When you’re working in an administrative/support job, there are countless ways to make mistakes that can embarrass or even damage you or your boss. Just a few examples: In a hurry, you do the math in your head and get it wrong. You misplace a document or lose track of a critical order for office supplies. You botch arrangements for a meeting or for your boss’s client visit. You insert last year’s data into that critical PowerPoint projection for next year.

So it’s not a question of if you will err, but when. How you react, what you do about it and how you reduce the chances of repeating the mistake will help determine your success at work. Here’s a four-step plan for making the best of these difficult situations.

First: Calm Yourself

For anyone, making a substantial, visible error can be upsetting. But if you’re going to resolve the situation successfully, you need to keep your cool. “Don’t psyche yourself out,” advises Helen Cooke, an organizational development consultant. “You’re human, and mistakes will happen from time to time.”

Blaming yourself doesn’t help you move toward an acceptable resolution. “Forgive yourself, because as long as you are focusing on the mistake, you’re not thinking straight about the present,” says Ann Latham, a management consultant.

And remember, unless you have a toxic boss, she should understand your situation and react proportionally. “Executives expect professionalism, not perfection,” says Rachelle Canter, an organizational development consultant and author.

Second: Decide How Much to Say About the Error and to Whom

Especially in the case of errors that crop up during presentations or other meetings, administrative professionals can face split-second decisions about how much to say about the problem, when to say it and to whom.

Suppose a PowerPoint slide you prepared pops up with an error obvious to you but perhaps not to others. “An administrative professional must make the decision whether to embarrass the boss in front of his peers or clients,” says Diane Gottsman, president of The Protocol School of Texas.

How do you decide whether to point out and correct the error immediately or wait to speak with your boss after the meeting? “If the error is damaging to the company, a client or a peer, speak up,” says Gottsman.

Third: Don’t Overdo Your Apology

Some miscues, though they may loom large for the admin who has put a lot of planning into a meeting, are clearly better left unmentioned. “No one will notice that the menu changed from gazpacho to lobster bisque,” says Gottsman. “They will notice a frazzled and frustrated admin.”

In any case, acknowledgement of the mistake should be brief but direct, paving the way for the best possible resolution. “The most productive handling is to swiftly transition from mea culpa to corrective action so that it’s a nonissue as soon as possible,” says Cooke.

If you do apologize, keep it simple and don’t repeat yourself. Instead, say how you will correct the error, and show you’re ready to move on. “It’s not enough to acknowledge responsibility and apologize,” says Canter. “You must present a solution to keep the problem from recurring.”

Finally: Analyze the Situation to Avoid Repeating It

One of the key qualities that makes an admin a professional is the ability to capitalize on errors by learning from them, as well as leveraging that learning for the good of the boss and organization.

“Ask why the mistake was made,” says Dan Deren, a career consultant. “Did someone come to the admin with changes at the last minute? Was there no final review?”

In the 2000s, with so much information stored digitally, it’s almost too easy to make changes. The hard part is keeping documents correct and consistent as changes flow in from many directions at the eleventh hour.

When faced with bosses who don’t always keep quality control in mind, administrative professionals sometimes must push back. “The admin should say, ‘We’re on in an hour, so I’d like you to decide what is important,’” advises Gottsman.

For more information and tips to help you advance your administrative career, see all our advice for admin professionals.