Related Posts
More Posts
How much should a shift lead make west coast
Will Deloitte give any goodies for impact day?
Can I get a commercial loan without 25% down?
Additional Posts in Administrative Assistants
Can I get some likes please

Can anyone here give a referral?
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.




Omg YES. Some people assume you are uneducated, lazy, “just a secretary”, etc. some of them are thankfully rude enough to let you know outright, but you definitely have to look out for that ceiling. Thankfully in my current role my manager sees my ambition and the value I add and allows me to take different challenges and opportunities. But I did have to make sure to do extra and showcase what I could do, which I think is fair and is what made her trust me to branch out. In my precious role and even with a lot of my current coworkers, they definitely think lowly of admins. I even remember a text book in business school saying people have a poor perception of anyone who answers the phones so to try to avoid doing so. Pretty crazy.
Yes indeed. As an assistant, I’m seen as just that and nothing more and expressing my interest in other roles or tasks gets met with derision..
Mentor
It happens. Not everyone is like that but it's more common than not. I'm lucky I'm at a great place right now and everyone is very supportive in the admin team going beyond their role. I'm the past when I've encountered it I either don't bother with those people, or they figure out that that I'm more than "just an admin" and chances are I'll have the info they need or know how to do what it is they can't figure out.
Yep, Admins know how to get things done. Ignore at your own peril.
Certainly, yes. I have also been asked multiple times when I am going to "get a real job" by fellow coworkers. I have been an assistant/administrator for over 15 years and truly enjoy it.
This is the disheartening part of being an EA or AA. The disrespect and assumption that I am not as smart. When I want to yell that I am probably as smart, if not smarter than most people in the room. Sigh
Omg! 20 years ago (former life) a vp took over our division. It was well known that he was getting rid of me. The Regionals all stopped him on the day he took over.
He was going to a meeting with a huge client and said something to me and I corrected him. Basically gave him a run down of what was happening in that area.
He actually came back and pulled me into a meeting confessing he thought I didn't know anything and was going to let me go. He appreciated that I didn't stop doing my job and helped him. He laid me off a few months later and my replacement started the next day.
But it happens all the time.