PA and Secretary Community - Deskdemon.com

I was thinking back to the first administrative support role I had many years ago (more then I will admit!)  Then I started thinking how things have changed.   I started out with a green and white WANG computer, electric type writers, phone system had 5 buttons and all I did was type from written pages and I don't remember setting any meetings!  What was your first job compared to what you do now?

First job ever?  Or first permanent job?

I temped for about 18 months after I left college so gained experience with various companies before I secured my first permanent job at one of our main Universities...I loved it.

It was more of an administrative role.  I think I had a manual typewriter on my desk which I hardly ever used but we also had a WANG computer in the office which was used to prepare our course perspective.  We produced about 2 perspectives per year - a winter one and a spring/summer one.

I didn't move into the PA world until very much later so arranging meetings was not part of my early working life.  I actually never wanted to work in an office because I thought it was boring....at times I wasn't too far off the mark!

There is really no comparison between my first and current jobs.

For one thing, I was very much a junior in my first job.  The equipment and techology back then were much more basic, and I didn't have much in the way of responsibility or authority.  Nowadays, I have top-notch equipment and technology, and oodles of responsibility as well as a very large slice of authority.  Next month, I will be promoted to Company Secretary and will be in charge of establishing a charitable foundation for my company. 

I didn't set out to work in an office, but my career has been very good indeed so far.   That is just the result of taking advantage of every opportunity that has come my way, and hijacking those that are just "passing by" on the horizon.

Best wishes,


Celeste

After giving it some thought, I realized how far we have come in office technology since my first job as a file clerk in Personnel.  We don't even call the department "Personnel" any longer.  Now referred to as Human Resources.  Back then we had tons of paper files, thus the main purpose for my role, making files to put the papers in:)  Computer were on the forefront and those that did exist took up entire rooms.  We dreamed of not having to get up and "pull a file" to research an employee issue.  Now that information is maintained, on the most part, by the employee in "Employee Self-Serve" and the File Clerk scans documents.  Back then we had no PC's and laptops at our desks.  Manual calculators were used to work out formulas and maintaining headcount reports were a 5 day process by which all were typed on an electric  typewriter correcting errors with erasers, white out or the old white paper correction tape.  Oh yes, and do not forget the carbon copies:)  Amazing how things have changed over the course of 29 years.  What will it be 29 yrs from now? 

One thing I have learned over the course of my career is Change is a constant.  Don't fight it, just go with it.  You will get knocked down, but rather than stay down, get up and do what you can to make a difference.  Don't let negativity set into your mindset.  It is like weeds that will smother your potential.  Instead, keep your mind open to the possibilities and always think out of the box striving for improvements.  Just think where we would be if we had fought technology and instead of taking those computer classes, stayed behind to maintain the paper files...