Career profile for Administrative Manager

What does an Administrative Manager do?

Administrative Managers plan, direct, or coordinate one or more administrative services of an organization, such as records and information management, mail distribution, and other office support services.

What kind of tasks does an Administrative Manager perform regularly?

Administrative Managers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Prepare and review operational reports and schedules to ensure accuracy and efficiency.
Set goals and deadlines for the department.
Acquire, distribute and store supplies.
Analyze internal processes and recommend and implement procedural or policy changes to improve operations, such as supply changes or the disposal of records.
Conduct classes to teach procedures to staff.

The above responsibilities are specific to Administrative Managers. More generally, Administrative Managers are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work		Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Scheduling Work and Activities		Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Scheduling Work and Activities

Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

What is an Administrative Manager salary?

The median salary for an Administrative Manager is $98,890, and the average salary is $108,120. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Administrative Manager salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Administrative Managers earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Administrative Managers earn less than $56,080 per year, 25% earn less than $73,650, 75% earn less than $130,930, and 90% earn less than $169,930.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Administrative Managers is expected to change by 8.9%, and there should be roughly 29,200 open positions for Administrative Managers every year.

Median annual salary: $98,890
Typical salary range: $56,080 - $169,930
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 8.9%

What personality traits are common among Administrative Managers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as an Administrative Manager are usually higher in their Enterprising and Conventional interests.

Administrative Managers typically have very strong Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Also, Administrative Managers typically have strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as an Administrative Manager tend to value Relationships, Independence, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Administrative Managers very strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Administrative Managers strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Administrative Managers moderately value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Administrative Managers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as integrity, dependability, and self-control.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Administrative Managers, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance		Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Stress Tolerance

Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

What education and training do Administrative Managers need?

Administrative Managers often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Administrative Managers usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Administrative Managers

2.4% did not complete high school or secondary school
18.1% completed high school or secondary school
23.8% completed some college coursework
12.0% earned a Associate's degree
31.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
10.6% earned a Master's degree
1.5% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Administrative Managers

Administrative Managers may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as customer and personal service, administration and management, or administrative knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Administrative Managers might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Administrative		Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Personnel and Human Resources		Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Computers and Electronics		Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Administrative

Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Personnel and Human Resources

Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Important Abilities needed by Administrative Managers

Administrative Managers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Administrative Managers need abilities such as oral comprehension, written comprehension, and oral expression in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Administrative Managers, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Deductive Reasoning		The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Critical Skills needed by Administrative Managers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Administrative Managers frequently use skills like reading comprehension, active listening, and time management to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Administrative Managers, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Time Management		Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing		Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Administrative Manager

Administrative Manager

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