Message #72778

[Cathy S]

Hello Carly and welcome to the forum ... you will find lots of people with wide ranging experience and you will probably get many different views on your question.

Here's my take on it ... based on experience in the UK.  Firstly you need to be realistic - if the adverts you see are mainly stating that they are looking for three years experience you are maybe not pitching yourself at the right rung in the ladder, but there is nothing wrong with ambition.

Think about the experience you do have that relates to admin and secretarial tasks ... have you worked with any voluntary groups? taken notes in meetings? typed documents for friends or family? organised events at school or college? all of this is experience so don't neglect it.

It will also vary with sector and type of role - if you want to be a PA in Education in the UK for example you would generally expect to have a couple of team based secretarial roles first, gaining experience and the opportunities to start to work with a few bosses.  If you want to be a team based secretary in the professional services (accountancy, legal, financial) then you would probably be expected to bring a little less experience at the beginning.

Finally don't neglect the possibility of signing up as a temp ... okay I know you are excited about having your first job and earning good money and being a temp doesn't sound so hot? There is good experience to be gained as a temp if you approach it the right way and whilst the money isn't the best rates there is also more access to opportunities in the job market that doesn't advertise ... because they use temp to perm to fill their vacancies.

If you can post with a bit more idea of what you are aiming for jobwise, and country, you will get more direct responses.

Good luck and at least come back and let us know how you get on ... we share the pain and anguish when things are tough on here but we love to get the good news too.

Cathy