I haven’t had an office job in about ten years, and I’m just curious. Besides typing and 10-key, what versions of Word and so forth are necessary?
MS Office (outlook, word, excel, powerpoint at a minimum) latest is the 2010 version. My company had 2003 before upgrading to 2010, so as long as you are 2003+, you are acceptable.
Certifications in MS products is considered a competitive qualilty, and would help a resume stand out from the crowd.
Higher education is always good.
I guess I don’t understand what kind of job you mean. Do you mean secretarial work specifically? Or just any kind of professional desk job?
Also, I had to look up what “10key” means, and I’m 35. I’m pretty sure anyone is smart enough to use a number pad on a keyboard. I’ve never considered it a separate skill from typing.
Any kind of professional desk job.
Some places consider it a separate skill set. I’ve been tested a few times separately from MS Office testing.
-Whatever the current version of Word and Excel are, plus the last two or three iterations (you never know how up-to-date a company is).
-Typing fast and accurately, both alpha and numeric (and alpha-numeric).
-Answering phones courteously and professionally.
-Printing, scanning, and photocopying with monstrous, complicated photocopiers.
-Using an email program (usually Outlook).
-Filing (you can probably handle this one; I’ve worked with people who basically needed an alphabet cheat sheet to file).
Familiarity at the basic level with recent editions of Word. The fact is, if you’re familiar with 2003, you’ll figure out 2010 in not too long. Word still does all the same stuff it ever did. It’s just an interface change. Maybe Powerpoint, if you give presentations or assist someone who does. Sometimes Excel, depending on the job. Adobe Acrobat is pretty commonly used but Word has PDF conversion now which is dead easy, so most people just have Adobe Reader, and not Acrobat itself. The internet if relevant. Email programs (usually Outlook).
That’s all I can think of that applies to most of my desk jobs. ETA: I think Cat Whisperer’s list with stuff like speedy typing and phone skills is what would be expected of a secretary, receptionist, or admin assistant. I hunt and peck about 45wpm and its been good enough for any office I’ve ever worked in (not as a secretary or AA), in fields such as Marketing, PR and the law.
I’m pretty sure I have, too. Working in accounting departments, you quite often run a tape that can be attached to documentation (like the amounts of cheques in a batch deposit, for example).
“10-key” is specifically a data-entry term, which is kinda outdated. It’s not necessarily a skill for a generic “office job.” Potential employers will probably be more interested in your typing speed, in terms of words per minute (wpm), and your customer service skills.
As for which version of Word, my current employer is using the Office 2003 suite. I don’t think you need to specify the year of the version you are familiar with on a resume, though. Just say something like “well-versed in use of Microsoft Word/Powerpoint/Excel to accomplish enterprise goals,” with whatever MS programs you know.
You may also want to discuss any phone skills you have, depending on the jobs you’re applying for. I’m currently using a Lucent Callmaster V where I work now, and might mention that if I were applying for another call center job. Or if not, I’d still discuss my soft skills (good at delivering bad news in a palatable way, good phone manner, positive inflection and tone, ability to read scripted material without sounding like I’m reading from a script, etc).
A few weeks back, I sent out a bunch of copies of my generic resume on monster for office jobs like call center, administrative assistant, secretary, yadayada. I heard back from 6 interested employers (not recruiters) within a couple days. Obviously it wasn’t all JUST my resume, the fact that I’m currently employed was probably an enormous factor. So you have that hump to worry about. But I think I have a good idea what they want to see.
Yes, that’s why I asked if the OP was asking about a particular type of job, or just desk jobs in general. She answered “desk jobs in general.” If you’re not working in accounting or a numerically intensive sort of job, you don’t need special “10key” skills, so I wouldn’t say that’s an expected skill for “desk jobs in general.”
I am an editor. That is a professional desk job requiring a discrete, specific set of skills. 20 feet away sits a secretary who also has a professional desk job requiring a discrete, specific set of skills. Our two skill sets are completely different. She comes to me for help on the advanced functions in Word and Excel as well as for formatting/design help in Powerpoint. I go to her when I need stamps or when the photocopier is not working correctly. It’s also a scanner with email and file conversion capabilities (you can scan a document and email it as a PDF). Both of us know how to use the more complex operations with the copier/printer/scanner, but we use those functions very differently.
So your OP is far too vague. There is no such thing as your basic standard office job. It depends on what kind of company: are there presentations? Does the company provide a service or offer a product? If it’s a service, then the service is the focus. If it’s a product, then sales and marketing are the focus. The type of industry and business model determine, to some degree which skill sets are required for a given job. Size of company also is a factor as smaller companies may require employees to draw upon a broader variety of skill sets (you have to wear many hats and do many different jobs because you’re a team of one or two); whereas, in larger companies, jobs are often very specialized and employees need only draw on a very narrow range of skills.
In addition to others mentioned here, you might want to think about QuickBooks if you’ll be applying to smaller offices where you might do some sort of bookkeeping or invoicing.
I’d also suggest checking out employment sites to see what qualifications your desired employers and their competitors are asking for. Most places now have online application processes and you can find detailed job descriptions there. Around here, “2-way radio” is a skill set you might find with an office job since many of them are with agricultural firms and cell service is still spotty.
Yeah, everyone is “smart” :dubious: enough to use a number pad, but it is a discrete skill to use one well. I used to do a lot of data entry and needed to have the skills to perform both alphanumeric and numeric-only entry accurately and at lightning speed. I think all that data just leaps into the database from smart phones these days.
I miss the good old days when I used a one-armed bandit 10-key machine to tally up the receipts.
Okay, I see what you’re saying. It’s a job at a post-production house. I would be what the guy offering calls the “Dilbert”. Answering phones, filing, handling petty cash, and whatever paperwork there is. He just said “basic office skills”. I’m going to talk to him tonight, so I’ll ask him “What did “Trevor” (guy I would be replacing) do, and what’s his email so I can ask him?” I’ve done phones and filing for this company before, but I was never asked to do anything on the computer.
Yeah, you need them to give you a basic job description. A list of whatever the last guy did is a good start.