Administrative Assistant's Update

AUGUST 2015 2 Administrative Assistant's Update is published once a month by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Director, Carswell Media: Karen Lorimer Publisher: John Hobel Editor: George Pearson george@adminupdate.ca Associate Editor: Jennifer Lewington jennifer@adminupdate.ca EDITORIAL OFFICE (519) 271-6000 Administrative Assistant's Update Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 1 Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CUSTOMER SERVICE (416) 609-3800 (800) 387-5164 FAX (416) 298-5082 (877) 750-9041 carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Contents copyright. All rights reserved. © 2015 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission. Brief extracts may be made with due acknowledgement. Annual subscription: $189. Publications Mail Registration No. 40065782 GST# 897176350 UPDATE Administrative Assistant's E D I TO R ' S N OT E George Pearson Our best source for news and insights: You Last month, in my first note to you as editor of Administrative Assistant's Update, I promised that we would share the stories of office profession- als across Canada that would include you, office pro, and spotlight resourc- es to help you do your job and grow. In that issue we examined the Qualified Administrative Assistant certification offered by the Association of Administrative Assistants, a Canadian chartered non-profit professional organization, and delivered by about 30 Canadian universities and colleges. Beyond describing the QAA certification process, we wanted to put a face to the credential. Patricia Lamoureux, an administrative assistant with a federal government agency in Peterborough, Ontario, shared her observations on what the designation means to her and her career. Our story was so much richer for her sharing her insights. We were aided in our search for "real people" by AAA and, in particular, association vice-president Arlene Stone, whose contributions to her organization were recognized with the Linda Bates Award of Excellence last May. This month Joan Binetti, an executive legal assistant with Blake, Cassels & Graydon, shares her wisdom and experience as an EA serving multiple bosses. At Blakes she works for five lawyers. "It was scary at first," she writes, but not for long. "I love to embrace challenge and change, learn new things and experience variety." We are fortunate to have met so many talented admins already, but we are anxious to meet more of you. We invite you to let us know what is happening where you are, how you are viewing your profession and your employment situation. Send us an email or a snail-mail note and we'll start a conversation. (See addresses in the masthead on this page.) You might choose one or more of the topics below – or another topic of personal interest. We also welcome letters to the editor. Please get in touch. We'd be delighted to hear from you. What's the word (from you)? Here are some of the topics that we plan to develop – with your help – in AAU. • Do you work from home, oc- casionally or regularly? How is it working out? • Have you been promoted within or beyond the admin status? Describe your climb and who helped you up the ladder. • Is managing social media part of your job? • Are you a male in this female- dominated profession? What are your experiences? (If you know a male admin, ask him if he'd be willing to share his experiences.) • Who are the most interesting (positive or negative) bosses you have experienced? What did you learn from the relationship? • What are the best professional learning experiences you've ever had? • How do you balance your work life with your life away from work? • What skills have you developed that have been the most useful to / appreciated by your boss(es)? • How do you deal with a work- place bully? Do you have views and experi- ences you'd be willing to share? Please send us a note: George@ adminupdate.ca or Jennifer@ adminupdate.ca An idea is all we need to get a con- versation started.

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