Draft A Concise Professional Summary
In the section designated for your professional summary, write a two to three-sentence description of your relevant work background, level of experience and core competencies. You may also choose to include details about your career goals or quantifiable data that demonstrates your most significant achievements. Regardless of the exact information you prioritize, it’s a standard practice to write this section in third-person voice using action verbs.
This section provides hiring managers with a brief outline of your abilities, which can help them more quickly assess your candidacy when reading your resume. Therefore, try to be as clear and concise as possible when drafting your professional summary.
List Your Education Details
If you attended a college or university and earned a degree, you can include information about your education in an appointed section. List details like the name of the institution you attended, your dates of attendance and the title of the degree you hold, including your major course of study. If you received any awards or accolades during your studies, you may choose to list those in this section as well, including the years during which you received them.
If you didn’t attend college, you may choose to exclude this section from your resume or list details about your high school diploma or equivalent degree. When designing this part of your resume, pay attention to the education requirements outlined by the employer in the job description of the role you’re applying for. It’s important to show you meet these minimum requirements on your resume.
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Measure Your Admin Assistant Work With Metrics
Many admin assistant applicants tell us they find it difficult to write their resumes in a way that displays confidence and job capability. Often, the problem is that they’re not quantifying their job impact with metrics . Metrics are the easiest way to provide measurable insight into your work performance. As an administrative assistant, there are many areas in which you can include numbers on your resume. Read below for some of the best ways to leverage metrics from your previous roles:
- Number of people: It’s a good idea to mention the size of the companies you’ve worked for, including staff size and customer base.
- Efficiency improvements: Have you streamlined policies or systems? Orchestrated the switch to a new type of admin software? Has your work saved a significant amount of time?
- Scheduling: How many meetings do you schedule per week? Of how many executive calendars are you in charge? Do you set up appointment reminders for clients, and, have these reminders reduced the rate of late/missed client meetings?
- Billing: Do you process customer/patient/insurance billing? If so, how much money are you charged with managing? Do you compile expense reports?
Now that you’ve thought through areas of your job from which you can pull metrics, read through these sample work experience bullet points to get a little more inspiration:
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The Structure Of The Administrative Assistant Resume
There are three main structures for writing your resume: they are the functional, reverse chronological, and hybrid. For an administrative assistant where the latest experience and expertise matter the most, we recommend the reverse chronological approach.
In reverse chronological order, we list down the most recent information first.
This structure gives hiring managers quick access to the latest information about you.
Modify Your Resume To Each Admin Assistant Job Ad
We’ve mentioned it a few times, but it’s important enough to reiterate the value of tweaking your admin assistant resume for every job to which you apply. After all, administrative assistants have widely varying job responsibilities, and you should take the extra step to best align your resume with the specific job for each application you submit. Fortunately, you don’t have to change your entire resume, but let’s go over the areas you should customize:
- The objective/summary: Without a doubt, if you include a resume objective or summary statement, you’ll need to customize it. Focus on highlighting relevant skills for the position, and mention the company name. But, please don’t be the person who forgets to change the company name on their resume objective before submitting it to multiple job ads.
- Skills: Customize your skills section by referencing the job description. Usually, hiring managers are upfront about the desired skills required for the job.
- Job description bullet points: Your job description bullet points can be altered to emphasize different types of administrative assistant jobs. For example, highlight your efficiency and time management for jobs that require multi-tasking and the ability to work in a hectic environment. Other positions, such as medical assistant jobs, may be more concerned about billing, policy compliance, and patient privacy.
Administrative assistant resume
Entry-level admin assistant resume
Executive admin assistant resume
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Employment History Resume Example: Show What You Know
This section is more challenging if you are starting or changing your careeras an administrative assistant, but no matter your job history, you can craft a skill-focused experience section that shows off your value. Your first step here is to think about each job you have had, whether it be full time or an after-school position. Instead of writing a job description, think in terms of accomplishments and skills.
Analyze the description of the job you want. Describe career successes that illustrate the skills the employer is looking for. Think about how you used those skills to the organizations advantage. For example: How did you use those skills to streamline office processes? On your administrative assistant resume, link as many of those skills to your previous years of experience. Check out our administrativeassistant resume example block below to see more samples of how to do this.
If job descriptions seem too vague or too wordy, heres a way you can cut through the mess. Try using a word cloud program such as Wordle or WordArt. Paste the job description into it. The more often a word is used, the more important it is to the employer. Follow the pattern to implant keywords into your resume.
