Profession secretary. How to be a good secretary

The concept of etiquette is an established procedure for observing certain norms of behavior. The principles of business etiquette are the most important aspect of professional behavior. Features of verbal etiquette, speech culture and negotiation rules. Telephone etiquette.

Tyumen State University ABSTRACT on the topic: Style and design of official documents Completed by Tyumen-1998 Contents. Content. 2 Using stamps 3

The moral foundations of service in the internal affairs bodies, the protection of a person, his life and health, honor and personal dignity, inalienable rights and freedoms. The official activities of a police officer, moral goals aimed at protecting the interests of citizens.

Basic rules for conducting telephone negotiations, techniques for rationalizing telephone communication. Recommendations for successful business communication and conversation. Fifteen provisions and rules for conducting telephone conversations, the specifics of business administration.

Ethics and behavioral characteristics of a manager when hiring employees and when dismissing them. Interview as one of the most common methods of personnel selection, its varieties. The main questions that are resolved during a personnel interview.

Familiarization with the concept of image and office design, the ethics of a modern business person. Modern business. Patterns of behavior at work and in everyday life. The main concern of a businessman is the design of his office. A special room for receiving visitors.

Activities of the system of Codes of Ethics for Professional Accountants and Auditors. Standards of conduct for accounting workers. The accounting profession and professional ethics. Compliance with ethical standards of professional conduct. Auditor objectivity.

Rules for constructing a business conversation. Written types of business communication. Classification, planning of meetings. Abstract types of interlocutors. Stages and phases of business communication. Telephone conversation technique. Ethical standards for telephone conversation.

Speech communication etiquette. The main ethical principle of verbal communication. Ethics of business and administrative speech. Means of expressiveness of business speech. The main functions of the administrative substyle: informational and content-based and organizational and regulatory.

Classification of technical means. Technical means used in management and office work. Tools for drawing up documents. Portable, compact and office writing machines, voice recording equipment, electronic writing machines.

Studying the rules of conduct for a business person: on the street, at the entrance to the office premises, at the elevator and in the elevator, in the reception area and in the boss’s office. Working relationships of the "manager-secretary" type. Rules for conducting a meeting, ethics of telephone conversations.

Features of protocol techniques in business relations. Distinctive features of daytime and evening receptions, cocktails and buffets. Business cards and rules for their use. Etiquette of official correspondence. Conducting negotiations using communication means.

Telephone communication skills as one of the most important aspects of creating a positive company image. Business telephone etiquette at work. Installation of computerized systems – “electronic secretaries”. Rules for communicating on the telephone and telephone hooliganism.

Features of the portrait of a leader. What you need to be able to do to become a leader in management. Personnel planning: dismissal factor. Typology of management decisions. A management decision is a choice of alternative.

Secretary is needed by any organization, and therefore, the job description of a secretary will be useful to every company. It is important to clearly state the job responsibilities of the secretary, which are not at all limited to taking calls and sweet smiles. We offer you a sample job description for the secretary of a manager - general director, head of department, branch director, etc.

Secretary's job description

I APPROVED
CEO
Last name I.O. ________________
"________"_____________ ____ G.

1. General Provisions

1.1. The secretary belongs to the category of technical performers.
1.2. The secretary is appointed to the position and dismissed from it by order of the general director of the company.
1.3. The secretary reports directly to the general director / head of the company's structural unit.
1.4. During the absence of the secretary, his rights and duties are transferred to another official, as announced in the order of the organization.
1.5. A person who meets the following requirements is appointed to the position of secretary: education - higher, incomplete higher or secondary specialized, experience in similar work for at least six months, knowledge of office equipment (fax, copier, scanner, printer), Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel).
1.6. The Secretary is guided in his activities by:
- legislative acts of the Russian Federation;
- The company’s charter, internal labor regulations, and other regulations of the company;
- orders and instructions from management;
- this job description.

