant could really help in reducing the overall workload.
Rather than give up on the idea altogether though, why not take action to develop the business skills needed to become your own boss?
By far the best way to go about this is actually working in business administration for someone else. This will give you a great general overview of how a business runs and what the important areas are that make a difference. Office admin is the beating heart of all businesses, and learning these skills will be vital for running your own business later.
How to get a career in office admin
Of course, just walking into that office administration role is not so easy these days! If you are looking for some great tips on how to go about it, then the below should help.
Study on administrative assistant courses
One great route into an office administration role is to get the right education under your belt. Courses including administrative assistant diplomas and business degrees will give you the skills that employers are looking for. It will also provide the paper qualifications that many roles will demand as an entry point now. By arming yourself with the specialized business knowledge that these types of courses offer, you will find it much easier to not only get your foot in the office admin door but also run your own business at a later date.
Keep an eye on job sites
Another great tip on bagging an office admin role is to check out online job sites regularly. There will always be some low-level admin jobs around that do not require prior qualifications. If you do not want to study, then this could be the best way in for you. The great thing about these online sites is that they allow you to search for hundreds of business admin jobs in your area and apply online, all without leaving the house!
Leverage your network
Most of us will now have built up some kind of professional or personal network either in the real world or online. Popular sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook can be a great way to connect with employers or other people who can help you get into an office admin career. It is also worth looking for relevant groups in the real world to join and network within. Leveraging your contacts like this can help you find new opportunities or hear about openings in a company.
Consider work experience
Undertaking unpaid work experience is maybe not the most popular route these days, but it can be really effective. Not only does it give you something extra to put on your resume for future job applications, but it also provides direct experience of working in admin-type roles. They can also be very good for working across a number of departments to gain specialized skills from HR to finance. If you really impress, then you may even find that the company that you complete unpaid work experience at offers you a job in office admin!
Keep your skillset up to date
Business is a fast-changing world, and this extends down into office admin roles. There will always be new systems and programs coming out that employers are looking for you to have knowledge of. Recent developments such as being able to use Google Docs, QuickBooks or Slack show that. To get an office admin role, you must be continually updating your skillset. For example, some office admin job descriptions might entail employee work allocation. And as an office admin, you are supposed to give out an equitable workload for the employees who fall under your responsibility. Being aware of viGlobal Work Allocation software and other similar tools can help you carry out such projects efficiently. So learn and update your skills, to have an edge over other people who are looking to get into this sector.
Admin for business is vital
Although leadership and a host of other features are important for business, office administration is perhaps the key factor. A well-organized and efficiently run office will help all the other business functions to work and allow the senior management to access the data needed to plan strategically. If you are not quite ready to steer the ship yet, then a career in office admin is a great place to begin your journey.