You've Got to Be Kidding!: How to Keep Your Job Without Losing Your Integrity

These Two Admins Knocked the Socks off Their Bosses

Eugene Nizker, chief information officer (CIO) of Custom House Currency Exchange, had high praise for his assistant, Jessica Raichl, when he said, “She guards me from problems that I will never know about.” Apparently, the local police called Jessica’s office and insisted that they needed to ask questions about a member of the information technology (IT) staff. Jessica’s confidentiality antennae immediately went up and she became concerned about appearances. So she told the police they could not come into the office, offering instead to meet them elsewhere. The incident, fortunately, turned out to be a huge misunderstanding that caused no problem whatsoever. But Jessica’s quick thinking and protective instincts obviously headed off any unnecessary gossip and/or embarrassment for her boss. Her boss was so impressed he nominated her for the IT profession’s annual CIO Best Administrative Assistant Contest in recognition of the 2007 Administrative Professionals Day—and she won!

And then there is my friend, Sue Drury, who tops all honors in the confidentiality arena. Sue was executive assistant to the CEO of a major bank with corporate headquarters in the Midwest. At one point, the bank was considering moving their headquarters, a move that ultimately did not occur. But because such a departure would have involved a major employee layoff in the area, this would be an explosive media scoop were the information ever leaked. Sue told ...