Industry Nexus - Assistant Overdrive

Assistant Overdrive

Written by The Voice of Reason

Dear Reason,

I feel like a lot of assistants are intimidated by their boss, or they feel like their boss doesn’t like them that much. I have an opposite problem. My boss is absolutely dependent on me. He can hardly eat a snack without running it by me first for my approval. What started as a good working relationship has turned into what feels like a babysitting job. He always tells me that he’s never had such a great assistant, and he doesn’t know what he’d do without me. I want to get promoted and move on someday, but at this rate, I don’t know that I’ll ever leave this desk! What should I do?

Assistant Overdrive

Dear AO,

Well, at least you don’t have to worry about being fired! J to the K darling, J to the K. But in a working world where people often fear for their jobs, limbs, and even lives if they make a mistake, you’re certainly in a better position than they are. That said, I can understand your concerns. It’s hard to find a good assistant these days and even if they know you have potential, many selfish employers won’t promote you for fear that they’ll never find someone as good as you are.

First off, how long have you been working for your boss? If it’s only a few months, then you’re in a great position. You’ve wowed him with your skills and now is the time to start asking him if you might be able to take on some more responsibility. Or better yet, find responsibilities for yourself. Create systems for the whole department – not just for your boss. If everyone begins to see how innovative you are and how you create ideas for the department to run more smoothly, they’ll consider you an asset to the company, not just to your boss.

If you’ve been with your boss for over a year and there’s been no discussion of a promotion, it’s a perfect time to sit down with him to discuss your career. Be prepared for him to tell you (if you’ve only been there a year) that he expects another year out of you before there’s any possibility of a promotion. Also, be prepared for him to plain and simply bullshit you simply because he doesn’t want to lose you. The truth is, these days you often need to leave a company, or at the very least get another offer somewhere else, in order to move up to the next level. So even if your boss tells you a promotion is around the corner, you need to be pro-active as well. Keep your ears peeled and let people that you trust know that you are looking to move off of a desk. Hopefully you’ll have formed relationships with executives at your company besides your boss whom you can trust and who might help you take that next step. And also remember this, as much as your boss would be sorry to lose you, if he’s really terrific then he’ll also be happy to see you move forward in the industry.

Finally, ask yourself what makes you such a great assistant? Is it because you go above and beyond all the time or because you never drop a call and you never schedule something wrong? If it’s the former, then you’re priming yourself for executive material, but the latter is just plain being a perfect assistant. And if you are just being a perfect assistant but hoping to be promoted one day, then start stretching yourself to think outside the box, take the extra step, create challenges for yourself at work. That way, not only will you be viewed as a perfect assistant but you’ll be respected as an intelligent mind.

The Voice of Reason

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