Administrative Assistant Resume Example & Writing Tips 2024
Several vital positions contribute to a successful business. The job that tends to be overlooked for credit – but is essential to keeping the office running are the passionate administrative assistants. From communicating with customers to organizing files, drafting correspondence, or running office errands, the best jobs are often awarded to candidates who draft a solid administrative assistant resume.
The path to becoming an administrative assistant typically begins by filling out an application. However, with more businesses utilizing online hiring agencies or job posting websites, creating an easy-to-read yet engaging administrative assistant resume summary is becoming more critical than ever. Writing a resume – regardless of the position, is easier when you know how to plan it, structure it, and what keywords are important for hiring managers.
These are all the details we are going to help you understand. We'll give you the best practice.s for writing administrative assistant resumes in the content below. We will provide you with a few administrative assistant resume examples, provide the main sections you should include, and some practical tips for choosing the administrative assistant resume skills.
If you're ready – we are, so let's get started.
Administrative Assistant Resume Sample
Today's administrative assistant must have excellent communication skills. They typically engage with customers, vendors, and fellow employees at the office daily. However, they also should possess strong computer skills, organization and can work unsupervised. It's also crucial for a resume for administrative assistant applicants to include their experience with conflict resolution, customer service, and word processing.
Writing an administrative assistant job description resume is simplified when you start with a detailed plan that helps you connect with the intended audience. However, one thing that all admin assistant resumes have is a structure.
Let's look at a professionally written resume summary for administrative assistant positions. Please take a few minutes to review the resume for our candidate Lisa, who is applying for an administrative assistant position in her hometown of San Diego, California. The same format should be followed if you're drafting an entry level administrative assistant resume.
Most generic administrative assistant resumes are copy and paste cookie cutters when you read them. They'll include some important power words or action verbs but have personalized information relevant to the candidate. Regardless of whether you're writing a medical administrative assistant resume or for an office, this is a surefire way to lose any potential interviews.
While the sample above is an excellent template with practical information, you should always customize a resume specifically to the position you're applying for. For example, when you review Lisa's resume, her opening statement or resume objective has been written specifically for the warehouse in San Diego she is applying to.
She speaks about her years of experience, ability to handle travel arrangements, and providing administrative support to multiple employees.
As you continue to read, you'll find that she has listed her previous work history in reverse chronological order. In one of her jobs, she mentions experience with Powerpoint, Quickbooks, and other data entry tasks. She also added her high school degree and current enrollment in college, included a few professional and personal references, and finally listed her relevant skills.
These are all detailed items that job recruiters love to see on a resume format. She includes hard and soft skills, her time management experience, and communication skills. Not only will an applicant tracking system recognize these keywords, but hiring managers will appreciate them.
The entire sample resume for administrative assistants reads cleanly – start to finish. It includes a professional tone, yet it's conversational at the same time. This is a big deal – as it helps tell the candidate's story. Using an administrative assistant resume template can significantly help you create a polished document as you see in this sample.
The resume is grammatically accurate, boosts confidence, and shows dedication to her career. Let's explore how to write, structure, edit, and finalize the resume from start to finish.
How to Write a Good Resume for Administrative Assistant in 2024: Full Admin Assistant Resume Guide
While the sample resume above is indeed a fantastic one – it might be a bit intimidating for some. While our team wrote it of professional resume writers, it's easier than you'd think to draft a resume just as impactful as the sample above.
The best way to begin any writing project is to create an outline. We recommend starting with a resume for entry-level or experienced admin assistant with a master resume or a working Word document that allows you to insert sections, add content, and make edits. Most of these jobs don't require certifications, so we'll keep this out of the article.
Here are a few recommended sections that we think should be included in any administrative assistant resume.
Personal Contact Information: Personal contact information should be written with simplicity in mind. It should include your accurate contact details to make it easy for them to contact you for an interview. Please keep it simple as the sample shows you above.
Professional Summary: The administrative assistant resume summary is your elevator pitch or chance to explain to the hiring manager why you're a great candidate for the job.
Work History: This is the section where you'll add practical work experience section. For experienced candidates, try to insert at least two previous administrative assistant jobs. If you're new to this industry, pick a few last jobs where you've shown good work habits and complex work ethics.
Education: The education section is the easiest one for future or new employees to fill out. List your highest level of completed education – documenting any degrees you've earned.
Skills: It's a good idea to list five to seven assistant skills that will make you a great administrative assistant. Some essential skills to consider include attention to detail, organization, communication, problem-solving, ordering office supplies, working with Outlook, customer service, and phone etiquette.
References: References are essential to help provide support to your assistant role application, cover letter, and resume. It's best to add two professional references (or people you've worked with, like managers or business owners) and one personal reference (someone who can speak to your character).
The best way to start your master resume is to make six primary sections – with the above titles as your beginning point. The following sections below will help you build out the content for each.
Section #1 – List Your Contact Information
An administrative assistant has multiple tasks to complete during the day. Each company will have specific tasks, but they should be ready to answer phone calls, schedule appointments, reply to customer emails, faxing, creating a filing system, complete office expense reports, work with human resources, drafting memos, and assist other office employees if directed.
However, the job search company needs to contact them for an interview before they are hired. They'll likely gain this information from your application, but it's essential to match your resume. Since attention to detail is a critical job attribute, proving this on your resume is crucial. It's best to keep this section simple – by listing your full legal name, mobile phone number, mailing address, and email.
How to Format this Section
Please keep it simple. Most of them will make it easy to insert your personal contact information if you use a resume template. If not, list your name, mailing address (including city, state, and zip code), email address, and phone number.
