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susan silva
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« on: January 18, 2012, 07:53:19 am » |
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I know confidentiality is high with some of DeskDemon's forum board users, so I am not asking your specific job title, but I will ask, does your job title reflect your position? If you could give yourself a job title what would it be (yes I am prepared to hear...the serious titles along with the "extraordinaire" titles!)
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gee4
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« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2012, 08:54:30 am » |
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No, definitely not.
The 'word' Secretary is just so old-fashioned and since I support one individual and his programme teams (as I have been doing at various levels since I started with this company), I consider myself to be a PA, not a Secretary.
I don't sit and type all day and I don't take minutes (done by prog manager or equivalent, PAs do not attend technical or prog meetings). I do however manage my boss's diary and schedule meetings, but he is very self-sufficient as are most of the Managers/Directors here.
I guess the term "Secretaries" is easier to refer to than "PAs" eg. the Secretaries are all in a meeting, as opposed to the PAs are all in a meeting. That aside I believe the reason why our job titles have never been changed is, the company doesn't think it's important or see a need to change it.
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JessW
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« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2012, 10:16:45 am » |
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I agree with Gee. As for alternative job title, as opposed to my current 'Legal Secretary' which is on my employment contract, I would probably be titled 'DoItAll' (DIA for short)!  |
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Jackie G
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« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2012, 02:42:50 pm » |
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My title these days is PA
I started out as a secretary and while I understand where many of you come from re the job title, please remember that originally secretaries were men and women took over during the war when men went to fight.
Secretary does mean 'keeper of the secrets' and I'd like to think that for that reason alone, that title should never disappear.
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gee4
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« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2012, 02:47:57 pm » |
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This is 2012 Jackie, things have changed a bit, no?
Secretaries do not have the same roles as they did 15, 20, 25 years ago and more. Like I said I do not sit outside my boss's office (he doesn't have one), I don't attend meetings nor do I take minutes.
My role as a PA has changed immensely over the years and most of the girls in my company agree, we are not secretaries any more.
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gee4
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« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2012, 09:21:34 pm » |
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Sec·re·tar·y [sek-ri-ter-ee]
noun, plural -tar·ies
1. a person, usually an official, who is in charge of the records, correspondence, minutes of meetings, and related affairs of an organisation, company, association
2. a person employed to handle correspondence and do routine work in a business office, usually involving taking dictation, typing, filing, and the like
Like I said, I'm not a Secretary - I don't take minutes, I don't take dictation and I don't sit and type all day either.
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Atlanta Z3
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« Reply #6 on: January 18, 2012, 11:18:11 pm » |
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Executive Legal Assistant. Although that secretary definition is part of my job, I do type correspondence, I haven't taken minutes in a while thank goodness, it is my least favorite office function. But like so many my job is much more than typing and catering (pun inteneded).
My true title is Trophy Wife in Training or TWIT for short. I just haven't got the dh on board with that objective.
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JessW
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« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2012, 12:43:42 pm » |
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Gee, just playing devil's advocate, but can you therefore explain (using your logic) the Home Secretary?!?  |
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gee4
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« Reply #8 on: January 19, 2012, 12:47:46 pm » |
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Obviously he "keeps secrets"...as Jackie says.
While on the subject, what is a Company Secretary?
Why is it assumed all Secretaries take dictation and type minutes, this is cleary not the case! None of the PAs in my company do this.
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Atlanta Z3
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« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2012, 03:14:46 pm » |
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Perception. I think a PA is someone who fetches coffee, picks up dry cleaning, and balances a personal check book. Whereas a secretary may have old fashioned shorthand skills, wear glasses and bun. Titles should not stereotype us because companies do not have the same level of competencies needed for job titles.
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gee4
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« Reply #10 on: January 19, 2012, 03:41:16 pm » |
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 Atlanta, I don't do any of those things either!
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Jackie G
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« Reply #11 on: January 19, 2012, 08:00:46 pm » |
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Gee, I didn't mean to imply that things had stood still in terms of the role done by an office professional these days - far from it, and if you knew me, you'd know very much what I stand for.
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Brighton Rock
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« Reply #12 on: January 23, 2012, 05:26:41 pm » |
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The subject of titles for "office professionals" is a perennial one. I remember being asked about this very thing many years ago.
There are many titles that one might use within the business environment to describe an office professional and they mean different things in different companies and this is possible because none of them are legally protected titles. The title, ultimately, doesn't matter. What is of significance is the way that post (not the post-holder, although there is an element of this) is perceived by the employing company.
I was happy with my last title, Executive Assistant to the CEO. I'm even more pleased with my current title, Assistant Company Secretary. I'm pretty fluent in most of my duties; the statutory ones I shall learn, and ICSA training begins a little later this year. My post is currently ranked just a couple of grades below Director level, although they do earn a fair bit more. As my nephew would say "What's not to like?" As long as I measure up, I shall be content. I have noticed, since I returned from Christmas vacation, that the way people react towards me, with my current job title, is subtly different.
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forfrom
Newbie
Posts: 15
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« Reply #13 on: February 15, 2012, 03:05:48 pm » |
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My 6 year old nephew summed it up for me over Christmas:
"Auntie what is your job?"
"I'm a PA"
"What is a PA?"
"Well, I have a Boss, and I look after him by answering his phone, going to meetings for him, writing letters for him and making him tea"
*Moments silence to contemplate this*
"So you are a slave?"
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msmarieh
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« Reply #14 on: February 15, 2012, 04:16:31 pm » |
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LOL out of the mouths of babes, eh?  |
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