Musings of a High-Level Executive Assistant

JANUARY 8, 2013

I am copied on highly confidential information and I read emails that seem to be written in a new language – sales speak. I suggested it to the person organizing the event so I could help out and work it, but also to meet the direct reports of my CEO and the rest of the team at the headquarter office there. Rinse and repeat!

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Attire Etiquette Clothes Time Zones 40

Professional Assistant Blog

JULY 7, 2010

Here are the 4 easy steps to do this: Highlight the information you want to change from vertical to horizontal or vice versa, depending on which way you need to change the information. Give it a try yourself and see how quick it can be to manipulate information from vertical to horizontal and vice versa. Click Transpose!

Microsoft Excel 100

Microsoft Excel 2008 Google Docs Cubicle 100

Professional Assistant Blog

JULY 14, 2009

Home About Me Advertise "Checking In" to a Better Flight By The Professional Assistant on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 Filed Under: Meetings , Productivity , Research , Travel Y ou get an urgent e-mail from your boss asking you to book a flight and hotel. The time finally comes when your boss is flying out to that all important business trip.

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Professional Assistant Blog

JULY 10, 2009

Do you try to "go green" by not printing e-mails or other documents that you could be e-mailing to others that you want to share this information with? You really have to be careful with these, as pertinent company information could leak out into the wrong hands. We are in week 3 now and cannot get rid of our recycling.

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Loosely Speaking

FEBRUARY 11, 2009

Home VA Training VA FAQ Podcast Featured Events for Bloggers & VAs Tandem Social Networking Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 10:55 am // By: ktcosmos // Category: Blogging Harry Caray may be one of the best networkers ever, moving thousands of tone-deaf Cub fans to stand and sing at the top of their lungs. Get Loosely Speaking Products.

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Professional Assistant Blog

NOVEMBER 30, 2007

Do you have confidential information that you need to send to someone, but want to make sure that it gets treated like registered mail? For more information, visit www.reditag.com. If you would like more information on keeping your documents safe, take a look at the "How Safe Are Your Documents?"

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Professional Assistant Blog

NOVEMBER 20, 2009

Posted on 21 November, 2009 10:51 PM Anonymous If you send an iCalendar as a follow up to a meeting request, do you have the option of updating your calendar or is it just for passing on updated information (or as you suggested possibly adding an agenda)? Thanks, Richard Posted on 4 January, 2010 11:32 AM soruba Thanks for the information.

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Laughing all the Way to Work

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010

I arrange quite a few events and have realized the importance of reading and reviewing the contracts carefully, highlighting key dates. I had an event for November 7th and the contract was signed, sealed and delivered, but then I noticed the hotel had put the wrong date on the contract. What are the dates you can cancel by?

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Time Zones IAAP Negotiating International 100

Professional Assistant Blog

OCTOBER 15, 2008

Your manager asks you to create a report of some sort and wants you to send it to a client, but making sure that they cannot manipulate the information. Also, keep in mind that you don’t want anyone to alter the information in your report. This will enable you to create a PDF-like file where no one can manipulate information.

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Professional Assistant Blog

JULY 17, 2009

Would you prefer the client to calmly and rationally give you information on their issue? Now put yourself in that persons shoes. Imagine that you were on the receiving end of the conversation. How would you feel? Converted to Blogger by Blogger Templates © Content by Richard Rinyai 2007-2010

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Customer Service 2008 Google Docs Cubicle 100

Professional Assistant Blog

OCTOBER 27, 2008

There are over 200 articles of information so far and growing. If you feel that you want to remain anonymous, please note that I never disclose any personal information such as your name, company, etc., I have been running this blog for just over a year now and it has grown quite a bit, as you can tell.

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Professional Assistant Blog

NOVEMBER 18, 2009

How to Organize Tasks Effectively How to Deal with Inconsiderate Co-Workers Resizing Pictures in Microsoft Word 4 Ways to Cope with Difficult Colleagues Administrative Procedures Manual - Does Your Department Need One? Converted to Blogger by Blogger Templates © Content by Richard Rinyai 2007-2010

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Microsoft Excel 2007 Google Docs Cubicle 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

JANUARY 15, 2010

If someone puts in a "birthday" or a "pick up the dry cleaning" reminder in their calendar as an all-day event, to those who are using the Scheduler, it will look like the person is busy for the day and in reality they may have the day open. I put travel in red and action reminders in yellow, but that is our own system and it works for us.

