Hello all! I have a friend from church who is looking to change careers. She has done general secretarial jobs in the past but has never been an administrative assistant. She is wondering if she would be able to apply for the CAP exam not having any direct administrative assistant experience. Anyone have any experience with this situation? She is hoping by obtaining a CAP it will help her with a career change.

Shelley, To sit for the CAP exam, an individual must meet certain criteria "Qualifying administrative experience includes duties such as: interpersonal communications; written communications; information distribution; document production; scheduling and planning; records management; business finance; meeting management; managing physical resources; conducting research; supervision; leadership; human resources; and technology." See the ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS for complete details: https://www.iaap-hq.org/events/register.aspx?id=1118295&itemid=92f6c2c0-66ff-4a15-97d8-8ff0cb3b358b

General secretarial jobs may meet the requirements. The experience needs to be within the last 10 years, plus 1 straight year of experience needs to be within the last 5 years. Was she doing the general secretarial full time? Does she meet the experience that way? How is she defining general secretarial versus administrative assistant. What was she actually doing?

Marie

Thank you both for the response! I have emailed her the CAP guidelines so hopefully that will help direct her.

Greatr news, Shelley! Best wishes. 

And, while sitting for the CAP may be an ultimate goal, she can immediately demonstrate her commitment to the profession by joining IAAP and attending local branch events or online webinars.