Duties of an Office Assistant

More than anybody, bosses are the first people who frequently call the office assistants and seek help in maintaining the information and managing piles of files. The office assistant duties are not restricted to just managing files, in fact, they are the most mobile people in the office, helping the office members by managing various tasks.

The duties of an office assistant can vary significantly, on the basis of the office he is working in.

In the recent years, there has been a significant increase in the hiring of office assistants because of the increasingly complex nature of the work. Be it the junior level manager, the middle level manager or even the senior managers, everyone needs efficient office assistants to smoothly run the operations of an office.

Even completing small tasks in the limited available time matters for success of the organization. The basic office assistant duties are mostly common in all the fields and these include, carrying out tasks pertaining to the office work.

• Data entry and loading other necessary information into the software programs.
• Making copies of the documents, as assigned by the office managers and also according to the needs of the office.
• Answering and receiving phone calls.
• Sending faxes in matters related to the office jobs and related works.

• Works of daily errands, that include handling communications with post office, bank, etc and providing stationery, staples etc.
• Monitoring the order supplies related to the office.
• Distributing the incoming mails to the respective staff.
• Maintaining and organizing the paper and electronic documents. Storing them properly for future reference.

• Keeping the list of employee communication and contacts updated.
• Assisting the concerned authorities in matters related to preparation of annual reports, files, weekly reports and annual magazines.
• Preparing thank you letter for new members or for memorials.
• Maintaining the up-to-date list of press and contact lists.

An office assistant is an important position in a firm, in terms of the responsibilities and duties the office assistant performs. The efficiency of the office working, at the grass root level, is maintained by an office assistant.

Here are the qualifications and skills required for an office assistant job.

• Work experience in the previous office settings is preferred and welcomed by the prospective employers.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, to deal with people of diverse backgrounds.

• Must be a initiator in taking responsibilities.
• Must have skills in setting priority and managing work pressures.
• Attention to detail and record keeping is an essential requirement of the office assistant job.

• Skilled in computer related functions of MS word, excel and other software.
• Must be familiar with the internet browsing, group messaging and e-mail programs.

You must have got some idea about the office assistant duties. Now, let's look at the salary range of the office assistant. The salary of an office assistant is mostly on the hourly basis, as many people also work in various shifts as office assistants. In established firms and offices, the salaries of office assistants may be fixed and can vary as per the norms of the company.

The salary range of office assistant has been tabulated below.


^{*- Approximately in USD on hourly basis (Median Salary Range)}

The office assistant salary range annually is between $38,000 to $41,000 and depends on various factors like the geographical location, work experience and the sector in which the assistant is working. There is always a demand of office assistants in various offices. Every firm needs assistants, who can look after the basic management of the office. So, with increasing number of firms, diversifying in various business and opening new offices, there are good career opportunities in this field.

An individual having substantial work experience, can also try to switch over to some bigger roles in the office, like office manager head, etc, however, for that to happen, one must have displayed outstanding performance and must be a part of the firm since a long time.

So, if you are looking for a job, wherein, you can learn basics of office management, office assistant job is the one for you. Hope, by now you must have got some idea about the office assistant duties. Best of luck for a flourishing career!