2. Job responsibilities of the secretary

The secretary performs the following duties:
2.1. Carries out work on organizational and technical support for the administrative and administrative activities of the manager.
2.2. Accepts correspondence received for consideration by the manager, transmits it in accordance with the decision made to structural units or a specific performer for use in the work process or preparation of responses.
2.3. Accepts documents and personal statements for the manager’s signature.
2.4. Answers telephone calls, records and transmits official information to the manager, organizes telephone conversations with the manager.
2.5. On behalf of the manager, draws up letters, requests, and other documents.
2.6. Performs work on preparing meetings and meetings held by the manager (collecting necessary materials, notifying participants about the time and place of the meeting, agenda, their registration), maintains and draws up minutes of meetings and meetings.
2.7. Monitors the execution by employees of the enterprise of issued orders and instructions, as well as compliance with the deadlines for fulfilling the instructions and instructions of the manager, taken under control.
2.8. Provides the manager’s workplace with the necessary organizational equipment, office supplies, and creates conditions conducive to the manager’s effective work.
2.9. Organizes the reception of visitors, facilitates the prompt consideration of requests and suggestions from employees.
2.10. Forms files in accordance with the approved nomenclature, ensures their safety and submits them to the archives within the established time frame.
2.11. Organizes business trips for the manager: orders air and train tickets, books hotels.
2.12. Performs individual official assignments from his immediate superior.

3. Secretary's rights

The secretary has the right:
3.1. Receive information, including confidential information, to the extent necessary to solve assigned tasks.
3.2. Submit proposals to management to improve your work and that of the company.
3.3. Request personally or on behalf of the manager from departments of the enterprise and other specialists information and documents necessary to fulfill his official duties.
3.4. Require management to create normal conditions for the performance of official duties and the safety of all documents generated as a result of the company’s activities.
3.5. Make decisions within your competence.

4. Responsibility of the secretary

The secretary is responsible:
4.1. For failure to perform and/or untimely, negligent performance of one’s official duties.
4.2. For failure to comply with current instructions, orders and regulations on maintaining trade secrets and confidential information.
4.3. For violation of internal labor regulations, labor discipline, safety and fire safety rules.

Document: What a secretary should be able to do

What a secretary should be able to do

Not a single manager of a more or less serious company can do without a secretary. The most important flows of information converge on it, and in the modern world, those enterprises that win the competition primarily are those that more effectively manage information flows. So this modest employee plays a role that is much more significant than is commonly thought, and in some ways, perhaps, decisive for the fate of the entire enterprise.

A modern secretary is not just a “girl on the phone” who periodically serves the boss coffee, she is a real dispatcher of the entire enterprise. She needs to keep a lot of facts and figures in her memory, rationally plan her own and the manager’s (and often his deputies’) working time, and competently conduct office work. Plus the ability to find the right approach and the right intonation in a conversation with a variety of people - from a simple hard worker (whose vocabulary is limited to a dozen words, of which only half can be pronounced in polite society) to a highly intelligent professor from a friendly research institute.

And at the same time, you must always remain elegant, charming and friendly: after all, the secretary is the face of the company.

The position of secretary is traditionally female, although history has brought to us information about many legendary male secretaries (for example, none of the statesmen of the Stalin era avoided the figure of Poskrebyshev, Stalin’s personal secretary, in their memoirs). True, now men are increasingly found in this position, but complete “gender equality” is still a long way off. And women, frankly speaking, due to the peculiarities of their mind and character, are more suitable for performing secretarial functions.

What should a secretary know and be able to do? However, this is the second question. First, you should think about what personal qualities a person applying for this job should have. Let's try to draw an image of an ideal secretary. So, it is very desirable that he (she) possesses such qualities as:

Good memory;

The ability to quickly switch your attention;

Ability to make independent decisions;

High level of stress resistance;

Punctuality;

Ability to perform monotonous work;

Performance;

Accuracy;

Ability to plan your working time and prioritize tasks;

Friendliness (believe me, this is an important quality: you can “hear” an insincere smile even when talking on the phone);

Ability to communicate with people of different social groups;

Abilities of a psychologist, “sense of a boss.”

To this, of course, you need to add competent oral and written communication, combined with a representative appearance. If a company is actively engaged in foreign economic activity, the necessary qualities of a secretary should include knowledge of a foreign language (languages) to the extent determined by the specifics of the enterprise.