Section #2 – Professional Summary
Well-written resume objectives for administrative assistants or professional summary can make or break your job opportunity. The summary of your executive assistant resume will be written to your employer – essentially like an opening paragraph to a resume cover letter. It introduces your skills and experience and will give the hiring team a clear understanding of why they should contact you for an interview.
You need to list a few of the skills mentioned above, such as being detail-oriented, a problem solver, strong communication skills, and experience handling customer objections. In the sample administrative assistant resume objective section above, you can see that Lisa has mentioned these skills in her resume.
How to Format this Section
It would help if you took the time to write and edit your professional summary. It should sound very professional – yet in a relaxed tone. Please keep it to five sentences, around 200 to 250 words, and read it aloud several times before you're done. It should be the first item on your resume – besides your personal contact information – always listed on top of the first page.
Section #3 – Employment History
Employment history is another important section that can help you gain interviews for those top paying assistant positions. This is where you'll list the previous companies that have hired you in the past. In a perfect world, you'd select two previous jobs where you've served as an executive or administrative assistant.
However, if you have not been an administrative assistant before, finding the right jobs to place in this section can be frustrating. Don't worry – it's not that big of a deal. If you only have a few previous jobs – it's best to list them in this section vs. not having any prior work history. The sample of this section in Lisa's resume will show you how she recorded her previously held two jobs.
How to Format this Section
In the work history section, you should list the business's name, location, dates of employment, and a few bullet points of your responsibilities. You'll want to record these jobs in reverse chronological order – or list the recent positions on top and follow in order of the day you left the previous employment.
Section #4 – Education
Depending on the industry and tasks required, an administrative associate or assistant position may require specific educational requirements. As such, it's essential to pay close attention to every job posting before starting your resume or filling out the application.
The education section is the simplest of all in any resume. The only thing you need to add is your highest level of education or the required college or high school degree that a job requires. It's more than acceptable to list higher educational degrees, but it's undoubtedly not mandated on your resume.
Regardless, when you add education or degree information on your admin assistant resume, keep it simple. Just list the name of your school, the degree earned, and the date of graduation. You can see that Lisa has earned an Associate of Arts degree – and listed it on her resume. There is no need to list your high school – unless it's your highest education achieved.
How to Format This Section
If a high school diploma is required, document this in the education section. As we stated above, you'll want to keep the information simple in this section – with the name of the school, its location, dates, and the degree earned. If you're currently enrolled in college – feel free to list this first – as you can see in Lisa's example – keep the information simple.
Section #5– References
References are added to an administrative assistant resume to help support the applicants' chances of gaining an interview. Most references are previous bosses or managers who can speak highly of your ability to stay focused, complete tasks on time, and work well with fellow employees. Most resumes will include (2) professional references and (1) personal references.
The personal reference is usually someone that knows you well – who holds a professional position (like a doctor, attorney, or business owner). They speak to your credibility, ability to communicate with people, or your compassion.
In the sample section posted above, you can see how Lisa selected two previous managers (that work for the same companies listed in her work history section). She also picked a college professor (from the University of San Diego) where she is currently enrolled (and noted on the education section).
How to Format This Section
Keep this section simple – and private. You'll list the first and last name of your reference, their place of employment, and the phrase "available upon request." This will keep their contact information private unless requested by the law firm you are applying to join.
Section #6 – Skills
The skills section can be formatted anywhere on your resume. If you look at Lisa's sample resume, you'll see that they are listed on the sidebar of her resume. When you utilize a resume template – it makes it simple to place them anywhere. Regardless of where you put the skills (which is recommended at the end of the sidebar, as you can see in the sample), the key skills to list are relevant to the position.
Lisa's resume addresses her skills in the opening statement – where she mentions attention to detail, communications, multitasking, and conflict resolution. She also listed some hard skills, such as working with Microsoft Office and Social Media accounts.
How to Format This Section
List your administrative assistant resume skills in a bullet point format in your master resume. From that point, you can add them to a template – making them easy to read and fit seamlessly into your resume builder. One bonus tip – you'll often find precisely what the company is seeking for candidates in the job posting. Look at the qualifications section and notice the skills required. Make sure you fit these skills and add them to your resume.
Other Related Resume Templates
Anytime you start a new project, it's best to review some great examples of previous projects that are similar. While we're not recommending copying and pasting, it's more than acceptable to follow some of the same themes and structure in resumes for similar positions. We have compiled a detailed list of resumes in several industries, which you can access by clicking the link below.
Final Points on Admin Assistant Resumes
Regardless of your experience level or who you've worked for in the past, the key to receiving an interview is to create a resume, cover letter, and application that is perfect. One key to achieving perfection is consistency throughout. This is especially critical when writing an administrative assistant resume.
We've provided you with a detailed step-by-step tutorial for writing a great resume. We strongly recommend using this document as your template – but customizing it for each admin position you apply for. Sometimes the simple act of customizing the name of the company in your opening statement will make a big difference.
For a quick recap, here are some specific tips to remember.
- Make sure the resume reads and flows easily.
- Always write your resume on a plain white background with black font.
- Edit the document SEVERAL TIMES – through Grammarly.com and visual inspection.
- Ensure its well-spaced, organized, and professional.
- Finally, read it aloud a few times before you're ready to paste the content into a template for administrative assistants.
By following the tips listed above in each section and taking time to review your resume, you will give yourself the best potential for success. Remember to edit your content in Grammarly.com or another high-quality editor. Don't be afraid to use an administrative assistant resume template like the one in this article to make sure it's clean, neat, and organized.