Here are some goals of a well-written work history section:
- Use action verbsto describe responsibilities and achievements
- For example: performed instead of did reconciled data instead of found errors
Example Of A Good Header / Example Of A Bad Header For Administrative Assistant
- Start the resume with your name. Not with the position you hold
- Use an appropriate email address. However, do not use your current office email
- Your residential address is not necessary for the resume header
- Consider putting the link to your LinkedIn account so that they can search further about you. Make sure you keep LinkedIn updated
- If you maintain a career blog, you may link that
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Senior Administrative Assistant Resume
Why this resume works
- When you’re in a senior role, you need to demonstrate that you’ve taken on more responsibility throughout your career.
- For this reason, a reverse-chronological resume format will serve your interests best, as it unfolds your most recent work history first.
Related Resume Guides
Executive Administrative Assistant Resume
Why this resume works
- As an executive administrative assistant, it’s vitally important that you are clear about the size and scope of the companies for which you’ve worked. Working as an executive assistant at a startup is fundamentally different than doing so at a Fortune 500 company.
- Executive administrative assistants fundamentally strive to improve the executives’ efficiency for whom they work. You should demonstrate you’ve succeeded in this goal in your previous roles using numbers on your executive administrative assistant resume.
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How To Make An Administrative Assistant Resume
You should write your administrative assistant resume in the same organized way as the rest of your administrative duties at work. Here are a few general guidelines and tips for success:
- A one page resume is ideal
- Follow a standard structure and layout throughout
- Pick out the important keywords in the job description
- Keep your writing brief and to the point
- Prioritize your strengths
A recruiter spends less than 10 seconds on average on resumes of administrative assistants as they often get hundreds.
Most organizations now use the applicant tracking system to shortlist resumes in the initial stages. This system tracks the keywords and checks the alignment with the job description.
A clean layout and an organized structure would make your life easy when writing.
Skills To Put In The Resume For An Administrative Assistant
The resume skills section is not a critical deciding factor for recruiters. However, if you write it wrong, you could get your resume rejected.
The main mistake applicants make writing this section is to load it up with a general set of skills. We recommend using a mix of soft, hard and, IT skills based on the hiring managers requirement.
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How To Choose Whether To Include A Resume Objective Or Summary
The main difference between a resume objective and summary is length. An objective will consist of just a sentence or two and simply state who you are and what you’re trying to achieve. A summary will be longer and explain more.
If youre already well suited for the administrative assistant position and your resume largely speaks for itself, a simple objective is all you need. If giving some background and context for why youd like to be an administrative assistant will help you, a summary will do the job well.
Summary: Key Points For Writing A Perfect Administrative Assistant Resume
- Name and contact information should appear at the top of your resume
- A summary highlights your greatest accomplishments, experience, and skills in a 2-3 sentence statement
- List down your experience in reverse chronological order
- If your education is stronger than your experience, list education before experience
- Put together a mix of soft, hard, and IT skills
- Create a pleasant surprise for the hiring manager by adding additional sections such as Certifications, Interests, and Languages
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Administrative Assistant Resume Examples
Administrative assistants are the lifeblood of many offices, providing support for everything from making event arrangements to ordering supplies. Some administrative assistants may serve as support for an entire organization while others may work with specific individuals or departments. Jobs for administrative assistants are expected to decline 7%, or by 276,000 jobs, between 2018 and 2028, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With this in mind, professionals should be aware that administrative assistant jobs will not be as widely available in the future as they are today.
As the field declines, administrative assistant roles will only become more competitive. Due to the lower barriers to entry, these jobs can be quite popular, especially among new college graduates. However, a strong resume can help you land the perfect job for you. Below, you can find resume samples for both experienced and entry-level job seekers, including tips and best practices.
Administrative Assistant Key Skills
Similar to your Professional Experience section, the Administrative Assistant Key Skills section will give an employer a brief overview of your skillset. The Key Skills section is a great place to show off both your functional and technical expertise.
Pay special attention to the qualifications listed in the jobs you are applying for and make sure you include those in your Key Skills section .
To help you get an idea of what employers are looking for, we have included some Administrative Assistant Key Skills below.
