What does a secretary do?
Secretaries are employees who are responsible for many of the administrative needs of the office. They are usually assigned to executives or to a specific department. They manage schedules and appointments, often handling the calendar in the office. They are also responsible for keeping files organized, whether physical or digital copies. During office meetings, secretaries are in charge of documenting the minutes of the meeting and highlighting the action steps that need to be taken. They may also be assigned to check on concerned departments who need to present deliverables in the next office meeting.
Secretary responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real secretary resumes:
- Manage and oversee all STO relate actions task to OSD impacting future and current operations in STO.
- Manage financial bookkeeping efficiently for the company using QuickBooks.
- Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
- Present information orally, using Microsoft PowerPoint to military officials on various office and personnel administrative functions.
- Track progress monitoring for corrective reading and corrective math.
- Copy and distribute medical records according to guidelines set by HIPPA
- Maintain student records of attendance, discipline, and grades using PowerSchool.
- Maintain new timekeeping system, KRONOS, track and reconcile employee benefit hours for payroll.
- Maintain a prompt and organize EMR in a high-stress work environment to improve the efficiency of emergency physicians.
- Make sure front office is clean and attend to all bathrooms have toilet paper windows doors and surface are clean.
- Enroll and discharge students; request records from prior schools and distribute records to other schools as needed utilizing PowerSchool software.
- Support HHS agencies in departmental initiatives.
- Analyze HHS pilot programs for successful implementation.
- Transcribe radiology results and schedule x-ray procedures.
- Perform patient charting using EMR system efficiently and without errors
Secretary skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Secretaries are proficient in Customer Service, Telephone Calls, and Payroll. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Secretaries that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 15%
Scheduled appointments and provided quality customer service to customers, clients, inspectors, and effectively communicated with staff and management.
- Telephone Calls, 11%
Performed secretarial duties including processing and filing of paperwork, responding to telephone calls and completing financial reports through electronic database.
- Payroll, 9%
Provided support to management with budget preparation, supplying payroll information as requested.
- Scheduling Appointments, 9%
Conducted clerical and administrative functions such as organizing paper and electronic files, generating correspondence, scheduling appointments and answering telephones.
- Word Processing, 5%
Assist litigation/bankruptcy departments and word processing department with document design and production on evenings and weekends.
- Office Equipment, 5%
Typed correspondence, reports and other documents Maintained office files Opened and distributed the mail Coordinated repairs to office equipment Distributed payroll
"customer service," "telephone calls," and "payroll" are among the most common skills that secretaries use at work. You can find even more secretary responsibilities below, including:
Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a secretary to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." Additionally, a secretary resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "team player energetic work attitude communication skills conflict resolution microsoft office proficiency strong interpersonal skills managed office supplies daily office operations"
Organizational skills. Many secretary duties rely on organizational skills. "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently.," so a secretary will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways secretary responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "performed organizational skills such as filing, scheduling appointments sorting mail and phone calls collaborated with professors for student questions"
Writing skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of secretaries is writing skills. This skill is critical to many everyday secretary duties, as "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "handled marketing, underwriting, accounting and word processing. "
The three companies that hire the most secretarys are:
- Atlantic Health80 secretaries jobs
- RWJBarnabas Health48 secretaries jobs
- Hackensack Meridian Health41 secretaries jobs
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Compare different secretaries
Secretary vs. Administrative clerk
An administrative clerk provides support to staff and does clerical works. These clerical duties include answering and making phone calls, typing documents, compiling and filing records, and scheduling appointments. The clerks often set up office meetings and invite reliable speakers. Also, they do research and prepare reports or presentations. Candidates for the job must be organized, detail-oriented, and can manage their time well. They must be tech-savvy and have a basic knowledge of bookkeeping. The salary depends on their experience, industry, and location of the job.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a secretary are more likely to require skills like "payroll," "financial statements," "secretarial support," and "office procedures." On the other hand, a job as an administrative clerk requires skills like "data entry," "patients," "payroll data," and "database systems." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Administrative clerks earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $33,044. On the other hand, secretaries are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $46,574.The education levels that administrative clerks earn slightly differ from secretaries. In particular, administrative clerks are 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a secretary. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Secretary vs. Administrative associate
An administrative associate is responsible for performing various tasks such as handling and processing paperwork, attending meetings and preparing minutes, responding to inquiries and other forms of correspondence, keeping accurate records, updating databases, and monitoring the company's financial activities. They also communicate with various department personnel, ensuring coordination should any important matter would arise. Furthermore, as an administrative associate, they are in charge of procuring supplies, implementing company policies, and supporting any staff members if needed.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that secretary responsibilities requires skills like "secretarial support," "office procedures," "routine correspondence," and "hr." But an administrative associate might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patients," "data entry," "medical terminology," and "patient care."
Administrative associates earn a lower average salary than secretaries. But administrative associates earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $41,923. Additionally, secretaries earn the highest salaries in the government with average pay of $46,574 annually.In general, administrative associates achieve similar levels of education than secretaries. They're 4.9% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Secretary vs. Administrative support specialist
An administrative support specialist is an individual who is involved in the office management, clerical tasks, and back-office duties of an organization. To run the office smoothly, administrative support specialists must manage the purchasing and inventory of office supplies as well as schedule the maintenance of office equipment. They serve as a liaison for executives by screening incoming calls and emails, sorting mails, and setting appointments with employees, customers, and vendors. Administrative support specialists must also be able to draft memos and edit report proposals and other business documents.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a secretary is likely to be skilled in "secretarial support," "direct calls," "patient charts," and "routine correspondence," while a typical administrative support specialist is skilled in "data entry," "patients," "strong customer service," and "phone calls."
Administrative support specialists make a very good living in the government industry with an average annual salary of $42,241. On the other hand, secretaries are paid the highest salary in the government industry, with average annual pay of $46,574.administrative support specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to secretaries. Specifically, they're 3.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Secretary vs. Administrative support
Administrative support specialists provide different types of governmental assistance. They carry out varied clerical duties in almost all industries. Most of these duties revolve around supervising and distributing information within an organization. This typically includes taking memos, answering phone calls, and managing, storing, and organizing files. They are also responsible for receiving and sending correspondence and greeting customers and clients. Some administrative support may be required to have vast professional knowledge as their duties are more specialized than the others.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between secretaries and administrative supports, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a secretary might have more use for skills like "secretarial support," "office procedures," "patient charts," and "routine correspondence." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of administrative supports require skills like "data entry," "phone calls," "patients," and "excellent organizational. "
Administrative supports enjoy the best pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $40,623. For comparison, secretaries earn the highest salary in the government industry.administrative supports reach similar levels of education compared to secretaries, in general. The difference is that they're 2.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of secretary
Updated January 8, 2025
