Training Period

Be a Kickass Assistant: How to Get from a Grunt Job to a Great Career
by Heather Beckel

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Ask for a training period with the assistant you are replacing when you accept the job as an assistant. The training period should be no more than a week (five days), but at least two days. Suggest that you arrive at your new workplace an hour after the day has started at the organization. This will allow the soon-to-be-former assistant a chance to get herself settled before you arrive and throw her day into turmoil. Be friendly with the former assistant and find out where she is going, as you might need her help in the future. You should ask about her experience with the company and the boss, and why she is leaving, but be political. It is always better to say less and listen than give away too much information yourself. Pay attention to the way other people, especially your new boss, treat her during your training period: Is she well liked and respected? This will give you an indication as to how much you should take her advice. If she is helpful, ask her about your new boss. How much taking care of does she need? For example: former Clinton campaign manager David Wilhelm is a very smart, but scatterbrained man; when he sneezed, his assistant, Martha, had to hand him a box of tissues. Ask if she helped the boss with errands in her personal life, and if she has any particular boundaries you should be careful not to cross. At the end of your training period, thank her for her help in getting you off on the right foot and ask for her phone number and permission to call her with questions in the future. Don't burn any bridges with thoughtless behavior or comments during this delicate time.

If you don't get a training period, ask for a point person who can help you with questions. The best person would be another assistant who works for a boss of equal stature to your new boss.

Questions to Ask During Your Training Period

The following are questions for which you should get answers as soon as possible. Either copy out these questions or photocopy the following four pages and take them with you. Bring your own pen and notebook, and write down all the answers because you'll be absorbing so much information in the first days and will forget a lot of what you're told. You don't want to ask the same question twice. However, if you don't understand something, definitely ask for another explanation rather than risk doing it wrong.

• Who's who. Ask for an overview of who the central characters are in your new boss's life, both personal and professional. One of the easiest ways to do this is to look through the office Rolodex or database together. These are people whose names you should be familiar with, as soon as possible.

• Ask for an explanation of the phone system. Find out how the phones work, how the messages are currently recorded, and what is said when the phones are answered. Should you forward the phones to someone else, or to voice mail, when you have to leave your desk? (For example, to run to the bathroom, the copier, or to pick up lunch.)

• Ask about important dates, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and regular meetings. Does the soon-to-be-former assistant keep them listed somewhere?

• Find out about equipment. Where is it and how does it work? The obvious machines you need to know about are the copier and the fax machines, but perhaps there are others in your new company. For example: color copiers, video conferencing equipment, VCRs, etc. Nothing causes more tension than an impatient boss who wants to watch a video-cassette immediately and you don't know how to operate the VCR. Don't assume that your boss will know how it works-it's very unlikely that he will-and don't assume that you can just put the tape in and push “play” and it'll work. Imagine finding yourself desperately trying to get hold of someone in the audio-visual department and begging them to drop whatever they're working on and run to your office while your boss stands over you fuming. (This scenario actually happened at a company I worked for.)

• Where do you get supplies? Are there forms to be filled out, is there an approval you will need, and how long does the process usually take? Is there something you can do if you need an item urgently?

• What is the boss's schedule in general? What time does the boss usually arrive at and depart from work? Does she have set daily and weekly meetings?

• What are the hours of your new job in general?

• Where does the boss eat, and typically what time? Will you be expected to order the boss's lunch, and if so, how do you pay for it? (Does she have a charge account with a restaurant? Do you need to ask her for the money to pay for her lunch up front or can you pay with your own money and be assured of being paid back?) What are some things that the boss likes and does not like to eat and drink?

• Where is the bathroom, what are the guidelines for taking breaks?

• What are the boss's moods? Is there a best time to get the boss's attention? For example, is the boss a “morning person,” or should you try not to talk to the boss until after lunch?

• Ask for a detailed explanation of the current filing system.

• Ask for a discreet overview of the boss's personal life. For example, is the boss married, does she have kids, where does she live, is there a hobby that plays an important part in the boss's life, etc. Find out as much as you politely can about your boss's spouse and the soon-to-be-former assistant's relationship with that person. It is almost a given that you will be helping your boss out with some areas of her personal life because in the life of a high-powered executive, the lines are often blurred between what is personal and what is professional.

• How is the mail delivered and when? Currently, how is the incoming mail dealt with in the office? Do you open everything or are there things your boss prefers to open herself? How do you get it to the boss, and does she want to see everything?

• Where do you get tech support for the computer?

• How do you handle your own and your boss's expense accounts?

• Where do you reserve and purchase travel tickets for you and your boss?

• Is there a kitchen? Where do you get coffee? Does the boss drink it, and if so, how?

• Ask for a company directory. Take it home and study it to learn who is who, and titles in the company. If there isn't an official company directory, ask for an overview of the company hierarchy. (There will probably be an organizational chart for the executives of the company and possibly for your boss's department).

• What are your boss's weaknesses? You need to know so that you can compensate for them. There's a respectful way to ask this, for example: “Does George have any bad habits that I should know about, such as not returning calls promptly, or consistently being late?”

• What are your options for getting lunch? When should you get it? Was the former assistant usually able to leave for lunch, or did she eat at her desk?

• Ask for introductions to key people that will support you in your new job. For example: the people in the mailroom, the computer tech guys, the travel department, the accounting department in charge of reimbursements, etc.

Copyright © 2002 by Heather Beckel

About the Author

HEATHER BECKEL was the executive and personal assistant to George Stephanopoulos during the Clinton 1992 campaign and during the president's first term in office. She owns a restaurant in Connecticut and currently works in public relations for a luxury bath company.