E-library WCL



private secretary noun

Definition

•

a secretary who works for someone, dealing with their personal affairs (= business)

•

Someone whose job is to help a government minister

(Definition of private secretary noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

1

Private Secretary Career Description

Private secretaries assist the executives in their performance in the management field and help to achieve maximum efficiency in the business. Private secretaries handle correspondence, deal with clients, and arrange bookings and appointments on behalf of their bosses. In this way they relieve their employer of many time-consuming details in the work.

Private secretaries are also known as personal secretaries, personal assistants or on the highest level, as executive secretaries (office managers). Although this occupation is traditionally female, men are also employed as private secretaries and executive assistants.

[pic][pic][pic][pic]What am I going to do in this occupation?

The work of private secretaries include, besides secretarial duties like typing and the handling of incoming and outgoing correspondence, other tasks such as the reception of clients and screening telephone and personal callers in order to ensure that the employer is not unnecessarily interrupted. Appointments are made for those who wish to consult the employer directly. They update and consult their employer's diary and remind them of appointments. They also furnish the employers with all the necessary information they might need for telephone calls, visitors and business trips. Private secretaries generally arrange bookings for business trips and depending on their employers could be responsible for arranging social functions. Additional tasks may include basic bookkeeping, writing minutes or drawing up reports for the press .

The works of private secretaries are, although demanding, very gratifying and the modern typewriters and word processors contribute to high productivity and pleasant working conditions.

Requirements

What kind of personality do I need? Private secretaries must be helpful and be able to deal pleasantly and tactfully with clients and members of the public. They must be capable of being trusted with confidential information. Complete integrity, high ethical standards, good general knowledge and adaptability are essential. The ability to make decisions and accept responsibility both in conjunction with their employers and in their absence if necessary is an important asset private secretaries must have. A well-groomed personal appearance and neat work are also required of them.

Where can I work?

Private secretaries are employed by nearly all organisations in the private as well as the public sectors of the economy.

Secretaries with good technical competence and a sound knowledge of business and office administration, can be promoted on merit to more responsible and senior positions, for example, office managers, heads of administrative services departments or administrative managers.

Can I work for myself in this occupation?

Private secretaries can work on consultation basis for various companies. [pic]

Private Secretary

In the United Kingdom government, a Private Secretary is a civil servant in a Department or Ministry, responsible to the Secretary of State or Minister. The senior civil servant in charge of administering the department is usually entitled the Permanent Secretary, and may also have a Private Secretary.

A Private Secretary (PS) is normally of middle management level however, as the key official responsible for disseminating the decision of Ministers and indeed as their gatekeeper, their role is of considerably greater significance than the grade or level they hold suggests. They will be assisted by one or more Assistants - and or Deputy Secretaries, or even head a whole office in which those may be section chiefs.

Where the Private Secretary is a member of the Senior Civil Service, they will be referred to as a Principal Private Secretary, making the order of precedence Principal Private Secretary, Senior Private Secretary (rarely now in existence), Private Secretary, and Assistant Private Secretary (APS). A similar role to a Principal Private Secretary in the United States Administration would be a 'Chief of Staff'.

Private Secretaries are the principal link between a government Minister and officials in the Department or Ministry. He or she has overall responsibility for coordinating the development of the Minister's policy remit, ensuring that the aims of Ministers are clearly and fully implemented by the Department. In that respect a PS will often be in a position of debate with colleagues of much higher seniority.

A PS or an APS is always in attendance with the Minister at every meeting or event to provide support and to ensure that a member of the UK civil service, who are non-political appointees, takes a factual note of discussions and commitments.

They also have ownership of the Ministerial diary, managing the Ministerial Diary Secretary whose task is to sift and prioritise invites, commitments, policy briefings and parliamentary business. A PS is always the initial source of advice to Ministers on parliamentary protocol, the process of cabinet business and departmental policy.

Working in Private Office as a Private Secretary or an Assistant Private Secretary is often seen as essential for advancement to the Senior Civil Service.

Depending upon the seniority of their political principal, a Private Secretary may him or herself be regarded as an important official in their own right; the Queen's Private Secretary and the Downing Street Private Secretary being the most important.

