A secretary performs multiple administrative tasks in an office.
From the Latin secretarĭus , a secretary or secretary is a person who is responsible for receiving and writing the correspondence of a hierarchical superior, carrying out his or her agenda, and guarding and organizing the documents of an office . The position held by a secretary is usually known as an administrative assistant .
The secretary, therefore, carries out certain elementary and essential activities in a company or organization . This is the employee who is in charge of daily management , always reporting to her superior.
Tasks performed by a secretary
Answering the phone, responding to emails, receiving visitors, filing documents and coordinating payments and collections are just some of the tasks that a secretary performs.
To all these tasks we should also add the receipt of various types of documents, the calculation of various accounts, having the appointment agenda and also the professional contacts that your boss has completely updated, undertaking the information that is required about of your department or office.
In order to be able to carry out these functions in the most effective and efficient way, it is vital that the secretary has extensive knowledge in areas such as accounting, management or office automation. In this last aspect, it is vital that you perfectly handle programs such as word processors, email platforms or database management software.
For example: “I would like us to have a meeting in the next few days to discuss this business. Please call my secretary so we can arrange a meeting” , “I'm going to ask my secretary for the papers to proceed with signing the contract” , “Yesterday I spoke with your secretary and she told me that you were sick: what happened to you? ” .
Answering the phone and coordinating the boss's agenda are two activities that secretaries usually carry out.
Different positions and functions
Although the position of administrative assistant can be held by men or women , it is usually a woman who performs this role. That is why it is much more common to speak of a secretary and not a secretary.
Among the different varieties of secretaries that may exist, we could highlight what is called a private secretary. As its name indicates, it is the one whose functions are to take care of all the personal and private affairs of its boss, who occupies a position of authority.
In America , however, a secretary is a public official in charge of an administrative department of the government . In this case, a secretary is similar to a minister: “The Secretary of Commerce met with the president to determine the steps to follow regarding the strike.”
Series «Inés Duarte, secretary»
The relationships established between bosses and secretaries, as well as the power that the latter have, knowing first-hand all their secrets, have greatly inspired the fields of cinema, literature and television. In this sense, we could highlight the small screen series: “Inés Duarte, secretary”.
In 1990, this production began to be broadcast in Venezuela, starring the actress Amanda Gutiérrez, which told how an unattractive woman with low self-esteem becomes the secretary of a wealthy man whom, with the passage of time, she will obtain. conquer.