If you love to multitask and enjoy having a variety of responsibilities resting on your shoulders, a career as a secretary might be right up your alley. While secretaries do deal with repetitive tasks at times, each day tends to bring something new or different. Whether you are working in a large firm as one of multiple secretaries or for an independent businessperson, the duties of a secretary are extremely similar.
Filing
Secretaries are often responsible for all the filing duties around the office. Once you have mastered the company's filing system you should find that your filing speed increases. While filing is a mundane task, it is vital to keeping an office running smoothly. Misplaced files can lead to missed deadlines and lost sales. If you despise mundane filing tasks or lack alphabetizing skills, being a secretary would not be a wise career choice.
Correspondence
As a secretary, you are responsible for typing the majority of the correspondence that comes out of your office. From letters to fliers and notices, you will spend a good deal of time typing. Quick typing will work to your advantage if you are also accurate -- the last thing you want is to have to retype the letter your boss wanted five minutes ago. Secretaries are not just responsible for outgoing correspondence. You must also help sort and deliver incoming mail and packages throughout the office.
Assisting Administration
Your job as a secretary often includes the same tasks as that of an administrative assistant. Whether you need to take notes at a meeting, reschedule an appointment or take care of clients in the waiting room, the administrator asking for your help is depending on you. Performing tasks for individual administrators often takes away from your time to complete office tasks, so they must be completed quickly and correctly.
Office Housekeeping
Secretaries may also help in keeping the office looking neat and tidy. This could include wiping down surfaces and picking trash up off the floor of the office common areas. The way the front of the office looks is often a direct reflection on your abilities as a secretary, and you should take pride in keeping it clean. When there is a serious cleaning issue, it is often the secretary's responsibility to relay that issue to the cleaning service or maintenance department.