Secretarial recruitment agencies typically source secretary and support staff for administration vacancies of all levels. Including marketing, banking, finance and law, secretarial recruiters will work with clients across a range of industries and will aim to provide local or UK wide staffing solutions to predominantly office based employers.
Job description and salary
A secretary can be employed across a number of sectors and will usually be responsible for providing administrative assistance to a team or company. Specific duties will vary depending on the sector or organisation but most personnel will be expected to conduct tasks such as filing, keeping schedules, answering phones, typing documents and maintaining spreadsheets. Secretarial jobs are usually completed in a standard 9 to 5 week however there are opportunities for part time of flexitime work.
Salaries for new entrants will usually start at around £12K although this can increase with experience and by moving into a more lucrative sector. The average salary is around £20K, however senior legal secretaries and banking secretaries can potentially earn £40K+ per annum. Candidates within sizeable London companies can expect to command the highest secretarial salaries in the UK.
Secretarial qualifications and skills
Secretarial candidates don't necessarily require high level qualifications to enter a role, although GCSEs in Maths, English and Science are usually expected. A degree or diploma in Business, Administration or Secretarial Studies will further prepare applicants for a secretary position, whilst knowledge in a chosen sector can also prove to be useful. Attributes are often thought of more highly than qualifications and candidates will need to be organised, comfortable using software such as Excel or Word and be able to demonstrate strong communication skills.
A specialist secretarial recruitment agency will aim to deliver high quality secretary staff for their clients' permanent, temporary or contract positions. They will have a database of top admin support professionals who are ready to fill secretarial and PA vacancies locally or nationwide.