Admin jobs in London almost seem to form the staple of the opportunities on job boards. But as the term is so broad, what are the responsibilities exactly within these roles and why are they worth pursuing in a city such as London when there are so many other things you can do?
Admin jobs tend to be a great way to gain work experience in a business and office environment. These roles exists across sectors and industries, which means that you can either chose a sector you are particularly interested in or you can work across different sectors to gain an insight into how they function.
There will always be a need for administrative positions within offices, and often businesses will need someone on a part time or ad hoc basis. As a student in London it might be worth considering looking for admin roles instead of working in a bar or pub as this will give you a head start later on when you look for a permanent role.
So what sort of tasks would you be involved in when you are working in an admin role? These roles tend to be very varied, but often include some (if not all) of the following elements: front desk reception, managing the phone, being in charge of diaries, filing documents, copying, distributing mail and invoicing.
The main skills you will need to start in admin jobs are being very organized as you will be required to multitask and juggle a variety of responsibilities in an efficient way. Computer skills are very important as well; especially MS Office applications such as Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint, and often companies will have a preference for candidates with excellent typing skills. If on top of that you are a strong communicator and you enjoy being proactive and solving problems when they arise, then you are well on your way to excelling at this role.
If you look at admin jobs as something you would like to pursue as a long term career, then it is often a good idea to look for a role in a large company within a sector that you are interested in. This will help you to gain experience, build up your skills and grow within the company as bigger companies often have a larger scope for development.
Admin jobs are a great way to jump start your career in an office environment and the skills you gain can be transferable to virtually any role.