Are you highly organized and good at multitasking? Are you interested in working in an office setting as an assistant to a professional or organization?
Consider becoming a certified professional secretary. At a minimum, you will need to have a high school diploma or GED.
Read on as we talk about what it means to be a certified professional secretary and what it takes to pursue this career path.
What Is a Certified Professional Secretary?
Many companies, organizations, and individuals hire secretaries to manage their business or professional lives. Secretaries work in a variety of fields and industries.
Certified professional secretaries have extra training and work experience that sets them apart from other secretaries. For example, they may work in more high-level positions.
Certified professional secretaries hold one or more certifications that demonstrate their commitment to the profession. Many of these certifications have education and job experience prerequisites.
Like other secretaries, certified professional secretaries may perform a variety of job duties, including:
- making and answering phone calls
- scheduling meetings
- recording minutes during meetings
- keeping employee files up to date
- developing new company procedures
Certified professional secretaries work in an office setting for a variety of organizations and industries, from legal and medical fields to private companies.
They typically work standard hours, although overtime may be required, depending on the organization they work for.
What Skills Do You Need to Become a Certified Professional Secretary?
Certified professional secretaries must have excellent organizational skills. Their primary job function is to keep the office organized and to coordinate groups of people within a company.
They need to be excellent communicators with great interpersonal skills, as they interact with employees, executives, and the general public regularly. They must have good written communication skills as well.
Certified professional secretaries must be highly adaptable and skilled at multitasking to be able to handle changing circumstances and to juggle several tasks at once.
Finally, they must have good decision-making skills to be able to prioritize tasks and make plans on behalf of the company or individual employees.
So, do you have what it takes to become a certified professional secretary? Read on to find out more.
Step 1: Earn a High School Diploma or GED
It's important to obtain a high school diploma or GED before you begin looking for secretary jobs. The vast majority of employers require this basic level of education.
While it is possible to find entry-level secretary jobs that don't have education requirements, you will need to have a diploma or GED to pursue the other steps necessary for certification.
In other words, to become certified later on in your career, you will need to have a high school diploma or GED at a minimum. Depending on the certification you seek, a diploma or GED may be all you need.
However, there are a variety of certifications with different requirements, and having a diploma or GED allows you to take steps to meet more stringent requirements.
Step 2: Consider Obtaining a College Degree
It is not necessary to attend college to become a secretary. Depending on the certification, it may not even be necessary to become certified.
That said, pursuing an associate or bachelor's degree can make you a more desirable job candidate and help you become eligible for certification sooner.
A degree in office management, office procedures, communications, or business can be extremely beneficial. Pursuing these degrees will help you build necessary skills for success as a secretary.
Most associate degrees take about two years to complete, while bachelor's degrees typically require four years.
Step 3: Gain Work Experience
This is one of the most important steps on your path to becoming certified. You need to gain real work experience as a secretary.
There are plenty of entry-level secretary positions available. You can find them through online job boards, temp agencies, and by searching company-specific job listings.
If you have a bachelor's degree, you will need to gain two years of experience before you can pursue the certified administrative professional certification, which we'll talk about in a few minutes.
If you have an associate degree, three years of experience is required for the same certification. If you only have a high school diploma, you will need at least four years of experience.
So, regardless of your level of education, there is no way around gaining necessary on-the-job experience in entry-level secretarial positions.
Step 4: Get Certified
Once you have the education and enough work experience, you can pursue any number of certifications and professional credentials.
The most popular by far is the certified administrative professional, or CAP, credential. This certification is available through the International Association of Administrative Professionals, or IAAP.
In addition to the education and work experience requirements outlined in the previous section, your work experience must have been gained within the past 10 years for you to be eligible for certification.
You must also have spent at least one year with a single company within the previous five years.
If you meet all of these requirements, you will need to pass a multiple-choice test to receive your certification. Once you do, you will be considered a CAP-certified professional secretary.
Step 5: Maintain Certification
Regardless of the specific certification you pursue, you must maintain that certification on a regular basis.
For the CAP certification, you will need to renew it every five years by obtaining 60 points toward recertification within that five-year period.
You can obtain these points by completing continuing education credits, working in a leadership role within an IAAP-approved organization, or by acquiring other certifications.
Start Your Path to Becoming a Certified Professional Secretary Today
Although it takes time to become a certified professional secretary, obtaining certifications can help you pursue a fulfilling career within the field.
To become a certified professional secretary, follow the steps discussed in this article.
