Anxious about my job

[Lyra]

My boss has an admin assistant. He turns to me for help when his assistant gets overwhelmed with work. My boss sees me as an asset because I'm a quick learner and I get things done in a timely manner. Due to my abilities and because his admin assistant can't do everything at once, my boss approached his supervisor and asked that I be given access to a particular software program the department heavily relies on for much of the administrative duties. The supervisor turned down his request, citing that I'm not an admin assistant and administrative work isn't part of my job duties.

So I am unable to access the software program. However, in an unusual turn of events, my boss decided to give me his credentials to login to the program to perform the work he asks me to do. I'm grateful for his trust, but I'm uneasy about the situation. I don't have the software installed at my workstation. So my boss tells me to go to a computer in a different area to login, get familiar with the program, and do the work for him. He tells me not to tell anyone what I'm doing. I'm happy to help him get things done, but I'm frustrated with having to hide what I'm doing from other people. Another issue is, since I never had my own credentials for the software program, I never received any formal training on how to use it. Sometimes my boss will ask me to do something and I feel helpless because I've never done it before. There are software training classes that are held at the company, but I can't sign up and attend the classes because I don't have the credentials. I wonder if anyone here has been able to master a program through experimentation and without any formal training.

Last but not least, I worry about how to strengthen my resume when my boss has told me not to tell anyone that I'm doing administrative work.

[Kirk]

You are in a tough spot as theoretically, you could get in trouble also. Maybe you should approach your boss in a nice way and
tell him your concerns. It is however, a tough call as to what to do in your particular situation.

[Anne1221]

You don't have to put the administration work you're doing now on your resume. Just put everything else on your resume. If it were me, I'd start looking for a new job. This is not a good situation and could get very sticky later on down the road. You obviously are sharp and have good skills, so find a boss that is not sneaky like this one.

[Lyra]

You don't have to put the administration work you're doing now on your resume. Just put everything else on your resume. If it were me, I'd start looking for a new job. This is not a good situation and could get very sticky later on down the road. You obviously are sharp and have good skills, so find a boss that is not sneaky like this one.

I have been polishing my resume and looking around for new jobs. This situation just gives me another reason to find greener pasture. I can't simply refuse the work that my boss assigns me to do. If I do he'll find someone else to do the work and may eventually no longer see me as an asset. So landing a new job seems to be the only way out of this situation.

[The Intolerable Kid]

I would still include the software on your resume. It's a little odd in my opinion he wants it to be a secret. Maybe it would be possible to remotely log into your boss' computer and use the software that way? It would be easier than trying to find an open workstation where you could be seen. There is a free program that would enable you to do this if it is an option -
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/tightvnc.html
Otherwise, I think looking for another job is the way to go. Clearly, your skills have evolved beyond your current position.

[Lyra]

Hi there. My boss wants to keep it a secret because I'm not suppose to be using the software program to do administrative work. His official request to grant me authorization to use the program was denied. So he wants me to learn how to use it so I be his backup in case his admin assistant can't come to work one day. Without his admin assistant he wouldn't know what to do and work won't get done, so he's relying on me.