Synopses & Reviews
Does a busy administrative professional like you really have time to read a 500-page book? Not likely.
But will there be times—countless times—when a no-frills, practical, complete, and timely response to an urgent business matter will save the day? You bet your job there will.
The bottom line is, you’ve got to have one resource you can go to every day to help you slam-dunk every single one of your dozens of job responsibilities, from managing the phones and coordinating meetings to preparing presentations and writing sensitive (and bulletproof) business communications.
Now in its fourth edition, the definitive Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook remains the go-to source for invaluable help in doing your job efficiently and well every day. And with more than 250 pages of brand-new or fully revised material, it’s as up to date as it is indispensable. The book’s impressive range of new topics includes:
• How-to tutorials for Microsoft Office products: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and OneNote, with a special section on creating business documents
• Powerful strategies for maximizing Microsoft Outlook for e-mail and schedule management
• Working with Windows 7 and Macintosh OS X
• Understanding and using common business math
• Managing virtual meetings and training sessions with Microsoft Live Web applications
• Working across organizational structures
• Understanding workplace law and business ethics issues
• And much more
Every day, you’ll find yourself consulting the language usage reference section, implementing tips on file and data organization, or executing complex travel arrangements with newfound ease. You’ll also find priceless advice on managing multiple bosses, and even prickly personalities and downright difficult people. You’ll have everything you need to become more adept and comfortable with customer service, banking issues, troubleshooting office technology; the list goes on and on.
(And if you take Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook home with you after work, you can take advantage of the super career advice: creating the perfect résumé, networking, and acing the interview that will lead to your next great move!)
In your position, you need to be everything to everyone, all the time. With the brand-new edition of Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook, you’ll have the techniques and tools to make yourself more valuable, promotable, and marketable than ever before.
JAMES STROMAN has served as a private professional secretary, administrative assistant, and executive assistant to a wide range of individuals including an army general, a governor, a university president, and the owner of an NFL football team (the Dallas Cowboys).
KEVIN WILSON is a writer, instructional designer, training consultant, and Vice President of Videologies, Inc., a company that specializes in training administrative professionals at Fortune 500 companies. He is the co-author of The AMA Handbook of Business Writing and The AMA Handbook of Business Documents.
JENNIFER WAUSON is a training consultant, video producer and director, project manager, and President of Videologies., Inc. She has managed multimillion-dollar projects and feature films, produced a national television series, and produced award-winning, multimedia training programs for companies like IBM, Sony, Chevron, and Verizon. She is the co-author of The AMA Handbook of Business Writing and The AMA Handbook of Business Documents.
Review
“A handbook full of essential information for administrative assistants and secretaries.” --Reference and Research News
“Provides easy access to a wealth of practical and useful information… comprehensive scope… [a] useful reference tool." --American Reference Books Annual
“An excellent handbook for office reference.” --Bookwatch
Synopsis
An administrative professional’s job requires a diverse range of abilities. From managing schedules, coordinating meetings, and fielding calls to planning events, deciphering legal documents, and creating PowerPoint presentations, today’s administrative assistants are expected to effortlessly and efficiently juggle it all.
Professionals looking to improve their performance—and enhance their value to employers—should turn to the fourth edition of Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook. This invaluable 500-plus page reference book includes over 250 pages of new or completely revised material. It provides thorough, practical instruction on:
Web conferencing • Creating graphics, charts, and presentations • Microsoft Office 2010 • Business math • Managing e-mail and schedules with Outlook • Organizing computer files • Research skills • Time management • Customer service skills • Troubleshooting computer problems • Event planning • and much more.
Administrative jobs are constantly changing, but with the latest edition of this best-selling guide, professionals everywhere can stay ahead of the curve.
Synopsis
“[A] treasure trove of practical tips, accessible instructions, and invaluable tools for administrative professionals… it doesn’t get much better than this book.” Praise for a previous edition of the handbook, BookViews.com
As an office professional, you only have to do one thing: everything. And there never seems to be enough time to do it all, much less learn how.
