We’ve all met this person. In fact, there is one in pretty much every office. Sometimes it’s the lady with the twenty pictures of her dog and the gilded stature of her dog’s paw print and the 3 stuffed dogs on her desk. Other times it is someone who is a little too loud, a little too nosy or a little too outspoken. Regardless of what this person’s personality traits are, they fall in the category of quirky. However, since they do a good job or haven’t done anything terrible (depending on how the employer runs the office), they continue to work there and do quirky things.

While some people make their idiosyncrasies work for them, generally as an administrative assistant it is best to avoid falling into the “quirky” trap. While it will make you easy to remember, it also diminishes your professionalism. As the first line of contact with the outside world – and all the customers and potential clients in it – being quirky can be a greater liability for you than it can be for people who do not work as directly with clients. In fact, if you are overly quirky, it can even prevent you from being lined up for projects or getting a job in the first place.

This does not mean that you should not show any personality whatsoever. Having a picture of your family or even your dog on your desk does not hinder your professionalism. Even letting some of your slight eccentricities show will not hurt you – as long as you keep them in their place. The important thing is to make it very clear that you are fully professional when it matters, and not be one of those people who the rest of the office warns people about before they ever set foot inside. If you let your “funny” habits get the best of you, then you could find that they end up getting the best of your job as well.