Functional Skills: Documentation, Copying, Customer Service, Meeting Facilitation, Mail Distribution, Filing, Travel Arrangements
Technical Skills: MS Office, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, Copy Machine, VoIP Phones, Fax MachineTo give your Key Skills section some additional weight, you may choose to list Beginner, Proficient, or Expert next to each of the listed skills.
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Example Administrative Assistant Job Description
XYZ Corp is seeking an administrative assistant to support the corporate finance department. In this role, candidates will have the opportunity to work with high-level executives to support ongoing departmental and organizational needs while working in a fast-paced, exciting environment. Growth opportunities are available in executive support and office management.
Responsibilities:
- Answer the phone and provide information to internal and external callers
- Organize and manage departmental files
- Manage office supplies
- Prepare presentations related to departmental performance
- Schedule team meetings, including arranging food orders when necessary
- Coordinate with HR during hiring periods
- Manage incoming and outgoing mail
- Other administrative tasks as needed
Qualifications:
- Associates degree in a business field, bachelors degree preferred
- 2-3 years of experience in an administrative or secretarial position
- Finance experience preferred
- Managing business travel
- Scheduling meetings and events
These keywords should be featured as prominently as possible on your resume while describing past experiences. While some job seekers create one general resume that can be used across many positions, it is best to completely customize your resume under all circumstances.
What Is An Administrative Assistant Resume
An administrative assistant resume is a professional document that candidates submit when applying for open administrative support roles. These documents typically accompany other application materials, such as a cover letter or list of references. The purpose of an administrative assistant resume is to provide hiring managers and employers with a detailed portrayal of a candidate’s background, education, experience and skills.
From here, these key decision-makers use a candidate’s resume to evaluate their qualifications and ability to fulfill the requirements of an administrative assistant role. Therefore, administrative assistant resumes offer candidates the opportunity to showcase their accomplishments, competencies and past experience in a way that is both compelling to potential employers and matches their expectations.
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Add Contact Info To Your Resume
One element invariably included in all resumes examples for administrative assistant is a contact info section. In order to recruit you, employers and hiring managers will need to have your relevant and accurate contact details.
Thatâs clear. But how to include contact info in your administrative assistant resume? Here are a few handy tips:
- Place it close to the top of the page.
- Add a full name, phone number, and email address.
- Make sure your email address looks professional.
- Add your physical address.
- Include relevant links
- Carefully check the data for accuracy.
Administrative Assistant Resume Summary With Examples
An Administrative Assistant resume summary provides a brief outline of your skills and qualifications. It shows employers and hiring managers a general overview of your capabilities, helping them to quickly decide if youre the right candidate for the role. This article shares some examples of effective Administrative Assistant resume summaries to help you write your own resume summary.
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Write A Strong Resume Objective
The resume objective is designed to give hiring managers a reason to continue reading your resume. The candidate in the sample above has succeeded with her resume objective, for these reasons:
- She describes how long shes been an administrative assistant, and the main duties she performed
- She lists her degree, and her expertise in relevant software
- She tells the hiring manager which role she wants to fill, and why shes a good choice
Essentially, shes made a concise argument for why shed be a great candidate for the job. This helps grab the attention of employers and convinces them to read more about your qualifications.
In the next section, we explain how to make your resumes bullet points impactful.
How To Align Your Resume With The Job Description
Hiring managers are eager to find job candidates that meet as many of the job requirements as possible, ensuring the highest likelihood of success. To improve your odds of being selected for an interview, it is important to make sure your resume speaks to a specific job position as closely as possible. While most hiring managers understand that the majority of candidates will not fulfill every desired point listed in a job description, meeting as many requirements as possible can significantly increase your chances of successfully navigating the job search process. To up your chances of getting an interview, scan the job description for industry-specific keywords and phrases and then tweak your resume experience section to incorporate these.
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Action Verbs For Administrative Assistant Resumes
Each bullet point in your work history section should begin with an action verb. These action verbs are strong ways to showcase your experience and achievements by showing, rather than telling. Examples of great action verbs for an administrative assistant are negotiated, supervised, calculated, established, and more to speak to your accomplishments in the role. These words imply the ability to effectively communicate with vendors, leadership and management of other team members, proficiency in numbers, and creating something new. Descriptors such as responsible for, helped, assisted with, and handled imply that you did the responsibilities of the job, but leave the recruiter wanting to know what you specifically achieved in your past roles.
- Negotiated
For more sample bullet points and details on how to write effective bullet points, see our articles on resume bullet points, how to quantify your resume and resume accomplishments.