written by Henrietta Barker, Guest Instructor of the Success Planning for Career Growth, recruiter and podcast host

“Unbridled Spirit.” That is the tagline of the state of Kentucky, known for its whiskey and its horse racing. What a perfectly concise description!

I have spent years interviewing some of the most talented and successful assistants in the world. Yet, I see many of them stumble over the same things time and time again in their job search. One of these things is efficient storytelling. Like the tagline, how can we be as cut-throat with our words in order to impress in an interview? Let me give you a common scenario.

Trying to focus these days is harder than it’s ever been. What with the jarring daily news reports, stress of virtual school (if you are a parent), while balancing working from home (or in a socially distanced office) – you have more pulling at your attention than ever before.

by Ursula Kohler, Instructor of the Building a Strong Relationship with Your Principal Course and Founder of Capital EA

I nearly blew it

Confession time! I nearly destroyed a role that I had longed for because I lost all trust in my skills once I got the job and spent months trying to prove my worth.

Though I spent my time convincing the powers-that-be that I was the right person for the role, I lost all confidence in my own abilities once I actually landed the role. I spent way too much time trying to prove myself as an administrative magician and mind-reader.

It’s no surprise to anyone that this tactic didn’t work. I spent too long on projects trying to guess what the principal needed, I made judgment calls with too little information, I was constantly trying to catch-up and I was beginning to give away the respect I had from day one. 

How well do you get along with your boss?

The relationship between an assistant and principal is an interesting one. If there is tension and frustration the relationship will surely be stunted but what can be done to build a collaborative relationship based on mutual respect and vision?

I love setting a word of the year! If you aren’t a fan of resolutions, then perhaps this is the way to go this year. What’s the difference?

Resolutions = Goals
Word of the Year = Intention

Last year our word of the year was Thrive and boy did we ever. The pandemic brought challenges of course but we were lucky to be perfectly placed to help so many administrative professionals on their professional career path and our officials community grew and grew.

We made incredible connections with people across the globe. Connections that left tattoos of kindness, gratitude and love on our hearts.

On New Year’s Day I was scrolling through Instagram. You can see already that people are ready to jump into their resolutions. Steven is posting about his new running gear, Gemma has posted about the number of books she wants to read this year and so on.

Scroll down to get straight to our tips on how to set achievable goals.

The Revolt on Resolutions

But I keep seeing posts that declare we should not set resolutions. That resolutions inevitably fail or asking why should we only set goals one time of year. And I get it. I really do. Especially about only being allowed to set goals once a year, it’s silly.

Some of my resolutions that quickly lost momentum in years past:

• Losing weight
• Keeping in touch with friends
• Hitting huge/crazy financial goals
• Having more patience

So last year I didn’t set any goals, I just chose a Word of the Year. I liked having one word to guide me and I have set a new word again this year. 

Here is a round up of our favorite Black Friday deals for administrative professionals. We have tried and tested items from each of the deals listed below and highly recommend them.

We know that gift-giving can be hard especially when you are buying corporate gifts, gifts for coworkers or your boss. Not to mention you can find great gifts for administrative professionals here as well.

Our founder Lauren Bradley is known for her love of tech. Even in the office here at HQ she is often jabbering away about a new app that she found and can’t wait to tell the world of admins about.

So when she was approached by the team behind podcast Administrator Nation to talk about her love of tech, it was a very quick yes!

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot of about what I’m calling self-care shaming. I work hard. Like really $@%*?!ing hard. On top of that, every single day someone begs me to go to bed on time, finish working for the day, drink more water, eat a healthy meal, spend more quality time with my family, etc.

And of course they are all right. All of those things would be good for me. And while they mean well, the constant reminders to take care of myself can sometimes have the opposite effect. Self-care can feel like just another area where we are failing.