Job descriptions The Assist Conference Nicky Christmas

1. This
session
is
going
to
be
really
interac1ve.
The
point
of
this
session
is
to
help
you
improve
your
actual
job
descrip1on
or
write
yourself
one
if
you
don’t
actually
have
one.
So
what
we
are
going
to
do
is
look
at
your
job
descrip1ons,
highlight
the
good
and
bad
things
and
then
I'm
going
to
give
you
a
structure
for
what
i
think
makes
a
really
useful
job
spec.
This
will
give
you
a
template
that
you
can
take
back
to
the
office
to
improve
your
job
descrip1on.
Before
we
start,
I
know
a
few
of
you
said
that
you
didn't’t
have
a
job
spec
so
i
have
printed
off
a
few
from
the
web.
Pop
your
hand
up
and
we
will
pass
these
over.
1

2. So
a
quick
show
of
hands
–
who
doesn’t
have
a
job
descrip1on?
Who
has
a
brilliant
job
descrip1on?
Who
thinks
their
job
descrip1on
has
room
for
improvement?
So
firstly
I
want
to
talk
about
why
I
think
job
descrip1ons
are
so
important.
Hear
is
a
quick
scenario.
What
happens
if
an
assistant
is
given
a
really
effec1ve
job
descrip1on
that
is
used
to
recruit
him
or
her
in
the
perfect
role
for
their
current
skills?
It
is
then
used
to
help
the
assistant
seLle
into
the
role
and
is
ul1mately
the
founda1on
of
every
performance
review
and
evalua1on
throughout
their
career.
Would
a
good
job
descrip1on
that
is
used
by
the
assistant’s
boss
to
effec1vely
manage
them
make
a
difference?
Yes,
I
truly
believe
it
would.
We
know
that
assistants
some1mes
are
not
managed
properly
and
can
be
taken
for
granted
because
they
don’t
know
what
is
expected
of
them
and
neither
does
their
manager.
In
my
experience,
this
misunderstanding
can
lead
back
to
a
vague
job
descrip1on.
If
we
can
ensure
the
job
descrip1on
is
relevant
and
is
used
correctly
then
I
do
think
2

3. In
your
groups
I
just
want
you
to
spend
a
couple
of
minutes
talking
about
generally
about
your
rela1onship
with
your
job
spec?
AQer
that
what
I
would
like
you
to
do
now
is
looking
at
all
of
your
job
specs
what
are
the
common
words
and
phrases?
On
your
clipboards
can
you
write
which
phrases
are
really
helpful
and
describe
what
you
do
and
which
phrases
are
vague,
don’t
quite
match
what
you
do
and
are
unhelpful
in
your
roles.
I’m
looking
for
around
4
or
5
phrases
good
and
bad.
I’m
going
to
ask
for
some
feedback
from
you
so
if
you
can
spend
the
next
15
minutes
discussing
and
wri1ng
down
your
notes
we
can
feedback
straight
aQerwards.
The
most
important
thing
is
that
you
have
learnt
from
each
other
and
started
the
balling
rolling
in
improving
your
job
specs.
3

4. So
now
let’s
look
at
the
structure
of
a
job
spec
–
for
me
this
is
the
ideal
template
• A
1tle
that
describes
the
role.
Not
just
personal
assistant
or
administra1ve
assistant
but
also
whom
the
assistant
reports
to
and
a
clear
statement
detailing
how
the
rela1onship
will
work.
• A
specific
sec1on
outlining
the
job
func1on
and
the
purpose
of
the
role
with
clear
objec1ves.
• A
list
of
core
skills,
standards
and
requirements
for
the
role
including
educa1on,
experience
and
knowledge.
• A
list
of
the
key
du1es.
Along
with
everything
expected
of
an
assistant
but
also
any
du1es
that
are
slightly
unexpected.
Does
your
manager
want
you
to
run
personal
errands?
If
so,
it
should
be
on
the
job
descrip1on
to
avoid
any
confusion.
Tasks
that
take
up
only
a
liLle
amount
of
1me
should
s1ll
be
added.
• The
responsibili1es
of
the
assistant
star1ng
with
the
most
important.
• The
key
results
expected
from
the
assistant.
This
should
be
measurable,
achievable
but
also
challenging
so
that
the
assistant
can
grow
with
the
role.
4

5. Can
you
think
of
any
hurdles
that
might
affect
you
changing
your
job
spec?
HR
is
a
concern
because
they
may
have
structured
the
job
spec
around
their
competency
models
and
grading
system.
What
I
would
say
is
that
you
can
always
have
two
job
specs
–
your
official
HR
job
spec
and
a
live
working
job
descrip1on
that
you
use
with
your
execu1ve
for
your
day
to
day
interac1ons
and
yearly
appraisals.
So
to
sum
up
We
all
agree
that
an
effec1ve
job
descrip1on
for
assistants
is
vital.
• It
allows
us
to
understand
what
is
expected
of
us
from
the
very
moment
we
enter
into
the
role.
• We
must
use
the
job
descrip1on
as
a
working
document,
which
can
be
altered
and
updated
as
we
become
more
established
in
the
role.
• The
job
descrip1on
must
be
coherent,
focused
and
detailed
so
that
we
know
what
we
have
to
do
to
be
successful
and
our
managers
know
what
we
do
every
day,
how
to
manage
our
ac1vi1es
and
how
to
review
and
reward
us
accordingly.
Don’t
let
the
hurdles
stop
you.
Reviewing
your
job
spec
shows
that
you
are
being
proac1ve
and
taking
your
career
seriously.
All
of
your
great
clipboards
will
be
up
in
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