Administrator career change - how?

Cindi asks: I've always been geared toward Administrative Positions. How can I market myself to take that next step forward?

In answer:
The best question to ask yourself is - where do you want to be in (say) five years: if you are brave, push that out to 10 years! Draw a little mental picture and then write it down or even sketch it as to what your life looks like in all aspects - relationships, home life and work life.

Around the work life picture, find someone who is doing that job right now - find out how they got there, what qualifications and experience mix they have, and the job path they took to get to that position. Use their path as the basis for planning out your own path. Then having written it down, chat it through with a few close friends - not work colleagues - and let them test and critic it for you. Modify as necessary.

The answer out of this exercise is that you now have a goal and a path - so now you just need to take it in to action. The easiest way to do that is now take the "where" to your boss, and chat through the opportunities of the "how" with him. If you don't get a positive answer, you know you have to move - go to HR for an internal opportunity and have the same conversation with them, and if that's negative go to a good recruitment agent recommended by a friend who has recently taken an job move.

If you stay where you are, part of your path will be volunteering for projects to undertake tasks or co-ordination - admin people are always good basic project managers; and hence opportunities should abound.

Good luck Cindi, but the answer is - when you know where you want to go, then the path becomes much, much clearer!