Office Coordinator Career Guide

What is an office coordinator?

Do you like interacting with others and making sure their needs are met? Are you friendly and service-oriented? Do you enjoy record-keeping, organizing, and keeping a tidy space? If that’s the case, a job as an office coordinator might be an ideal career path for you!

There are many duties and tasks that an office coordinator may be responsible for. Still, all of it falls under the role of keeping things organized and efficient within the office environment. It ensures that anyone introduced to the business will have a great first impression.

Duties and responsibilities

Office coordinators undertake the everyday administrative tasks critical for an office to function correctly. They are typically the first point of contact, greeting guests and visitors as they enter the office. They oversee the general activities of the office, including planning meetings, checking out supplies and equipment, and calling for maintenance and repairs. 

Office coordinators answer phone calls and transfer calls when needed. They manage schedules and organize meeting rooms for executives and employees. The role typically monitors inventory and orders supplies when necessary. Setting up new filing systems and organization methods will be part of the role, and keeping incoming mail and packages sorted and organized. 

Work environment

Office coordinators typically work at the front desk in an office, performing various administrative tasks throughout the week. They begin their desk by determining the office’s needs and creating a schedule to complete each task throughout the day or week. They are typically friendly and happy to help visitors and guests as they enter the office. While office coordinators spend most of their day supporting the office’s daily operations, they might have to leave the office to run various errands for the company, like buying supplies or lunches for people in meetings.

Typical work hours

The hours for office coordinators vary greatly based on the company’s needs. Some will work part-time, while others will work full-time. Some employers may need an office coordinator for just a few hours a week, so you’ll most likely find a job that will fit your timetable.

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How to become an office coordinator

In order to become an office coordinator, you will need a combination of education, training, and experience. In this career guide section, we cover the steps you’ll need to take to achieve your goal:

Step 1: Earn your high school diploma

To start your career search for office coordinator roles, you should have your high school diploma or GED. This will provide the basic education for a role in office administration with great opportunities to expand your knowledge base with additional schooling.

Step 2: Take coursework to prepare for office coordinator roles

While office coordinators don’t necessarily need a college education to earn their roles, they must have some specific education geared toward the position. There are some incredible options available online that can set you up for what you’re looking for. Here are a few options to get you started:

• Take the Office Administration Management course from Udemy. The course covers basic skills for popular office software, communication skills needed by office administrators, and legal and ethical aspects of office administration. It’s a great introduction to some of the basics you’ll be required to have for this role.
• Do a deep dive into the popular office tool, G-Suite, with the Google Professional Workspace Administrator Professional Certificate from Coursera. You’ll learn how to set up a Google Workspace account and manage all the different areas of the directory. It helps students create organizational structures within the workspace to simplify user and service management. You can manage calendars, groups, and other resources in Google’s Workspace.
• The other popular office software can be learned with the Ultimate Microsoft Office; Excel, Word, PowerPoint & Access courses from Udemy. It’s a nine-course bundle and covers everything from the basics to the advanced skills in Microsoft Office. When you finish, you can use autofill and flash fill in Excel to create beautiful charts and graphs. Not to mention, access to the course is lifelong, so you can return to brush up at any time.

Step 3: Get certified by a relevant institution

There are many certifications offered by various institutions that will help office coordinators build the necessary skills they need to perform well at their job. Here are a few options:

• Professional Administrative Certification of Excellence (PACE) – PACE is popular to help demonstrate to employees your willingness to learn in an administrative role. Participants will learn interpersonal skills, task and project management, computer and technology skills, and management skills in the course. Participants will be able to sharpen all these skills seen as the most valuable to employers. This certification doesn’t only show a participant’s competence in the area. Still, it demonstrates to their potential employers that they are willing to take the extra steps to become excellent at their job.
• Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) – The CAP is perfect for earning for anyone without any experience in a customer service or administrative role. Participants will learn more in the following areas: organizational communications, business writing and documents, technology and information distribution, office and records management, event and project management, and operational functions. After completing the course, participants will take a test to demonstrate how much they gained from the course. A passed CAP exam is seen to be impressive to many employers, giving people a head start in their professional careers.
• Microsoft 365 Certified: Fundamentals – This course will be valuable to every office coordinator. As they are in charge of record-keeping and scheduling various meetings, learning about these online programs will help them effectively learn the program they’ll need for documents. This course will cover the basics of Microsoft 365 programs, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook. Learn about the security and privacy built-in and how to utilize each program best.

