It is important to develop skills in the workplace, because the work environment is always changing. From getting new technology and office equipment, to dealing with new customers and new attitudes, there is always going to be something new in the workplace. If we stop progressing towards becoming a better administrative assistant, then we can lose opportunities to advance in work, or possibly loose our jobs. Nobody is perfect, and we can always improve on our skills.

In my Medical Office Procedures class, my classmates and I took the interpersonal communication skills inventory, and it showed the whole class that even if we thought we communicated effectively, there are some areas we can still improve on. Interpersonal skills are also called “people skills,” because they are social skills that enable interaction and communication with others where social rules and relations are created. They define how we interact with our coworkers and customers, but we can always be working on improving our interpersonal skills. The skill that I scored low on was listening. And here I was thinking that I was great at active listening. Now looking at that section of the inventory, I see that sometimes my mind tends to wonder to different topics while someone is speaking to me. I also tend to be more focused on guessing what the person is going to say next or trying to finish their sentence, rather than listen to what they have to say, and sometimes I do react to what they are saying before they are finished speaking. A good method on trying to combat my interjections, is to wait till the person is done speaking and count a couple seconds to ensure they are done speaking before I react to what they’ve told me.

Another skill that someone can always be striving to become better at is professionalism. Professionalism is comprised of a number of qualities and skills, including good judgement, initiative, discretion, organizational ability, the ability to work independently, and a professional appearance. Professionalism is having a positive attitude when dealing with coworkers and customers. A positive attitude in the workplace will help you handle change, feedback, and criticism. Another key to having professionalism is thinking skills; this can be critical thinking, making decisions, problem solving, and time management. These are all skills that can always be worked on and improved. During the last two semesters I attended the Helena college, I failed all my classes due to mental health issues, but comparing those semesters to the current one I see drastic changes in my thinking skills. I remember feeling like I was drowning in school work, and this semester I don’t feel that way because I have a planner with all my due dates. I have a way of writing my assignments down for the week and scheduling my week with the work spread out evenly so I am not doing all my course work last minute all in one day; that strategy never works well, and makes me feel like there is way too much homework. I have really improved in my decision making and time management since those past two semesters, and have become more professional within my college career.

The first step in developing skills for the workplace is knowing where you need to improve. If you are one to get frustrated at never knowing where your papers are, maybe it is time to declutter and reorganize your desk space. Setting goals, and writing out a plan to reach those goals, will help you become a better person in the workplace. My goal this semester is to get at least B’s in all my classes. To do that I have three weekly goals: Be on time to class (time-management), Study on campus three days per week (being proactive), and turn in all my work in on time (accountability). By completing these goals each week, I am developing skills that will help me in the workplace.

It is important to develop and improve your skills in the workplace, and the best thing is that there is always room for improvement. I have seen myself learn new skills and improve on old ones, and I know that I am not done working on skills to become a professional administrative assistant.