Climbing the Ladder: A Roadmap to Career Growth for Administrative Assistants

Whether you're currently in an administrative assistant role or looking to make a switch, you’ll be happy to learn that career growth and potential as an administrative professional are limitless. 

Some administrative assistants may choose to go the executive assistant route, some are promoted to office managers, and others transfer to other departments. This post explores the various roadmaps for administrative assistants and how you can tap into your potential to build your dream career.

Career Growth Opportunities For Administrative Assistants

A job as an administrative assistant provides you with ample growth opportunities. For some, it is a stepping-stone role that teaches the foundational skills necessary for various other positions. 

Here are some common career paths that often begin with an administrative assistant role. 

Office Manager

The office manager or administrator is a typical promotion from the administrative assistant role. After you’ve gained ample skills and fully grasped the office policies and procedures, you’ll be well-equipped to manage the office as a whole. Office managers often oversee admins, bookkeepers, and other accounting personnel. 

Executive Assistant

Many administrative professionals are promoted to executive assistants to partner with one executives or a group of execs within an organization. As an administrative assistant, you’ll be well-prepared to become an EA, as you will handle scheduling, book travel, manage special projects, and much more.

Marketing Coordinator

Depending on your tasks and responsibilities as an admin assistant, a marketing coordinator role may be the next step in your career. Some admin professionals work closely with the marketing department, so they’re already well-versed in the marketing operations and how things work. 

If marketing interests you, a lateral transfer or a promotion into this department could be an excellent move for your career with many growth opportunities.

Human Resources

Like marketing, many admin assistants are already working with HR on a regular basis. As an assistant, you’re already developing the hard and soft skills to be successful in HR. These skills include interpersonal communication, transparency, discretion, and attention to detail. 

Determining a Career Growth Plan 

If one (or several) of these potential career paths sound appealing, where do you begin? You may not know which steps to take and that’s normal. Here are some strategies and skills you can work on as you find your way.

Seek a Mentor 

Try to get on the calendar of a leader in your organization who works in one of the departments you’re interested in. For example, you could ask for a meeting with the Marketing Manager or Director to learn about their daily work and what you could do to help their team and gain valuable skills along the way. 

Or say you already help the HR department with specific tasks and projects. You can speak with the HR manager about their career path and see which options are available for yours.

Develop Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills are critical to establishing healthy and productive relationships in the workplace. These skills help you communicate effectively, deal with conflict, and find resolutions. They also can be applied to any of the roles you may encounter in your administrative career.  

Take on New Challenges

Seeking new challenges in different departments is a great way to flex your skills, meet new leaders, and find what you’re passionate about. Network with other teams and see how you can support their endeavors or pitch in when you have the capacity. 

In doing so, you’ll forge new relationships, develop valuable skills, and gain experience to apply to various roles. 

Build Your Dream Career with ASAP

Whether you know exactly where you want your admin career to go or you're still figuring it out, adding skills to your toolkit is essential for success. ASAP is committed to helping administrative professionals gain experience, training, and confidence to advance their careers. Explore our webinars, in-person events, and educational resources today!