As you can see, finding a suitable candidate for the position of secretary is not an easy task. Not everyone can do secretarial work: some are completely unsettled by any boss’s reprimand, some have clearly inflated self-esteem and perceive their work as a favor, and there are many applicants who are firmly convinced that all secretarial duties boil down to to periodically serve the boss coffee and “create comfortable conditions.”

Of course, the necessary qualifications are acquired with experience, so reputable enterprises, when advertising for secretary vacancies, often limit the age of applicants (for example, no younger than 30–35 years). But there is another danger here: it may turn out that it is more difficult to retrain a new employee with extensive experience than to train a 20-year-old girl “from scratch.”

But a suitable person has been found, and now it is necessary to initiate him into the intricacies of the work. The main responsibilities of the secretary are recorded in the work instructions (a sample is given below). It also specifies the requirements for qualifications and purely technical skills (such as the ability to work on a computer, handle a fax and other office equipment, fast typing under dictation, etc.).

However, the work of a secretary has many features that cannot be written down in the work instructions. To avoid mutual insults and undeserved reproaches, it is advisable to immediately instruct the secretary about such features. For example, it will be useful for her to know:

1. How to introduce yourself over the phone? According to etiquette, it is customary to name the company and then say hello, but in practice, many managers, for security reasons, do not allow saying the name of the company.

2. What is the formal and actual hierarchy of employees in the company? Do I need to carry out instructions from other employees and, if so, in what order?

3. How to “filter” phone calls? Who should you connect with at any time, and who should you never connect with?

4. What is the procedure for receiving visitors? Who can access the manager at any time, without an appointment and without a report?

5. What is the “ritual” of serving tea and coffee? What and when does the manager prefer? When should a cup of tea or coffee be offered to visitors?

6. What is the approximate workday and week schedule for a manager?

7. When does the secretary's work actually end - at a strictly defined time or after the manager leaves?

In the next issues of our weekly we are going to talk in more detail about some of the nuances of the “technology” of secretarial work. And now - working instructions. We remind you that this is just a sample that you can modify at your own discretion by adding points that you think are missing and crossing out unnecessary ones. And do not forget to familiarize your secretary with these instructions against receipt.

Alena Myshkina,
lawyer

Sergey Koval,
lawyer

Work instructions for the manager's secretary

I. General provisions

1. This work instruction defines the functional duties, rights and responsibilities of the manager’s secretary (hereinafter referred to as the secretary).

2. The secretary is hired and dismissed by order of the head of the enterprise in compliance with the requirements of the Labor Code of Ukraine and the current labor legislation.

3. The secretary reports directly to the head of the enterprise.

II. Qualification Requirements

The secretary must know:

1. Management of the enterprise and its divisions.

2. Organization and content of the work of the director of the enterprise.

3. Resolutions, instructions, orders, regulations, instructions and other materials on record keeping.

4. Rules for writing business letters using standard forms.

5. Rules for processing oral and written (documentary) information.

6. Rules for the operation of computer equipment and communication systems.

7. Technological processes of information processing, work instructions, programs, layouts, regulatory and methodological materials on the technique and sequence of operations in computer systems (networks).

8. Technical requirements for magnetic and laser disks, other storage media used, paper, printer and fax consumables.

9. Rules of spelling and punctuation (for Russian and Ukrainian languages), have the skill of high speed typing.

10. English* language to the extent necessary for work.

11. Business speech and ethics of official relations.

12. Internal labor regulations.

13. Fundamentals of labor legislation, labor organization.

14. Labor protection rules and regulations.

III. Tasks and Responsibilities

The secretary is obliged:

1. Perform technical functions to ensure and maintain the work of the head of the enterprise.

2. Work with information and documents necessary for the leadership, management and interaction of structural units.

3. Receive from departments or performers the information necessary for the manager, and call employees on his instructions.

4. Provide the manager’s workplace with office supplies and create favorable conditions for his productive work.

5. Send and receive information by fax, email, etc.

6. Organize telephone conversations of the manager, receive and transmit telephone messages, record received messages during the absence of the manager and bring their content to his attention.

7. Organize the preparation of meetings and meetings held by the manager (collect the necessary materials, notify participants about the time, place and agenda of the meeting or meeting, keep registration, etc.), draw up minutes.

