Administrative Assistant's Update

7 Administrative Assistant's UPDATE Admin associations There are a number of professional associations for administrative as- sistants in Canada. They offer networking opportunities, courses and speakers. You should take a look at them all to see which one is the right fi t for you. Here are two major admin associations in Canada: Association of Administrative Assistants (AAA) www.aaa.ca International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), Canada division www.iaap-hq.org Ask a question Continued from page 1 exchange for an email address). I discovered that iTunesU has an incredible selection of lectures and courses on a variety of topics from history to business to learning languages. Harvard's Law School has a program on negotiation, PON, with all kinds of information and tips on negotiation and managing confl ict— and a very good newsletter. I found the website because I asked a ques- tion to get tips about dealing with a diffi cult colleague. I discovered a TED talk that has helped a lot of my clients feel more confi dent in interviews. It dawned on me that one of my favourite tools, something I use almost daily in my work, is to ask questions. Asking questions has allowed me to give my clients information that is sometimes unexpected and makes them feel like I've given them good value. I ask questions to solve problems, to hear different points of view and to expand my knowledge. When I begin working with clients, I ask questions to better un- derstand their needs so I can tailor my services and approach to fi t their requirements. I ask questions of colleagues to learn more about their ideas and about them as people. I've also asked questions which helped me to improve my software skills. Working on a PowerPoint presentation, I wanted to include screen-prints in the presentation but wasn't sure how to do that so I Googled the question, "How do I copy a screen-prints into a Pow- erPoint presentation?" And now I know how. Not being a frequent user of Excel, I Googled a question to learn how to get information on different sheets to total up on the top sheet— I found a number of really helpful videos on YouTube that I could pause and re-wind until I got it. As an introvert, I fi nd meeting new people, especially in groups, challenging. To make me feel more comfortable, I prepare questions in advance so I have something I can draw on during those fi rst uncom- fortable minutes. "How do you know our host?" "How long have you been a member of this group?" I still get nervous but I've found that if I ask a few questions at the beginning of a conversation, things generally move on well from there and I can relax a bit. Now I try and ask more questions of everyone I interact with—"Is there any way you can lower that change fee?" "How did you know you wanted to be a butcher?" "What did you do over the weekend?" My introvert self is happy: more questions means a lot less talking and a lot more listening. I love it! I've learned all sorts of new things and found information that's been really useful in my work. Best of all, now I'm the LinkedIn expert. Helen Latimer is a seasoned job coach. Visit her website at helenlatimercoaching. com and connect with her on LinkedIn. Photo: bahri altay/shutterstock.com 2014 May AAU.indd 7 2014 May AAU.indd 7 14-04-17 9:16 AM 14-04-17 9:16 AM

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