Project Secretary and Document Controller

I am working as a Project Secretary and also document controller in a substation project.  Project Secretary is an administrative post, which involves providing support to Project Manager, Construction Manager, Planning Manager, Project Engineer, and Electrical Site Engineer.  Project Secretary is a sort of common thread connecting different functional leads and helps in the smooth running of the project.

The document controller is a person who is in charge of all the documents coming in and going out of the project.  The most important aspect of this job is creating traceability.  You will be asked suddenly to present a document which was sent by a vendor on certain date, a good document controller will be able to trace out the document in a jiffy.  This is a job which requires one to be well organized.  Although in other projects of our company, Project Secretary and Document Controller are two separate persons, in my project I am playing a double role.

My previous job experience of Medical Transcriptionist and Audit Executive have been of great help in performing the role of Project Secretary.  I have had good exposure to MS word as an MT and MS Excel as an Audit Executive, and here as a Project Secretary, I am using MS Word, MS Excel and also MS Power Point extensively.

Image Courtesy:  www.dciobjectives.com

I am back..........

My journey from MT to an Audit Executive to a Project Secretary has been posted in MT Herald, thanks to Mr. Raj for giving the wonderful opportunity for writing a guest post there.  MT diary was very much related to my previous work, ie MT which is why it was left unattended after I changed my field.  More ever, my work in Delhi required lots of travel, which left me with very little leisure time.  However, now, it is a different place, different country and different work, which leaves me with some time to jot down my ravings, so just thought of continuing with MT diary, which will now become diary of an Ex-Medical Transcriptionist.  My posts will be related to my current work environment, my work experiences, other career avenues and opportunities et all.  You can check here for my usual blah blah …J

From MT to an Audit Executive

When I embarked on a new journey last year, I was quite uncertain as to where & what I will end up, but my restless spirit wouldn't let me settle down in my MT avatar, so  with backing of my sister and mom, I took the plunge.

I have jotted a few points regarding my experience in the new sector. 

1.  New job, new skill set, new orgn, new culture: To move from a desk job to one which require lot of travel is something quite mind boggling.  Keyboard skills from previous job came in handy while preparing reports on MS Excel and Word.  The organisation culture is hardest nut to crack & takes some time to sink in like for eg calling guys senior to you by adding suffix sir, even though they may be younger in age.  The working style of a large organisation is also entirely different with each executive reporting to someone above him, who in turn reports to someone above him........so for anything which needs coordination of 2 different departments, you can imagine the time it takes. 

2.  Salary/pay:  The best part of this was that you get paid in the last day of the month, you also get pay slip which helps if you are planning taking loan.

3.  Travel:  Audit requires lot of travel.  Once you settle down in the routine, it is fun, visiting new places, getting to know different people, making new friends and acquaintances.  Company provides guest house at most places with kitchen and all accessories, so needless to say you can cook and eat whatever you like.

4.  Seniority has got weight:  Unlike in BPO sectors, here each year that you worked for the organisation counts.  You may find the going quite difficult in the start, but if you get used to the system, you can find you way. Your incentive, bonus everything is calculated based upon your seniority in the organisation, so it pays to stay with the group.

THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN SEPTEMBER 2012, BUT COULD'NT BLOG IT THEN.