8. Conduct office work, receive correspondence received in the name of the manager, systematize it in accordance with the procedure accepted at the enterprise and transfer it, after its consideration by the manager, to departments or specific performers.

9. Monitor the progress of execution of orders taken under control, determine the reasons for their untimely execution, and constantly inform the manager about this.

10. Know the location of the company’s management officials and other key employees (according to the list).

11. In accordance with the instructions of the manager, organize the work of official vehicles, order third-party transport if necessary, and also ensure the order of tickets for trains, planes, etc. for the management of the enterprise in case of a business trip.

12. Accept documents and personal statements from employees for signature by the manager.

13. Organize the reception of visitors, facilitate the prompt consideration of applications and proposals from employees.

14. Form files, ensure their storage and filing in the archive within the established time frame.

15. Comply with necessary computer security requirements. Update anti-virus databases in a timely manner, check all incoming files for viruses during work, and do not allow work on the Internet or local computer network without an anti-virus program enabled.

16. Do not allow the installation of unlicensed software or any programs on the computer that are not related to the direct performance of official duties. The installation of any program must be authorized by the head of the enterprise or the system administrator of the computer network.

17. Report to the responsible employee about all detected deviations in the operation of computer equipment, detected viruses, as well as programs installed unauthorized on the computer in the absence of the secretary.

18. Maintain trade secrets and take measures to protect them:

18.1. Do not leave any documents unattended, including those on magnetic and laser media, do not remove them from the enterprise without the permission of the manager, do not transfer them to other persons, do not make copies unnecessarily.

18.2. Do not disclose information to work colleagues that is not directly related to their responsibilities.

18.3. Do not disclose information relating to technical means of processing and storing information, including computers (passwords, codes, names and locations of files and directories, their contents) and do not allow persons without access and strangers to access them.

19. Constantly improve skills and work habits.

20. Carry out individual official assignments of the manager.

The secretary has the right:

1. Get acquainted with the draft decisions of the head of the enterprise relating to his activities.

2. Submit proposals for improvement of work related to his responsibilities for consideration by the management of the enterprise.

3. Inform the head of the enterprise about all identified shortcomings in the activities of the enterprise and make proposals for their elimination.

4. Demand and receive personally or on behalf of the director of the enterprise from the heads of structural divisions and specialists the necessary information and documents.

5. Demand assistance from the management of the enterprise in the performance of their official duties.

V. Responsibility

The secretary is responsible:

1. For improper performance or failure to fulfill one’s official duties provided for in these instructions - within the limits established by the current labor legislation of Ukraine.

2. For offenses committed in the course of carrying out their activities - within the limits established by the current civil, administrative and criminal legislation of Ukraine.

3. For causing material damage to the enterprise - within the limits established by the current civil legislation and labor legislation of Ukraine.

4. For disclosure of trade secrets - criminal liability under Art. 232 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

VI. Relationships

1. During the absence of the secretary, his duties are performed by a person appointed in the prescribed manner. This person acquires the corresponding rights and is responsible for the improper performance of the duties assigned to him.

2. To perform duties and exercise rights, the secretary interacts:

2.1. From _____________________ for questions: ______________________

2.2. From _____________________ for questions: ______________________

Head of a structural unit.

The secretary is the face of the company. This is the first person that people encounter when they come to a particular organization. The impression the assistant manager makes depends on the impression of the company as a whole. Employees of the company should not be ashamed of their “face”. Therefore, a competent office manager is a storehouse of knowledge, as well as the very embodiment of politeness, correctness, goodwill and style.

Perhaps we should start with what a secretary should know and be able to do. All these rules are set out in the qualification characteristics, the standard of which we will briefly consider.

It is no secret that the secretary is the “right hand” of the manager; accordingly, his duties include performing functions to service the work of the head of the enterprise and helping to plan the manager’s working day. Receive information necessary for the manager from departments or performers, call employees on his instructions. Organize telephone conversations with the manager, record received messages in his absence and bring their contents to the attention of the manager. And carry out other instructions from management.

