The different types of office manager jobs can range from managing a small office with a few employees to a large corporation with dozens or hundreds of other people in the office. The type of office can affect the office manager jobs as well; for instance, a medical office manager is one common job, where the manager will have little, if any, interaction with clients or patients. A front office manager, on the other hand, may interact with customers much more throughout the day.
Office manager jobs may or may not require any specific training. Many people who manage an office begin as simply an employee at the office, or as an administrative assistant. They may then move up into supervisory roles with more responsibility, and those who succeed in that area may eventually become office managers. Some people pursue an associate's degree or certificate program in office management or business, or for those who work in a medical environment, may get a medical office degree in coding terminology, for example.
Even without regard to the type of the business, many office manager jobs are quite similar. The job of the office manager is to ensure that the business continues to run smoothly; most office managers will work closely with other people in the company, such as the president of the company or other executives, to develop policies for running the office. The office manager might be responsible for keeping inventory of supplies and ordering supplies as needed, interviewing new employees and helping to make hiring decisions, performing bookkeeping, and training and supervising current employees to be sure that everyone is on task and doing their job as expected.
The office manager will need to tailor his or her skills to the company for which he is working. An office manager at a university, for example, may need to work with students on occasion, just as a medical office manager may need to occasionally talk to patients. Office manager jobs in the hotel or tourism industry, on the other hand, often require frequent interaction with customers, particularly if a customer has a problem that needs to be resolved by management. It is important for any office manager to possess confidence and tact when dealing with people, but they are also expected to remain loyal to the business and to resolve problems that arise in a way that benefits both parties.