But if you really want to ramp up your job performance—and your value to your employer—you need the new fourth edition of the Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook—an almost endless supply of savvy advice, great tips, proven tools, and powerful strategies for dealing with both everyday job responsibilities and the almost-everyday crisis. Here is the definitive source of information on:
• time management
• creating great PowerPoint presentations
• managing e-mail and your schedule with Microsoft Outlook
• creating first-class business documents with Microsoft Word
• creating attention-grabbing newsletters using Microsoft Publisher
• making clear and accurate spreadsheets with Microsoft Excel
• time-saving keyboard shortcuts
• computer and paper filing systems
• mail and shipping issues
• travel arrangements
• meeting planning and management
• e-mail etiquette
• language usage, grammar, spelling, and punctuation
• foreign countries, languages, and currencies
• zip codes and area codes
• weights and measures
• legal terminology and workplace laws
• data security
• planning and coordinating Web conferences
• computer and software troubleshooting
• bookkeeping and accounting principles
• business math formulas
• office ergonomics and workplace comfort
• AND your own career advancement!
So whether you’re brushing up your skills, keeping up with new developments in business, increasing your own marketability, or just starting a challenging and rewarding career, this comprehensive and state-of-the-art handbook is a must-have resource!
MORE PRAISE FOR PREVIOUS EDITIONS
“An excellent handbook for office reference.” — Bookwatch
“A handbook full of essential information for administrative assistants and secretaries.”— Reference and Research News
“Sets the gold standard for professionals who want to please not just their bosses—but themselves.”— The Progressive Woman
“Provides easy access to a wealth of practical and useful information… comprehensive scope… [a] useful reference tool.”— American Reference Books Annual
Synopsis
Between coordinating meetings, making travel arrangements, and running the phone lines, being a professional administrative assistant requires an astonishing and varied range of skills involving interpersonal communication, written presentations, and organizational ability.
Written in a down-to-earth style, Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook provides readers with information on subjects including record keeping, telephone usage, office machines, mail, business letters, and computer software skills. Now in its third edition, the book has been completely revised with expanded coverage of topics including electronic records management, interpersonal and communication skills, troubleshooting computer problems, time and stress management, customer service, event planning, web conferencing, math for office professionals, office management and supervision, transcription, and much more.
Comprehensive and completely up-to-date, this is the book every administrative professional should own.
Synopsis
From coordinating meetings, to making travel arrangements, to creating a PowerPoint presentation for the next board meeting, to running the phone lines—or doing all of them simultaneously—it’s pretty clear that you don’t have much time to learn how.
Fortunately, here is a definitive resource that can answer all your questions. It’s a one-volume treasure trove of practical and valuable tips for performing countless job responsibilities quickly and well. Now in a thoroughly updated third edition, Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook gives you the information and guidance you need to significantly improve your skills—and enhance your value and career potential at the same time.
You’ll learn how to design and implement more productive daily administrative routines, organize your workspace and schedule for optimum efficiency, and keep yourself comfortable and healthy with a properly adjusted, ergonomically correct workstation and equipment.
In addition, the book keeps you up to speed with rapidly changing business technologies, from e-mail and Web use through networking issues, online data storage, and information security. Written in a down-to-earth style and organized for easy reference, the all-new edition has been completely revised with expanded coverage of topics including electronic records management, interpersonal and communication skills, troubleshooting computer problems, time management, event planning, web conferencing, office management and supervision, transcription, and much more. Software tutorials come complete with illustrations, examples, definitions and other tools to help you master programs completely and quickly.
A truly exceptional administrative professional is hard to find. But becoming one is now easier than ever. This jam-packed volume is the most comprehensive resource you’ll ever find, filled with every piece of on-the-job information you’ll ever need.
Long the go-to resource for the very best and most ambitious office professionals, Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook provides you with the necessary resources to build a foundation for your own career growth, and become more crucial to your boss’s, and your organization’s, success.
James Stroman has served as a private professional secretary, administrative assistant, and executive assistant to a wide range of individuals including an army general, a governor, a university president, and the owner of a National Football League team. He is the author of Secretary’s Manual, and has also written several successful cookbooks. He lives in Dallas, Texas.
Kevin Wilson is is a writer, instructional designer, training consultant and Vice President of Videologies, Inc., a company that specializes in training administrative professionals in Fortune 500 companies. His programs have won numerous awards and have been translated into 12 different languages. He lies in Acworth, Georgia.