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Calendars IAAP Time Zones 2010 100

Professional Assistant Blog

NOVEMBER 25, 2009

One of my readers asks: Ive been reading your blog for the past few months and really appreciate all the information and tips you provide! Theres always someone that annoys us and tries to make our lives more difficult than it already is. Try as I may, but she annoys the heck out of me.

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Cubicle Gossip 2008 Google Docs 100

Service Untitled

JANUARY 28, 2014

For airlines at least, and of course in my business of real estate sales, force majeure, or an act of God as contracts state, parties are free from liability when an extraordinary event or circumstance prevents them from fulfilling their obligations. For instance, United Airlines has some extremely useful and informative information.

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Customer Service UPS Etiquette Policies 40

Professional Assistant Blog

OCTOBER 8, 2009

If its your boss thats asking for this information, make sure to read the e-mail right away. The "Broken Record" Approach The best way to combat this is using the "broken record" approach. Keep telling the person that you will get to it as soon as possible. Everyone else falls into the queue afterwards.

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Professional Assistant Blog

NOVEMBER 14, 2007

Click on the picture to find out more information. It will also aleviate pain caused by arthritis, tendonitis, and poor cirulation. It even gives the person a massaging effect, for lasting comfort. If you like this post, please subscribe to my feeds or get posts e-mailed directly to you. Until next time, Take care - of your clutter!

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Professional Assistant Blog

JANUARY 29, 2008

If someone else needs to access information, they can just click the "Read-Only" button. But if they need to change information, this could cause a problem. So the next time you know you will be leaving your desk for a long period of time, please make sure to close any files that are shared among your staff.

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Professional Assistant Blog

DECEMBER 13, 2007

Does your boss come up to you and ask you to find information on an e-mail that youve received and needs it yesterday? A new window will pop up with results that will populate as the system retrieves this information. You can even specify who sent the e-mail, who it was addressed to, date fields, etc.

2008 100

2008 Cubicle Microsoft Outlook 2007 100

Professional Assistant Blog

JANUARY 4, 2008

I have been updating my firms website stats for quite some time now and wanted to share some tips on getting the information correct - the first time. By The Professional Assistant on Friday, January 04, 2008 Filed Under: Productivity A re you being asked to check your companys website stats? Do you have software in place for it?

2008 100

2008 Google Docs Cubicle 2007 100

Professional Assistant Blog

NOVEMBER 5, 2008

Creating a filing system can be tricky, as you need to know exactly how to file your files and what type of information you would need to be able to access quickly. Your boss could ask you for something at a moments notice and you are expected to find the information within minutes. as you mentioned in your question.

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Filing 2008 Cubicle 2007 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

APRIL 22, 2009

I am speaking this morning at an administrative event so looking forward to meeting some new assistants. The one good thing about speaking at an event where nobody knows me is, they have no idea whether my hair is supposed to be this dark. Some good advice to pass along: Never colour your hair the night before an event.

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Administrative Professionals Time Zones IAAP Meeting Minutes 100

Laughing all the Way to Work

FEBRUARY 14, 2009

Another time I wanted to try a career in the travel business. I have seen some contracts for event planners and it seems like a lucrative career to get into. I love the planning, organizing and running around that goes into bringing a conference from a thought to a successful event.

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Time Zones IAAP Holidays International 100

Professional Assistant Blog

AUGUST 25, 2007

If you chatter away in your e-mails and are trying to get your point across, this information will be quite juicy for your fingertips. Write out all the main points that you want to convey in the message (but be careful – ask yourself if the message should be formal or informal). Click send!

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2008 Cubicle 2007 Google Docs 100

Professional Assistant Blog

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008

You can make the reservation directly through this site and the information gets forwarded over to the restaurant itself. T here is a great site called OpenTable.com , which allows you to book reservations online with particular restaurants all over the world. Then you receive an e-mail with the confirmation of all of this.

