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January 6, 2005
A day in the life of a secretary
Today’s secretary is pro-active. She is a self-learner and solves the problems herself, writes Erum Haque
She is not an ordinary secretary. Annette Menezes is a round-the-clock personal assistant who shares the bulk of her boss’s work-load and makes crucial decisions easier for him.
Executive secretary and assistant to the country representative of an oil company in Pakistan, Annette is a workaholic who has her work on her fingertips. She spends her day on her toes always conscious about meeting the deadlines and finishing the work well before the required time.
In today’s era, when the job of a secretary is often equated with that of a typist or a stenographer Annette has proved that it is much more than that. Elaborating on what the work of a secretary involves in the true sense, she says, “A secretary is the director’s right hand. He can delegate anything to her and she is supposed to get it done. The secretary of today is pro-active. She is not necessarily directed. She is a self-learner and she is supposed to solve the problems herself.”
An early bird, every day brings new challenges for Annette. Being a loyal worker she asks herself how she can make her executive’s work easier for him. Having a multi-faceted job, she manages his paperwork, appointments, the people who report to him and the people he reports to overseas. Her work involves a lot of liaison with government officials and making decisions within her perimeters.
Apart from all the high level, she has to do menial tasks as well. “If my boss asks me to make a photocopy, I can’t tell him that the man at the photocopier hasn’t come,” she says. “I will rush and make the photocopy myself.” Apart from lending a big helping hand to him, Annette’s job entails its own set of responsibilities as well. “I have my own work at my table,” she emphasizes.
No matter how hard a secretary works, she is looked down upon in our society. Commenting on the view she says, “At the end of the day it depends on one’s own personality and conduct. You can be at any post and have an affair with any member of the office. The same is said about nurses and stewardesses as well. It can’t be true for all.”
Annette’s day begins with checking her chief’s mail. “I enter his room first when I arrive in the office at 8:30,” she says. “A few minutes later he gives me a call from home. I download all his emails and read them to him. He gives instructions and I take action. By the time he reaches the office, the work is still being done in his room and my computer hasn’t been opened as yet. Then comes a whole list of verbal instructions.”
At mid-morning she comes out of his room and finally opens her computer that has its own set of emails to be taken care of. There are a host of things to be taken care of for the director and the work related to her own area. There are many reports and follow-ups that are to be made keeping in mind the deadlines. The work keeps her busy the whole day and she doesn’t even find enough time for a decent meal in the afternoon.
Not a regular nine to five job, it’s 8:30 to whenever the work ends. By the time Annette gets back home, the super secretary in the office is very tired and goes to bed early in the night. “At this time I have very little energy left for my basic physical needs such as eating and drinking,” she says. “I live in a very real world, I have a home to run and people who are dependent upon me so my leisurely activities are minimal and work is mostly what I think about.”
She has kept a window open for marriage and is waiting for the right man to settle down. Annette not only proved her mettle as an able and hard-working secretary to her chief, but also to the world, by participating in the Asia Pacific Secretaries and Administrative Professionals Competition and bringing the trophy home. Being a member of the Distinguished Secretaries Society provided the platform.
The event was held in Singapore, and she represented Pakistan and was amongst six other participants belonging to India, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines. Speaking with excitement of her recipe to success she says, “I played to win. I paid attention to even the slightest details, from my work to my presentation, dressing and hairdo.”
In her 16 years of employment Annette has proved that she is not just a hard working, talented secretary but also an ambassador for our nation who made a name for Pakistan and the company she works for. She has changed the very meaning of the word ‘secretary’ and the notions that mar the profession.
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