Team Administrator Review

My day to day role involves assisting my team and line manager with their work. This can include constructing, updating and sharing documents with my team and wider organisation. I also contact external stakeholders to be invited to meetings and so am relied on to update the contacts list. I also assist others within my organisation, even those outside my team, when they need extra help. I take minutes during team meetings and have assisted at external meetings with taking notes. Part of my role is to also check through a couple of daily and weekly reports which must remain confidential. From this, I send the most notable items to my line manager for him to decide what further action can be taken. I have also been able to provide my assistance with a legal case which my colleague has been working on.

I had never worked in an office environment before so I have developed a different kind of attitude suitable for my work. I have also been able to improve my email writing; I have gained more professionalism when drafting and replying to emails and have even been able to develop my grammar. I had not been very sociable or fond of speaking in front of large groups of people but have been able to develop this in my role. I have had opportunities to develop my communication skills via talking to a variety of people within and external to my organisation. I have also developed the jargon that I need within my role (this further develops throughout my role as I am always learning new information). I have been able to develop my organisation skills by prioritising certain pieces of work and figuring out which is more urgent. I also feel like I have gained a higher level of independence by working in this environment. I have received positive feedback from my work which has instilled a higher level of confidence in me.

I am greatly enjoying this programme. I have had the opportunity to meet many kind and helpful people. I have learned new things that I wouldn't have in a university environment (as I had only finished college Summer 2022 and then went in to this job in November 2022). In this respect, I have also gained a kind of maturity that I don't think I would have learnt in university. I am really enjoying this programme as I feel that it is moving me in the right direction (as I am gaining experience which can be applied to any future role I undertake) and allowing me to become a better individual. The activities which I carry out in my programme also force me to carry out more research into my organisation and find out more. For example, I recently completed an activity which related to finance (a topic that doesn't directly correlate to my role) so I was able to talk with our finance team who gave me further insight into other areas of my organisation. I also feel appreciated and welcomed within this programme as all the training coaches have been extremely kind and helpful.

My programme is very well structured. My training coach is able to set me activities with a due date which appear on my activity dashboard. Within these activities, there are detailed instructions on what resources you need and what work needs to be completed. All meetings and classrooms are arranged and booked in advance. We are told that we can only do a set amount of hours of apprenticeship work as appropriate with the hours we carry out at work and must be fit in to these working hours. For example, my working week is 37 hours but 6 of these must be spent on apprenticeship work. Any help is given where necessary and there is no confusion in terms of work.

My employer and colleagues are always open to provide support. In any situation where I am struggling or do not understand something, I am reassured and they are able to help me. Where there have been questions in activities which I am unsure of, my line manager is always able to provide useful insight and point me in the right direction.

I receive a lot of support from my training provider. Where I feel overwhelmed with apprenticeship activities and my day to day role, my training coach is always able to help by extending the due date of activities which relieves some of the pressure. When I have faced a question of which I am unsure how to answer, my training coach is also able to give me examples and ideas. She gives me positive and constructive feedback in my completed activities which allow me to improve on my work.

I feel that my qualification has allowed me to further develop my research skills by always encouraging me to find out more about my organisation. In turn, in my role, I therefore aim to further any knowledge in certain topics instead of just seeing the base information. For example, one activity asked me about my organisations policies. Before this, I would not have considered it much so when I received an invite for a webinar on policy making, I was intrigued to join. I feel that it has made me more confident in asking questions. Where I am looking for a business improvement project idea, I feel that it is making me see the bigger picture of my organisation and pushing me to find areas which need improvement. As a result, I feel that I am pushing myself out by doing more instead of the bare minimum.

I know that there are sports day events that are held in Summer. However, since I have only been in my role for a short period of time, I haven't experienced this yet. There are events that are held externally that we are encouraged to attend where we get a day out with our peers. At Christmas, everyone across the regional offices were able to get involved in a Christmas party with food and games.

Yes

I have felt welcomed since I joined and have been able to comfortably ease into my role without problems or stress. I have not been pressured or stressed to doing anything that I don't know how and when I am unsure how to do something, I know I can always reach out for help. The experience I am getting from this role is extremely useful and it has so far been a very positive adventure.

Be yourself and be confident in your abilities. There is no need to be stressed, the organisation is so friendly and they will treat you fairly throughout the whole process. Be prepared for your interview, do practice questions and be aware of what kinds of questions they will ask. Fill out your CV in accordance to the role; make sure the abilities you have listed are relevant to the job you are applying for. Be prepared to ask questions. If you have prepared questions to ask, you seem more proactive in the meeting rather than just an idle participant.