Of course, the director’s “right hand” must know about everything that is happening in the company, as well as the direction of the company’s activities, job responsibilities and competencies of employees. Well, like any competent office employee, a secretary needs to know the rules of spelling and punctuation, the rules for operating office equipment, the standards of a unified system of organizational and administrative documentation, the foreign language of clients and partners, human psychology and the laws of effective communication, office etiquette and much more.

A competent secretary is a storehouse of knowledge, as well as the very embodiment of politeness, correctness and goodwill, because the most important task of a secretary is to receive visitors who, based on his external and internal world, make a general impression of the entire company.

Thus, so that the company’s employees are not ashamed of their “face,” the secretary must master his facial expressions, voice intonations, and gestures. Delicacy, courtesy in relations with visitors and employees, a certain amount of artistry - all this ensures the successful work of a secretary.

A visitor entering the office reception area will be told a lot by the words of greeting and the demeanor of the secretary who greets him. So, when a guest appears in the reception area, the secretary should stand up to meet him and be the first to start a conversation. At the same time, the secretary’s speech should not include words such as: “How can I be useful to you?”, “How can I help you?” Such phrases are more suitable for service personnel (waiter, cloakroom attendant, doorman, etc.), but not for the face of the company.

When meeting a visitor, the secretary should pleasantly introduce himself: “Good afternoon, I am the secretary of director Valentin Ivanov.” (In no case is Valya!) You should start the conversation with these same words when answering a phone call.

It is necessary to be interested in people who come to the office, and even more so who are waiting to receive management, but in no case should you try to interest everyone who comes in with your personality - this is more than important for a secretary.

The secretary should be a good listener who will not interrupt to talk about himself, but will ask relevant questions that the person (visitor or manager) will be pleased to answer.

The secretary should not get irritated over trifles. It is known that mental abilities are not evenly divided between people. And especially because of this, there is no need to subject colleagues and visitors to the company to even the slightest criticism. Criticism in this regard is useless because it often causes offense. Compassion for others, tolerance and kindness are qualities that will be highly valued by employees.

An important part of the image is speech. It is she who is an indicator of our intelligence. The words we speak tell the discerning listener about the society in which we move, indicate the level of our education and culture.

Of course, for the face of the company, special attention should be paid to its appearance. You should move calmly and confidently. There is no need to rush so as not to look frightened and servile. Haste indicates more than just nervousness. Doubts arise about the competence and status of the secretary. Movements should indicate that the person is confident in himself and in the information that they intend to convey.

The secretary's appearance shapes the opinion of the institution as a whole. The secretary's appearance should be carefully thought out, modern and neat.

Business professionals prefer loose-fitting jackets, but not fitted ones. Also keep in mind that a short jacket makes your figure taller and slimmer, while a long jacket shortens your height. The length of the sleeves is no less than three quarters. The choice of collar and lapels depends on the shape of the face: rounded necklines and collars add weight, while pointed necklines hide the roundness of the face. A straight skirt is considered the most suitable; narrow skirts are unacceptable. Slits are not prohibited, but they, while adding some flirtatiousness to the outfit, do not always help to climb the career ladder. The length of the skirt is determined independently, but the hem when the girl is sitting should not be higher than the middle of the knee.

Many secretaries prefer black suits, which really create an impression of solidity and formality. But black is a very dangerous color: not only does it have a depressing effect on the psyche, it is very intense, and therefore drowns out the entire image.

Bright colors, as well as brown, are also not recommended for office suits (this is due to the traditions of the business world). In addition, experts advise moving away from white blouses and giving preference to pastel colors (lunar, pearl, grease, cream, pale lemon, champagne, cool shades of blue).

The secretary's business image is complemented by flesh-colored stockings (black stockings are acceptable only in social life), pumps with 4-5 cm heels. Low-cut shoes, boots and sandals are prohibited in the office. The “laws of the genre” also require that the color of the shoes should always be darker than the skirt; White shoes are completely excluded.

The hairstyle should be elegant and discreet. Hairstyles in the style of a “girl running from a thunderstorm”, loose hair below the shoulders are suitable only for social life, and in the office the hairstyle should have a closed contour. Only natural hair colors are acceptable, and not playful colors suitable for discos and youth parties.

