The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1919-09-23
THE GIRL SECRETARY
BY Sophia Irene Loeb.

BY Sophia Irene Loeb.
1T is most astounding h,w little
girl realizes what it means to be a
secretary" said prominent business
man who employs a number of stnog-
rCphers and secre yariss.
For example, young lady stenog-
rapher came to me very well recon-
mended and stated she wanted a sec
retarial position. She wrote a num-
Der of letters and put Il EN- before
me for my signature. | began sign
ing one after another, as was my
custom, and she was surprised, say
ing, why don't you read them?'
"'Why should ~ | asked, Aren't
they correct?' oh, yes she faltered,
but there may be some mistakes
If | learn there are mistakes you
will lose your position | answered.
If | can't relp on you to look over
your letters and be sure you have
made no mistakes, | might as well
hire somebody else to see that you do
your job correctly"
This ma invent on to tell the trials
he had to endure because of this
faulty work.
MANY stenographers go on the
theory that they are not the last
authority on the subject on which
they are writing or the thing that
they are doing and that somebody has
to be over them to see their work is
finally the perfect product.
"The energy and effort and su-
pervision that are thus wasted can
never be estimated. If every young
man and woman would only under
stand that his or her standing as
workers is always and forever de-
cided on how much they can assume
and perform properly, without su-
pervision, the better they are and the
more they can command"
This man speaks the truth. Sew
eral times in these columns in answer
to letters from young women who
would succeed | have set forth the
one big demand in the business world
today-the person who can take re-
sponsibility.
1t cannot be repeated too often
When you are not responsible for
your work and know that some one
is going over it to fix up mistakes it
is natural impulse somehow to slip
over things and even let mistakes 60
by, knowing that they will be cor
rected.
In these days when most stenogra-
piers, especially girls, are aiming ia
be secretaries, this one fundamental
principle must be thoroughly appre-
ciated. The more she can lift from
the shoulders of the person for whom
she is working, the more indispensa-
BILE she will become.
Besides, being a stenographer and
a secretary are entirely two different
things. One deals in the main with
the business of writing, transcribing
&c. But the other, the secretary
work, emans taking a keen interest
in most every angle of the business
of the employer. In fact, it means
being a part of it, and how large a
part some secretaries actually play
in the success of the business is evil
dent on all sides.
An element of prime Importance is
when a request is made to do some
thing that the secretary take the bur
den of it and follows it up until it
is accomplished. In other words, to
be reminded that thing isn't done
as general thing, means that the
secretary has not taken the proper
responsibility.
The girl who when told to do q
thing goes through with it and re.
ports on it, even though the employer
may have forgotten about it, is bounC
to put herself in the line of advance