secretary
Key facts
Are you highly organised and enjoy supporting teams to achieve their goals? As a secretary, you'll be the backbone of an organisation, ensuring smooth operations and efficient communication.
Secretaries play a vital role in keeping organisations running effectively. Your days will be varied and fast-paced, involving a range of administrative tasks. You’ll be the first point of contact for many, managing communications and ensuring that everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. This role requires strong attention to detail, excellent communication skills, and the ability to prioritise effectively.
- • Answering telephone calls and managing correspondence (email, letters)
- • Maintaining diaries, scheduling appointments, and organising travel arrangements
- • Preparing and distributing documents, including reports and presentations
Are you highly organised and enjoy supporting teams to achieve their goals? As a secretary, you'll be the backbone of an organisation, ensuring smooth operations and efficient communication.
Could secretary fit you?
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Do you enjoy tasks that require Dependability?
Do you enjoy tasks that require Relationships?
Future Outlook for secretary
The outlook for secretary is exceptionally stable. While AI tools will assist with daily tasks, the core of this role relies on human judgment, resulting in a high resilience score of 82.1%.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could secretary change as AI adoption grows?
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
How could secretary change as AI adoption grows?
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
This role remains strongly human-led where communicate schedules to the people concerned depends on trust, nuance, and real-world judgement.
Where AI may become a co-pilot
AI is more likely to assist supporting tasks such as file documents, documentation, search, and workflow coordination.
Tasks most exposed to automation
Automation pressure appears selective rather than broad, with the strongest signal currently coming from Cognitive software.
Detailed Analysis Vital Signs, AI Vectors & Megatrends
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Vital Signs, AI Vectors & Megatrends
Vital Signs
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Megatrend Signals
0-100%Model-derived scores. Indicates structural exposure to megatrends, not direct demand.
Technical Details
NexFuture™ v2.0 combines O*NET ability and activity profiles with ESCO skill group distributions and six global megatrend signals. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture™ Methodology White Paper for full details.
What people in this role usually do
Management & Entrepreneurship
A typical day as a secretary
09 09:00 · Morning communicate schedules to the people concerned
10 10:30 · Mid-morning administer appointments
12 12:00 · Midday handle mail
14 14:00 · Afternoon communicate by telephone
15 15:30 · Late afternoon disseminate internal communications
17 17:00 · Wrap-up file documents
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
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company policies
The set of rules that govern the activity of a company.
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labour law
The field of law that is concerned with the regulation of the relationship between employers, employees, trade unions, and the government.
- accounting techniques
- education administration
- education law
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organise business documents
Put together documents coming from the photocopier, the mail, or the daily operations of businesses.
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handle mail
Handle mail considering data protection issues, health and safety requirements, and specifications of different kinds of mail.
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perform office routine activities
Program, prepare, and perform activities required to be performed everyday in offices such as mailing, receiving supplies, updating managers and employees, and keeping operations running smoothly.
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manage personnel agenda
Schedule and confirm appointments for the personnel of the office, mostly managers and directive employees, with external parties.
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disseminate messages to people
Receive, process, and pass messages to people coming from phone calls, faxes, postal, and emails.
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organise facilities for office personnel
Manage the booking schedule for conferences and meetings of internal or external nature. Shop around and book reservations for travelling or hosting for office personnel.
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use spreadsheets software
Use software tools to create and edit tabular data to carry out mathematical calculations, organise data and information, create diagrams based on data and to retrieve them.
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manage digital documents
Manage various data formats and files by naming, publishing, transforming and sharing files and documents and transforming file formats.
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disseminate internal communications
Disseminate internal communications using the different communication channels that a company has at its disposal.
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maintain internal communication systems
Maintain an effective internal communication system among employees and department managers.
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file documents
Create a filing system. Write a document catalogue. Label documents etc.
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monitor staff absences
Keep an overview of the employees's vacations, sick leaves and absences, register these in the agenda and file the necessary documents and certificates.
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keep task records
Organise and classify records of prepared reports and correspondence related to the performed work and progress records of tasks.
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process commissioned instructions
Process instructions, usually oral ones, provided by managers and directives on actions required to be made. Take note, inquire, and take action on the commissioned requests.
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use word processing software
Use computer software applications for composition, editing, formatting, and printing of any sort of written material.
Skill DNA
Work personality traits and values that define this role
See whether this role fits your Career DNA
Take the free Career DNA assessment to see how secretary aligns with your interests, work style, and future path. In less than 10 minutes, you will get a personalized fit signal and a roadmap for what to do next.
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Where does secretary fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
Frequently asked questions
- What skills are most important for a secretary?
- Strong organisational skills, excellent written and verbal communication, proficiency in office software (word processing, spreadsheets, email), and the ability to work independently and as part of a team are crucial. Adaptability and attention to detail are also highly valued.
- Is this a good career for someone looking to change careers?
- Yes! The transferable skills gained in previous roles, such as communication, organisation, and problem-solving, are highly relevant to the secretary role. Many people transition into this career from customer service, administration, or other roles requiring strong administrative abilities.
- What is the typical work arrangement for secretaries?
- Secretaries are primarily employed within organisations, working as part of a team. Opportunities for freelance or contract work are less common, but may exist.