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Restaurants 2008 Cubicle Google Docs 100

Professional Assistant Blog

NOVEMBER 26, 2007

You have the option of keeping your identity confidential or if the particular job site doesn’t allow for this, Resume Rabbit will replace your personal information with something that’s not identifiable. It only costs $59.99 USD, but is a one time fee and won’t have to pay for monthly charges like other sites make you.

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Resume Google Docs Cubicle 2008 100

Professional Assistant Blog

SEPTEMBER 24, 2007

We actually can lock our computers automatically with our own settings, but I have confidential information that people can access, since I am the Administrative Assistant of the department. If this information ever leaked out, I would get into a lot of trouble. Best to always lock your computer when you leave it, even for a minute.

2007 100

2007 2008 Google Docs Cubicle 100

Professional Assistant Blog

DECEMBER 5, 2007

Only the employees within that company can view the information that they write. We share ideas, skills and even ask guest speakers to provide up-to-date information and trends on what we need for our careers. Just remember not to divulge particular company information, since this can definitely land you in hot water.

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2008 Cubicle 2007 Google Docs 100

Professional Assistant Blog

APRIL 1, 2008

" One of the most productive ways to update information on files is to either create or move a file into a shared folder on your companys network drive. Instead of each person creating their own files and you having to merge them together, it would be much faster for everyone to add their own information to one main file.

Filing 100

Filing Google Docs 2008 Microsoft Word 100

Professional Assistant Blog

OCTOBER 29, 2008

Just click on any of the links below to take a look at the particular task you would like to learn about. How to Organize Tasks Effectively How to Deal with Inconsiderate Co-Workers Resizing Pictures in Microsoft Word 4 Ways to Cope with Difficult Colleagues Administrative Procedures Manual - Does Your Department Need One?

2008 100

2008 Cubicle Google Docs 2007 100

Professional Assistant Blog

NOVEMBER 19, 2009

Post from: Administrative Assistant Tips 2comments for this post soruba Very informative. Subscribe to The Professional Assistant feeds or get posts e-mailed directly to you today. Until next time, Take care - of your clutter! Converted to Blogger by Blogger Templates © Content by Richard Rinyai 2007-2010

2008 100

2008 Cubicle 2007 PowerPoint 100

Professional Assistant Blog

SEPTEMBER 4, 2008

This will allow you to have a blank sheet in front of you and you can add all the information into each label and then print them off. Click on the Labels tab. From here, click on the particular label that you want to use and click New Document. As for the text box issue, try: 1. Click Layout and you will notice the different Wrapping Styles.

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Microsoft Word 2008 Cubicle Google Docs 100

Professional Assistant Blog

JULY 16, 2008

Just a seminar with great information on how to be the BEST Executive Assistant to the President/ CEO. I provide education for those that need to plan meetings and events for their companies. My reply to this reader was: Thanks for writing me. There are quite a lot of seminars that are being offered all around the world.

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Professional Assistant Blog

NOVEMBER 21, 2007

If you are looking to take sticky notes to a new level, you can read more information about it on this article. If you are booking a meeting for yourself, for others or both, give everyone ample time to respond to the meeting and provide a reminder (theres a check box for this in the meeting set up page) of at least 15 minutes.

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Professional Assistant Blog

AUGUST 28, 2008

Home About Me Advertise Clock In The Right Time Zone: Booking Meetings in Microsoft Outlook By The Professional Assistant on Thursday, August 28, 2008 Filed Under: Meetings , MS-Outlook , Organize , Productivity , Travel D o you need to book meetings for your manager(s), but most meetings are all over the country or even internationally?

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Microsoft Outlook Time Zones 2008 Cubicle 100

Professional Assistant Blog

DECEMBER 11, 2007

Keeping your readers up-to-date and information about current information on your company or topic will make them ask for more. Try to throw in your own spin on information that you learn and post about. A person with high authority would help the blog the most. The bloggers photo is important. Post regularly. Keep posts short.

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Professional Assistant Blog

FEBRUARY 29, 2008

No need to access multiple tools to access your information. This lessens the time you have to spend on the phone. Checking task statuses, task assignments, due dates, and task notes at a glance. Having all your communication with your clients be in one place, so there is never a question of when or if an e-mail was sent.

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