Breaking out of admin roles

[Anonymous]

You are only 25. Start applying to the jobs that you want and write a good cover letter and tailored resume explaining how your work experience relates to the position. Sell yourself! You've been working full time for all of 3 years now? Climbing the ladder takes time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Try jobs like program assistants or analysts. Sometimes these can still be a bit entry level but are a step up in substance. Even a special assistant role could help you transition.

I agree with this. Maybe even "chief of staff" at a small company. (My last employer--a market research group--had a 26 yr old "chief of staff" who basically had just had admin experience but she was paid well--75K--and helped with all our special projects.)

FWIW, my mom started out as an admin with a BA at a family trust and moved up in the corporate finance sector, admin world made her way to exec assistant and is now chief of staff at a hedge fund making $300K per year (she is 52) .... so (1) the "admin" world is not so bad if you are skilled at it but (2) industry matters very much.

+1. I started as an admin (government), worked really hard to prove myself by volunteering for substantive assignments, and I was sought out for an entry level program analyst role. That was the start of my "real" career.

[Anonymous]

And yes, every other admin I knew/know has a college degree. That's just where people start nowadays and what employers expect. Times have changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never get a liberal arts degree to start. Let me guess, you are a woman? Men dont settle for that shit. You dont even need a degree to be an admin.

Please tell me where in DC they hire admins without Bachelor's degrees and typically at least a few years' experience.

Yup. Where I work there is a large contingent of admins with Master's degree. That first PP is a jerk and out of touch with reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should add that my jobs have been administrative mostly in title. I do a fair amount of non-admin work working closely with non-admins, my titles have just both sounded very administrative. I don't know if that makes my situation a little less dire than people have been suggesting. I have real management experience on my resume, I just don't have the titles or the salary that usually go along with it.

If you would like to stay in that industry, I think you should apply for positions that match your skillset as it stands right now. Tailor your resume for each position to be responsive to the skills they are looking for. The titles are important but if your resume and cover letter are appropriately tailored to the job you're applying for, the actual title will be less important than the skills.

[Anonymous]

As others have said you need to be willing to go far above and beyond. I took and admin job 18 years ago b/c I wanted a staff position ( I was a contractor). I have worked my butt off particularly in my 20s and before I had a child.

I learned everything I could and when a role came along that no one else was equipped to do I took it on. I was young an eager to move up. It wasn't may favorite job but it helped demonstrate my wider skill set.

I have been promoted 4 times which may not seem like a lot but where I work people typically retire at the same grade or maybe one grade higher than the one in which they joined.

Good luck OP. Put in the work and it will happen for you.

[Anonymous]

I moved from a receptionist position to a senior role in my company. I did a few things 1) offered to help with special projects so that I had a chance to demonstrate other skills; 2) found a supervisor invested in my career growth; 3) joined committees and teams (e.g. emergency team, employee advisory group) to meet and work with people across the company; and 4) went to grad school in the field. My growth was gradual but steady, over 10+ years. Growth was easier once I started working with people who I'd not worked with in an admin capacity. Some folks will always see you as an admin if you've ever made photocopies for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never get a liberal arts degree to start. Let me guess, you are a woman? Men dont settle for that shit. You dont even need a degree to be an admin.

Please tell me where in DC they hire admins without Bachelor's degrees and typically at least a few years' experience.

No idea, but a goal of a BS or BA should not be an admin job making $50k.

Oy. That's not her goal. That's why she's asking how to break out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never get a liberal arts degree to start. Let me guess, you are a woman? Men dont settle for that shit. You dont even need a degree to be an admin.

Please tell me where in DC they hire admins without Bachelor's degrees and typically at least a few years' experience.

No idea, but a goal of a BS or BA should not be an admin job making $50k.

Oy. That's not her goal. That's why she's asking how to break out.

Ding ding ding. Thank you PP! This is the OP. The whole point of this thread is that I want to aim a lot higher than that. I know I'm starting low, but willing to work hard to get out of that.