A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament appointed to act as unpaid assistant to a Minister. The PPS allows the Prime Minister, or minister, to reward party colleagues without cost, and test potential future ministers, and strengthens the Whip system as a PPS is expected to support the government's policies and vote for them in the parliament, regardless of their personal opinions.

See also

• British Civil Service

This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia® - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the Wikipedia® encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.

|Secretary |

Top

This article is about the occupation. For other uses, see Secretary (disambiguation).

A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit of more than one. In other situations a secretary is an officer of a society or organization who deals with correspondence, admits new members and organizes official meetings and events.

[pic]

Rose Mary Woods, Richard Nixon's secretary

A secretary has many administrative duties. Traditionally, these duties were mostly related to correspondence, such as the typing out of letters, maintaining files of paper documents, etc. The advent of word processing has significantly reduced the time that such duties require, with the result that many new tasks have come under the purview of the secretary. These might include managing budgets and doing bookkeeping, maintaining websites, and making travel arrangements. Secretaries might manage all the administrative details of running a high-level conference or arrange the catering for a typical lunch meeting. Often executives will ask their assistant to take the minutes at meetings and prepare meeting documents for review. They may also do personnel paperwork which used to be thought of as a Human Relations function; this might also include understanding the complex rules regarding Visa and Immigration.

The Difference Between a Secretary & an Executive Secretary

X

[pic]

Je' Czaja

Je' Czaja has been writing and illustrating curricula, workbooks, newspaper articles and weekly columns for over 20 years. Her articles have been published in the "St. Augustine Record," the "Valdosta Daily Times," the "Sarasota Herald Tribune" and other regional newspapers. She attended Ringling School of Art, Charter Oak State College, and has a master's degree from the University of Metaphysics.

By Je' Czaja, eHow Contributor

updated July 22, 2010

?

Yesterday's secretary is today's administrative assistant.

The major differences between secretaries and executive secretaries have to do with responsibilities, wages, and whom they report to in the office. A secretary may serve several staff members while the executive secretary usually works for the chief executive officer or, in the case of large companies, one person in senior management. An executive secretary has more responsibility and receives higher wages.

History of Secretaries

o The word "secretary" came into use in the 1400's, first as a person who wrote letters and kept records for the king and then as someone who kept secrets or maintained the confidentiality of his employer. In some business settings, the title of secretary has been replaced in recent years by administrative assistant. And in this digital age, the duties of administrative assistants have changed from typing to word processing, emailing, and electronic storage of information.

Common Duties

o Administrative assistants and executives assistants share the following duties: Answering phones, creating documents, maintaining files, coordinating meetings, and providing clerical support for staff projects. In addition an executive assistant will conduct research, prepare reports, make travel arrangements, and possibly supervise lower-level clerical staff.

Administrative Assistants

o Administrative assistants often function as receptionists, answering and transferring phone calls and greeting clients and visitors. Their work station is likely to be accessible to the public, and so they sign for and distribute UPS/FedEx packages. They often research and purchase office supplies and furniture and coordinate staff keys, parking spaces, and company credit cards.

Executive Assistants

o In addition to research and report writing on behalf or the CEO, the executive assistant must smooth the way for the CEO. This can include booking flights and lodging for business trips, coordinating events, and acting as "gatekeeper"--managing access to the CEO. Executive assistants must understand the goals and priorities of the company. They often must have a college degree in the field in which the company specializes.

Career Information

o The salary range in the United States for an administrative assistant averages $29,000 to $37,000, compared with $43,000 to $55,000 for an executive assistant. The growth of these positions is expected to be slow because of increasing automation and organizational restructuring. Workers proficient with computer software will have better job opportunities.

• Accenture Jobs In India

Submit Your CV for Endeca Career Opportunities with Accenture India.

• HDFC Hiring for June Bank-Openings

7500+ P.O. Job Openings in June Upload Resume.Apply to HDFC Now!

• Project Management Course.in/Enquiry

Learn the concepts of Project Management and its benefits here!

• Executive Resume Template

Create CV in 2 Steps Sign Up Now

Ads by Google

References

Read more: The Difference Between a Secretary & an Executive Secretary |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download