Name, Age, City and State: Bonnie Johnson, 69, Charlotte, NC

Job-title: Retired but was an executive secretary/office manager for 40 years

Web/blog site URL: http://web.me.com/theodorejohnson1

Give us your job description in 25 words or less. When I started working at age 17, I was in a secretarial pool for an oil company in Phila. and when I retired, I was an office manager for a CPA firm in NC.

Describe a typical workday. I would sit in my boss’s office and take dictation, answer the telephone for him, make his hotel reservations and business appointments and, yes, bring him coffee. I also did filing, typed contracts (on a manual typewriter) and since there were no copiers in the 1950’s, I had to TYPE everything, often with 3 or 4 pieces of carbon paper. If I made a mistake, I used an eraser and in later years, white-out. In the 1980’s, when my boss said that I had to learn how to use a computer, I told him I really liked using my electric typewriter and didn’t really see the need to replace it with new technology. Thank goodness, he insisted!

What led you to realize that you wanted to do this type of work? When I was growing up, my aunt was an executive secretary for the same oil company I eventually worked for, and on weekends, she would let me “play” on her typewriter while she did other work…sticky fingers and all.

Did you have any heroes or mentors in your industry that you admired? Just my Aunt Dorothy who taught me good work ethics.

What type of education or training was required to land your job? When I went to high school in the 1950’s, we could choose to take either academic or commercial courses. I chose the latter since I wasn’t going to college but started working even before graduating.

What do you love most about your job? I have good organizational skills so really enjoyed keeping things in order for my boss. I also like proofing documents and still use this ability for finding errors in documents before they go to the printer’s.

What one part of your job do you wish you could hire someone else to do? Filing!

What advice would you give to teenagers wanting to get into your field of work? Unfortunately, secretarial jobs are now extinct, but if you are good at organizing and following through on projects, become an executive assistant.

How does your job allow you to use your God-given gifts? I was interviewed for the company newsletter and when asked what famous person I would like to meet, I said Billy Graham because of his close relationship with the Lord.

Do you have any hobbies or off-hours pursuits that teenagers would find of interest? I have been acting in feature films, commercials and training films for over 25 years and have worked with Julia Roberts, Robin Williams, Tommy Lee Jones, Denzel Washington, Miley Cyrus and other Hollywood stars.