Jennifer Wauson is a training consultant, project manager, and President of Videologies, Inc. She has managed multimillion dollar training projects, produced and directed a national television series, and produced award-winning multimedia training programs for companies such as IBM, Sony, Chevron, and Compaq. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Synopsis
Being a professional administrative assistant requires an astonishing and varied range of skills involving interpersonal communication, written presentations, and organizational ability. The most thorough, trusted career guide for administrative professionals, Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook gives you the skills and know-how you need to make your job easier and more rewarding, give your boss peace of mind, and set the stage for a rewarding and lucrative career. Completely updated and written in a down-to-earth style, this all-new third edition provides an overview for new administrative assistants, and offers information on everything from record keeping and telephone usage to office machines, business letters, and computer software skills. Included in the book are a glossary of computer terms and special business and financial information for the small business secretary. The book also provides information and advice on:
mail services and shipping • travel arrangements • meetings • keeping accurate records • computer systems and software • database management • spreadsheet software • the internet & e-mail • data security • keyboarding skills • word processing • desktop publishing • PowerPoint • office ergonomics • legal documents and terms • spelling, grammar and common English usage problems • bookkeeping and accounting • and more!
Whether you’re brushing up your skills, retraining to keep pace with changes in how business gets done, or just starting out on a challenging and rewarding path, this is the comprehensive and completely up-to-date book every administrative professional should own.
Praise for Previous Editions of Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook:
“[A] treasure trove of practical tips, accessible instructions, and invaluable tools for administrative professionals… it doesn’t get much better than this book.”—BookViews.com
“An excellent handbook for office reference.” – Bookwatch
“A handbook full of essential information for administrative assistants and secretaries.”
– Reference and Research News
“Sets the gold standard for professionals who want to please not just their bosses—but themselves.”—The Progressive Woman
“Provides easy access to a wealth of practical and useful information… comprehensive scope… [a] useful reference tool."—American Reference Books Annual
About the Author
JAMES STROMAN has worked as an executive assistant to an army general, a governor, and the owner of an NFL football team. KEVIN WILSON is Vice President of Videologies, Inc., a company that specializes in training administrative professionals in Fortune 500 companies. JENNIFER WAUSON is President of Videologies, Inc.
Table of Contents
C O N T E N T S
Preface xv
S E C T I O N O N E GENERAL PROCEDURES
1 Overview for the New Administrative Assistant 3
2 Daily Routine 7
3 Telephone Usage 15
4 Mail Services and Shipping 33
5 Travel Arrangements 56
6 Meetings 91
7 Time Management 104
8 Keeping Accurate Records 108
S E C T I O N T W O OFFICE EQUIPMENT AND COMPUTERS
9 Office Equipment 119
10 Using Microsoft Windows 135
11 Using Apple Macintosh 152
12 Email 158
13 Using the Internet 176
14 Computer Networking 188
15 Web Conferencing 193
16 Data Security 202
17 Troubleshooting Computer Problems 209
18 Office Ergonomics 221
S E C T I O N T H R E E USING MICROSOFT OFFICE
19 Common Microsoft Office 2010 Features 231
20 Using Microsoft Word 238
21 Using Microsoft PowerPoint 268
22 Using Microsoft Excel 283
23 Using Microsoft Publisher 290
24 Using Microsoft OneNote 296
25 Using Microsoft Outlook 299
26 Using Microsoft Web Applications 308
S E C T I O N F O U R BUSINESS DOCUMENTS
27 The Business Letter 315
28 Other Written Communications 334
29 Forms of Address 345
30 Legal Documents and Terms 363
S E C T I O N F I V E LANGUAGE USAGE
31 Grammar 379
32 Language Usage and Style 404
33 Common English Usage Problems 419
34 Spelling 436
35 Pronunciation 454
36 Punctuation 459
37 Numerals 473
S E C T I O N S I X FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
38 Bookkeeping and Accounting 485
39 Business Taxes 498
40 Banking 502
41 Business and Financial Information for Small Businesses 514
42 Weights and Measures 522
43 Business Math 528
S E C T I O N S E V E N CAREER ADVANCEMENT
44 Your Future 539
45 Presentation Skills 547
46 Communications Skills 553
47 Office Management and Supervision 561
Index 573
About the Authors 591