Of course, heavy makeup is unacceptable in the office, as it only distracts attention and reduces the expressiveness of the eyes. An equally important component of your image is well-groomed hands. The best nail shape is a natural oval. Colored nail polish can be used by businesswomen involved in the modeling and cosmetics business. “Prohibitions” also include jewelry with shiny stones, depicting symbols and emblems (crosses, zodiac signs, hearts).

The secretary's workplace must meet all the requirements that ensure maximum convenience in work, minimal effort and time spent on unproductive movements. One of the main requirements that a secretary must strictly fulfill is exceptional order and cleanliness both in the workplace and in the reception area.

The secretary's task is to do everything necessary to make the visitor feel comfortable in the reception area. The secretary should not clutter the passages in the reception area with personal belongings and place things in visible places. If there is a need to decorate a wall, then for this purpose it is better to use a painting or print that complements the interior. It is allowed to place information stands or tables on the walls indicating the time of reception of visitors, a calendar, etc.

In conclusion, it is worth saying that a good secretary should constantly strive for improvement, have ideals, role models and follow them - this will give confidence, build self-esteem and secure his status in the company.

This word, oddly enough, does not have a feminine form. “Secretary” is the name of a profession that no organization can do without. A profession that creates myths around itself. "Secretary" - a girl with legs full of teeth who files her nails in the waiting room? Slacker? Someone's protégé? The boss's mistress?
A good secretary is a squirrel in a wheel, a bee, without which the boss is like without hands. The secretary's task is not only to carry a piece of paper and answer a call. The main task is to facilitate the work of the manager. And this includes the microclimate in the reception area, the organization of the boss’s working day, and the structure of his interaction with the outside world.

The work of a secretary is a lot of stress: a lot of calls, rushing employees, a lot of things to do, the inability to create a personal work schedule, dependence on the mood of the boss... But if at least once the secretary shows the employees his bad mood, then any complaint against the employees who did not complete the task management, may be regarded by them as a “hit” due to a bad mood. Of course, the secretary must have a sense of humor in order to correctly respond to rudeness or pretend that she did not notice the mistake, so as not to hang her nose in difficult situations and be able to cheer up not only herself, but also the boss!
The secretary is the lock on the boss's door: the one who knows the “right word” will get through easily. But those around him have the opportunity to manipulate the secretary, and one of the secretary’s skills is to separate personal relationships from work ones. There is also a downside to this issue: clients and employees feel that the secretary’s attitude toward them reflects the boss’s attitude. Therefore, it is necessary to be correct even with unpleasant people. However, disposition towards everyone should not turn into permissiveness: the secretary is the boss’s right hand, and therefore should not allow unscrupulous employees to assert themselves at their own expense.
The main skill of a secretary is to quickly collect and store information. As university teachers say, a specialist is not a person who knows everything, but a person who knows where to find information! The secretary must be such a specialist - be aware of everything, without demonstrating the method of collecting information. The secretary must find out which employees are doing what so that they know who to turn to for information. It happens that a person’s job title does not correspond to his functions; for example, issues are decided not by the head of a department, but by his deputy. The head of the department has illusions that he is in charge - one cannot deprive him of illusions, but one must know who to turn to for an answer. It is important not only to collect information, but also to convey it. A good secretary remembers: he exists to save his boss from other people’s problems, so he filters information. But the manager needs to know the result of any process in the organization, and also be aware of the mood in the team. If his work can be jeopardized by a brewing conflict, the secretary will be guilty of not trying to prevent trouble. The secretary is a means of communication between the boss and the team. This is not a denunciation, but a job. And one more important rule: not a single phrase of a leader that is not intended for transmission should reach the ears of subordinates.

The existing myth that the secretary is the boss’s mistress, although it does not correspond to reality in most cases, still has some basis: the boss and the secretary spend more time together than the head of the house, they go through the “fire, water, copper pipes” of business together , so sometimes relationships arise that go beyond the official ones. Of course, a caring secretary will notice the boss’s discomfort, offer a pill, bring tea to him when he’s tired, make a sandwich for a hungry person, act as an adviser when buying perfume for his wife and a mixer for his mother-in-law, buy tickets to the theater... A connection is established between a good secretary and the boss, which could be called friendly . It is useful in work, but it is better not to shorten the distance that exists between the boss and the secretary from friendship, or even more so from love, in the interests of the business.

