I'm going to try to make this quick. I've been at my job 3 years and it was my first job out of college. I went to college for communications/graphic design and took a job as an administrative assistant for the COO of a software company. Recently I asked what steps I'd need to take in order to be promoted to an Executive Assistant. After 3 weeks of waiting I was called in today and basically told that since the owner of the company only has an Administrative Assistant, the owner probably wouldn't want the COO's assistant to have a better title than his assistant. The owner's assistant was hired from within and started 3 weeks ago. She has no prior experience. I was told I'd probably move up when she moved up and I'm three years ahead of her! I do payroll for the company, sales order processing and MUCH MUCH more.
I feel like it's time to move on and I need some help getting motivated. I don't really want to stay in an assistant position but feel I'm kind of typecast. Can someone help me? I do have a lot of experience in other things than assistant roles. I don't know what to do....
I don't think you should feel like you're typecast as an assistant just because you're an assistant at this exact moment.
You said that you went to college for communications/graphic design, correct? Is that the field you want to work in? If so, I'm assuming since you went to college for it, you probably have some kind of graphic design portfolio. Brush the dust off that, put it in a new presentation book and use that as a tool when you start interviewing. If you don't have a portfolio, you can always create spec work- design a fake ad, poster, postcard, whatever - and use those in your portfolio. Just be sure to label them 'spec' so potential employers know they weren't actually used for a company.
Since I work in the marketing/communications/design field, I like to keep tabs on what kinds of jobs are out there and what the market is like. I peruse job sites all the time and I've seen a good amount of jobs listed as marketing coordinator/graphic designer or communications assistant/graphic designer. These jobs sound like something you might be looking for and you would have more potential for advancement in a position like that. I'm not sure what area of the country you are in, but you can also try sites like Aquent, Boss Staffing and The Creative Group. They place creative jobs in various cities across the country.