工作难求男大学生转型文秘

Jobless male graduates turn to secretarial work

中国日报网 2013-10-25 09:46

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The position of secretary or personal assistant used to be the preserve of efficient and capable women, loyal foot soldiers with no eye on the boss's job – but now men are muscling their way in. "Hold my calls, Mr Jones" is becoming the new norm.

The change is due partly to the highest rate of graduate unemploymentsince records began, and the growing awareness that salaries for corporate PAs can reach £75,000 a year.

Joshua Watson, 25, has been an executive assistant to a female senior director at Barclays for 18 months, having previously worked as a receptionist and PA. He does not see himself as working in a woman's role.

"I don't feel that I'm treated any differently just because I'm male," he said. "I don't think that is an issue for people from my generation. It's a good job for me because I am passionate about organising. I have good exposure to the top people in the company and I want to climb the ladder."

Recruitment consultants are seeing an ever-increasing number of men interested in PA or secretarial posts. "Out of the 1,000 candidates we've registered in the past 12 months, around 200 are male," said David Morel, managing director of Tiger Recruitment. "It is increasing the whole time. Since 2011, the numbers have been doubling each year, and most of them are ambitious graduates."

Susanna Tait, managing director of Tay Associates, agrees. She said she has seen a "huge" increase in numbers of male applicants. "We have witnessed the role of the PA evolve immeasurably and, with it, the pool of applicants it attracts," she said. "As well as organising and managing commitments, they are required to project-manage schedules and communicate with a vast network of contacts. It's an obvious career choice for ambitious individuals keen to operate at the centre of the business sphere."

Quest Professional, which offers training courses for the corporate sector, said this was the first year that men had enrolled on its executive PA programme and that "more and more" men were doing its administrative course.

Top PAs in the City now earn between £35,000 and £75,000, plus benefits – in some cases even more. Morel thinks this is the primary reason why more men are coming into the market. "In the past, men felt the salaries weren't high enough and there was a stigma attached to administrative, typing-based roles," he said. "The secretarial role has changed massively. Gone are the days of the traditional typist, and there is more of a career path. Guys are seeing that they can get to a stage where they are providing a lot of business support to their boss, and that is reflected in their salary."

Barclays said it was committed to encouraging male applicants for PA and admin roles. "It is important to us that we offer everyone – regardless of their gender – the same opportunities to be successful," said a spokesperson.

At the turn of the 20th century, secretarial jobs were well-paid and well-respected, and predominantly filled by men. However, as women fought to join the ranks of the employed, the profession lost its status, pay decreased and men sought work elsewhere. By the mid-1960s, it was a role primarily associated with women. In 1962, a survey revealed that 28% of companies believed sex appeal was a requirement of the PA's job.

Michael, 27, has been a PA at a top management consultancy for over three years. "When I called clients they used to be really surprised that I wasn't female," he said. "Now, we've got five guys in the PA team, which is about 10%. They've all joined in the past few years and they are all around the same age as me."

Currently, more than one in five graduates are out of work and there are typically 84 applicants for each graduate vacancy in the City. Young people are finding new ways to enter the business world, and working nine-to-five in support roles is one way to get on to the corporate ladder.

"I work with everyone in the company," Michael said, "all the directors, all the partners and all the teams. This is a very difficult world to get into and this is the best route in for me. In a few years, I will take this great experience and go elsewhere."

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过去，秘书和个人助理往往是这些人的专利：她们是精干高效的女士，还是并不觊觎老板宝座的忠诚员工。但现在男士们也开始在这一领域涉足。“请别挂断，琼斯先生。”如今这种男士担任助理的现象越来越常见。

这种现象的部分原因是毕业生失业率创下记录新高，越来越多人意识到个人助理也能每年拿到7万5千美元的薪水。

沃森今年25岁，之前做过接待以及个人助理等工作，现在担任巴克莱银行一位高层女经理的行政助理已经有18个月了。他并不认为自己在干女人的工作。

“我觉得并没有因为我是男性，就有什么区别对待，”他说道，“我觉得这对我们这代人来说不是个问题。这个工作很适合我，我很喜欢组织协调，在公司我还能经常与高层人物接触，我很希望能够晋升。”

招聘顾问们看到越来越多的男性对个人助理和秘书类职务感兴趣。“去年，我们所登记的1000名求职候选人中就有200名是男性，”老虎招聘公司总经理大卫•莫雷尔说道，“这一数字在不断增加，2011年以来，每年都能翻一番，大多数男性求职者都是具有雄心壮志的毕业生。”

泰联合公司总经理苏珊娜•泰特表示同意。她表示男性申请个人助理职务的人数大幅度增加。“我们看到个人助理这一角色发生了翻天覆地的变化，随之而来的是吸引了一大批求职者，”她说道，“除了有很多组织和管理方面的事物外，个人助理还要管理专案进程，做好大量的沟通工作。很明显，对那些有志于进军商业领域核心的人们，这一职业是不错的选择。”

为企业部门提供培训的“追求专业”培训公司表示这一年首次有男性报名参加这个行政助理的培训项目，“越来越多”的男性正在进修行政课程。

高级个人助理除了各种福利外，每年能挣3万5千美元到7万5千美元不等，有时候挣得更多。莫雷尔认为这是男性进军这一职业的主导因素。“过去，男性认为个人助理工资低，干行政和文秘工作不体面，”莫雷尔继续说道，“秘书这一职务发生了很大变化，传统的打字员时代已经远去，他们有了更多的发展机会。很多男性认为这一职业能为他们提供平台，他们可以借此为老板提供业务支持，因而薪水也随之提高。”

巴克莱银行表示他们致力于鼓励男性应聘个人助理和行政助理等职务。银行一位发言人表示：“无论男女，我们都一视同仁，我们都给与他们成功的机会，这点对我们来说至关重要。”

20世纪之交，秘书这门职业薪水不错也很体面，男性成了主力军。但是，随着女性努力进入职场，这一职业失去了以往的社会地位，薪水也随之降低，男性也另谋高就了。到了20世纪60年代，秘书就与女性紧密地联系在了一起。1962年一项调查显示28%的企业认为性感是胜任这一工作的必备条件。

迈克尔今年27岁，担任高层管理顾问的个人助理已有三年了。“过去每当我给客户打电话，发现个人助理不是女性，他们总是很惊讶，”他继续说道，“现在我们个人助理小组已有5位男性助理，占总人数的10%，他们都是近几年加入的，年龄也和我相仿。”

目前五名毕业生中至少就有一名失业，通常每个毕业生岗位就有84名毕业生角逐。年轻人正在寻找新的方法进军商业领域，而那些朝九晚五的协调性工作正是踏上企业阶梯的一个途径。

迈克尔说道：“在公司里我与每个人都共过事，例如各位领导、所有伙伴、所有团队。要进入这商业领域非常困难，这个职业是我最好的途径。再过几年，等我积累了经验，我会去别处发展。”