Five ways to channel your creativity through a career in administration

You’d be forgiven for thinking the work of an administrator is rather repetitive, but there’s so much more to admin than filing, spreadsheets and emails. 

Often described as the heart of a business, administrators are usually caught juggling work priorities across all departments. They encompass skills that are essential to the running of any successful business and their ability to keep on top of it all is an art form in itself! If you thought there was no room in administration for your skills, keep reading to discover how you can channel your creativity through a career in administration. 

In a social experiment called the ‘Marshmallow Challenge’ (not be confused with the ‘Chubby Bunny’ challenge), teams were instructed to work together to solve a creative problem. Whilst CEOs largely took the lead, teams that also included an administrator, outperformed others by 40%. The facilitator of the exercise, Tom Wujec explained this was down to the skill of ‘facilitation’ that administrators possess. He found most senior workers focused on dominating the exercise, but the administrator kept the team focused on the task at hand.  Are you good at keeping others motivated?

It’s not uncommon for administrators to work in close proximity to senior leaders in a business. They hold a vast amount of responsibility, including combing through lots of important emails to identify anything urgent, whilst also screening calls to ensure exciting opportunities aren’t wasted. It’s often administrators who are first to respond, so it’s important they have the right communication skills to handle a situation delicately – often having to get creative to respond to a difficult situation!

Administrators are often first on hand when there’s a crisis in the office and are excellent at providing practical solutions and ideas others may not have considered. As they are not directly involved, they offer a fresh insight that may have needed a second opinion. This could be anything from reviewing documents, drafting emails, to taking part in brainstorms. 

Being so involved with leadership means administrators get first-hand experience in how business decisions are made. It also provides an opportunity to develop communication skills by seeing how others interact with senior leaders. Administrators are usually called to provide support in important meetings, so they’re often involved in all the action (taking minutes in boardroom meetings doesn’t have to be so dull!)

 …. you never know what you’re going to get’. Whether it’s being asked to research, organise or plan, administrators are able to build a bank of knowledge on a variety of topics that wouldn’t necessarily be listed on their job description. They have to get creative with the time and resources they have, which can be challenging! Are you ready to take on the challenge?

Whilst it can seem like you’re just juggling lots of Excel spreadsheets for your team, a career in administration is highly rewarding. It offers lots of variety and many of the tasks provide an opportunity to showcase your creativity. 

If you’d like to be apart of the successful running of a company, then our administration courses can get you started right away with industry work experience.  

Apply now to secure your place for September. See our administration courses.