For an aspiring secretary can you give some tips which are rarely given in courses:

1. From the very beginning, the manager and the secretary must discuss the list of employees who have free access to the office. It’s good if the boss discusses a list of colleagues and friends with whom he would like to be connected without any questions asked.
2. There is a legend about Kerensky's secretary who came to work the day after the revolution and was offended by the chaos in the workplace. This, of course, is an extreme case, but the order on the manager’s desk should be your concern. A simple solution to putting your papers in order can be the folders “Urgent”, “Resolve”, “View”, “Throw away”, “For signature” on the boss’s desk. They will facilitate interaction and protect against the mess that inevitably creates on the table.
3. You definitely need to instill in your boss the habit: “Let the day begin and end with you.” You must get into his office before any visitor in order to find out his plans, remind him of his meetings, and develop a behavior strategy.
4. If the boss believes that he does not have a secretary, but an assistant, an assistant, explain to him the need for your presence at all meetings and important meetings - you must be aware of the agreements.
5. Before you submit a document for signature, think about what questions may arise and find out the answer in advance. It's better to be a fool in the waiting room than in the boss's office.
6. Don't hesitate to complete assignments - but don't rush either. Remember the army joke: “Don’t rush to carry out the order. The command “Resign!” will always follow.
7. If you failed an assignment due to the fault of an employee, share the responsibility with the culprit. But never make excuses. Remember that being guilty is also part of the secretary's functions.
8. Remember any guest by sight. This is a guarantee of the boss’s “safety”; if an unwanted client appears without warning, you will have time to correctly “repel the attack.” The same applies to people's names - for any person his name is significant. Learn names, even if they are impossible to remember. Say to yourself several times about difficult-to-reproduce patronymic names. People who are accustomed to having their names misinterpreted will respect their boss even more if you don’t do this.
9. Be sure to write down minute information. When you don't need it, throw it away and forget about it. But remember the forward-looking information: what you wrote down has been erased from your memory.
10. When conveying information, you need to think about which sentence to place special emphasis on so that it is remembered and understandable.
11. You are a notebook. Remember the manager's personal dates. He, busy with problems, may find himself in the situation of the banker from the story of O. Henry, who forgot about his own wedding. Remind him of her - even if this wedding is not with you.

Well, now - advice for those who hires a secretary.
When selecting a secretary, be sure to check candidates for:

1. diction, voice sound, intonation. Suggest a difficult situation - from lying about your boss being away to responding to an angry client - and see how it sounds. Pay attention to the content of the answers - it is also important.
2. stress resistance and goodwill. A girl who smiles seductively at you during an interview can become a fury at the first conflict, torment you with hysterics or expressions of her bad mood. If a girl in a stressful situation finds a source of new strength, and the more difficult the task, the more fun, she is suitable for the job of a secretary, but you will have to make sure that such a secretary does not have downtime.
3. literacy. The document on higher education promises that letters will not leave with five mistakes in one word. At a minimum, the secretary's level is checked using several forms, for example: “According to” - “document” or “document”? The second test is the question: “Excuse me, who are you calling?” If she writes “documents” and says “call”, it’s better to refuse her. The chance of retraining is small.

And a few more tips:

1. Don't look at appearance - look at recommendations and profile. Appearance can be corrected, but intelligence is unlikely.
2. Find out whether the secretary, and most importantly his family, if he has one, is ready for long working hours. If you agree on a standardized day, situations may still arise when the secretary is forced to stay late at work. It is better if the secretary is a woman who is not burdened with small children: they require more maternal attention.
3. Find out if the applicant experiences discomfort when having to quickly switch from one task to another. If she does, she is unlikely to be a good secretary: the boss will have to wait until she finishes sending the fax before dictating an urgent letter.
4. Try to determine how similar the applicant and the future boss are psychologically. If she is used to talking quickly, and such people irritate him, if she is slow, and he likes everything around to burn, they will not work together.