Step 4: Apply for jobs and start gaining experience

After completing high school and any additional coursework, you can start applying for open positions. Online job boards are a great place to look for hiring companies because you can filter based on location and minimum requirements. You may have to search for entry-level jobs if you have no previous experience, but advancement opportunities may be available after a year or so.

Step 5: Continue your education and earn your degree

To advance your career, you can continue your education and earn an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in business administration or communications. This will allow you to apply for promotions within your company or search for higher-paying jobs with more responsibility. Many colleges and universities have part-time programs that will enable you to complete coursework while working during the day.

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How much do office coordinators make?

There are many variables that go into determining how much an office coordinator makes, from company size to experience to education just to name a few.

Browse office coordinator salary data by market

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Top skills for office coordinators

To become an office coordinator, it’s required to have a high school diploma or GED. It’s always good to earn additional vocational certificates from a business or office management training program or even an associate or bachelor’s degree in business administration or communications.

Previous experience in an administrative or office environment is a plus but isn’t always a requirement. Office coordinators must have a friendly and positive attitude, strong organizational and time management skills, a service-oriented personality, and excellent verbal and written communication skills. 

The ability to work well in a fast-paced environment and have great attention to detail will be useful as you will manage multiple job responsibilities while greeting guests and answering the phones. Quick typing skills will also benefit any aspiring coordinators.

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Career path

Office coordinators are fantastic roles to get a foot in the door at a new company. You’ll gain a tremendous insight into the organization and develop skills that transition well into many other roles and opportunities. Business administration roles start with administrative assistants and can move to a manager and C-Suite level positions. 

The best way to advance your career is to pair the experience you’ll gain in an office coordinator role with additional education and work towards your bachelor’s degree in business. 

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Similar job titles

• Office Manager
• Receptionist
• Operations Manager
• Administrative Assistant
• Executive Assistant
• Office Administrator

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Position trends and outlook

While office coordinators are seen to be valuable to many companies to save the employer spending hours on small administrative tasks, the demand for them is declining over the next few years. This is mainly due to increased technology that allows many companies’ staff to prepare documents and schedules without additional help. Due to this, there will be a decrease in the number of office coordinators needed over the next decade. 

Employment projections for office coordinators

From 2020 to 2030, employment of office coordinators is expected to decline by 7% due to several factors, including advances in technology that have automated many administrative tasks. Nonetheless, the BLS notes that office coordinators will still be needed in some industries, particularly healthcare and education. Additionally, as current office coordinators retire or leave, there will be job openings.

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Office coordinator career tips

Soft skills and traits for office coordinators

Become an expert organizer. Coordinators are faced with all kinds of information and supplies that need to be organized, so the better you are at setting up systems, the better you’ll be at your job. Research different tools for booking travel and learn how to use them. Many office coordinators help book travel for different staff members, so adding that experience to your resume is good. Improve your negotiation skills. You may be in charge of ordering supplies and negotiating prices on different things. Having some negotiation training can help you stand out among others.

Commonly required skills and qualifications

Practice your typing skills by taking courses that help you speed up your words per minute and increase your accuracy. Learn the most common software programs used in office environments. Take one of the recommended courses or earn a certificate in Google Workspace and Microsoft Office; the most common options will be covered.

Develop a professional network

Join a professional network to meet other people in office coordinator positions and learn about other opportunities for advancement. Here are a few to consider:

• Office Dynamics International Forums
• International Association of Administrative Professionals
• AdminUniverse
• LinkedIn Groups and Communities
• Association of Business Process Management Professionals
• American Society of Administrative Professionals

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FAQs