Office Junior roles are generally the first rung on the career ladder and their function is to provide a range of general administrative support to the entire office. This can include filing, opening the post, data entry, scanning and arranging meeting rooms.
As an Office Junior your role will be to help the day to day running of an office or particular department. It's generally the first step on the career ladder though if you work for a large enough company, there's usually scope to progress your career further up the ladder. You'll get involved in lots of different tasks within the office and some of your duties would be:
Faxing, scanning and filing documents
Dealing with post and couriers
Taking phone calls
Dealing with emails
Ordering stationery and other office supplies
Organising meeting rooms
Providing refreshments to visitors
Updating spreadsheets and internal systems
Helping with reception and various ad hoc admin duties
You'll generally be based in an office environment and be expected to work the standard 35-40 hour week though you will sometimes get a degree of flexibility in your working hours, especially during busy times.
Qualifications aren't normally needed, employers are looking for either experience in a similar role or at least a sound educational background. Any admin/secretarial qualifications you have will enhance your job prospects. Once you're in the job, many employers encourage candidates to gain qualifications such as the NVQs in Business and Administration or the European Computer Driving Licence which will help you should you wish to advance your career.
Although the role is at a junior level, you'll still need to prove to employers that you have a good range of basic skills and some of these include:
The ability to work as part of a team
Good communication skills
Accurate typing skills
Knowledge of basic MS packages
The ability to prioritise your work load
Articulacy
Self motivation
Enthusiasm
A willingness to learn
Salary Information
You'll probably be looking at a starting salary of £10-14k per annum depending on where you're working. Add a few years' experience (and maybe one or two qualifications) and you should be nearing the £15-18k mark.
