There Is Nothing ‘Just’ About Being an Assistant.
A lot is hidden behind the word assistant.
An assistantship role demands more than people sometimes realise: attention to detail, a good memory, the ability to spot loopholes, and, sometimes, an almost uncomfortable expectation of perfection. You have to remember conversations, instructions, deadlines, documents, and details because someone will eventually ask you about them.
Then there is multitasking.
Three people can delegate three different tasks at almost the same time, each with its own deadline and level of urgency. You have to quickly decide what comes first without completely neglecting the others. And when an error slips through, even a small one, attention can suddenly turn towards you.
You also have to balance accountability. If you notice an error that wasn't yours, you have to communicate it carefully so you don't end up bearing responsibility for someone else’s mistake. But if you constantly point out who made what mistake, it can start to sound as though you are avoiding accountability yourself. Learning how to navigate that balance is a skill on its own.
The details nobody sees
Administrative work taught me that seemingly small details matter.
An email is not simply an email. The wording has to be right. The signatory has to be correct. The font, font size, alignment, signature and overall appearance may have to follow company standards. A tiny mistake can mean sending another email to correct the first one.
And that is only one part of the job.
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Working in an educational environment meant dealing with periods when emails poured in, phones rang repeatedly, and customers walked in physically with enquiries, sometimes all at once.
On another screen, social media content might be waiting to be prepared. Payments need checking and confirming. Refunds need to be processed. You have to research a service provider. A booking needs to be made. Documents need to be prepared. Someone needs an answer urgently.
Then comes the mandatory meeting you wish you could skip, not because it is unimportant, but because you can already see the deadlines piling up while you sit there.
You learn to think quickly. You learn to find solutions when things don't go according to plan. You become resourceful and, sometimes, surprisingly creative.
There are periods when there hardly seems to be a real break until the mandatory summer break arrives. And even then, work-related emergencies can mean staying reachable.
Looking back, I think the word assistant can sometimes make the role sound smaller than it actually is.
Assistants are often the people checking, confirming, reminding, arranging, correcting, following up, and making sure many little things don't fall through the cracks.
You may not always be the person making the biggest decisions in the room, but you often help make sure those decisions can actually be carried out.
An assistant is not merely an extra pair of hands.
They are a necessary part of the machinery that keeps a team moving.
And when that person is missing, you quickly notice just how much they were holding together.
