Administrative Assistant Resume Examples | Templates & Formats

administrative assistant resume examples
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What are some common administrative assistant’s job duties and responsibilities?

  • Edit official documents.
  • Manage official events’ calendars.
  • Perform elementary bookkeeping.
  • Prepare invoices, reports, and memos.
  • Deal with outgoing and incoming mail & faxes.
  • Schedule meetings, conferences, and seminars.
  • Book accommodation, flights, and travel for managers.
  • Maintain electronic and paper databases plus filing systems.
  • Schedule appointments for executive managers and the CEO.
  • Receive and reply to messages, answer, and/or transfer telephone calls.

Whether you are switching careers to become an administrative assistant, or an experienced one currently looking for better opportunities, you need to understand the importance of a professional administrative assistant resume during a job search.

Since it takes about 6 seconds for a recruiter to review a resume in order to decide, an outstanding administrative assistant resume can highlight your relevant skills, qualifications, experience, and education professional resume, which would help you proceed for an interview. 

How to Write a Resume for an Administrative Assistant?

Step 1: Understand the difference between an administrative assistant CV and resume.

A resume is a short description of a professional’s life geared for a particular job summarizing skills and work experience.

A “Curriculum Vitae” is Latin for “course of life”. It details academic, experience, skills, hobbies, and any other professional aspects. However, CVs and Resumes mean the same for some countries, while others use the terms interchangeably.

Step 2: Choose the right administrative assistant resume format.

4 Main Types of Resume Formats:

Chronological Resume Format Suitable for an Administrative Assistant

This resume format lists everything in a reverse chronological order, from the latest position to the oldest. It is traditionally the most widely used resume format.

Administrative Assistant Functional Resume Format

This focuses on highlighting the most relevant skills and achievements targeted on the qualifications for the role you want. It is useful when you wish to change jobs to a different field or if you don’t have a lot of work history, or just out of college. It may also serve if you have a gap or gaps in your resume.

Combination/Hybrid Resume Format for a Senior Administrative Assistant

As the name suggests, you combine chronological and functional resume formats. You document work experience while showcasing only the relevant skills for a position. List the important skills and experience first, followed by other work roles in a reverse chronological order.

Targeted Resume Format for an Executive Administrative Assistant

This is customized for a specific role and/or company. It is time-consuming to craft, but you expect to get the job if you stick to the ‘tailor’ made specifications for the role. 

Step 3: Learn from resume templates & examples for administrative assistants.

A resume template gives you a structure with the main sections of a professional resume where you fill details as necessary. It guides you on where to place personal information and how to organize it. After filling the sections, run it to produce a resume, and then download it.

💡 Tips: There are many well-crafted administrative assistant resume examples. Just type the job title on a search engine and many examples will appear. 

E.g. Type "Senior Administrative Assistant Resume Examples" and many images will appear on the search results page. Click on each, explore, and customize your administrative assistant resume accordingly based on your past experiences and skills gained.

Step 4: Tailor your resume to the administrative assistant job description.

To make your administrative assistant resume more appealing to the recruiters, it's important to align your resume to the job description.

By looking at the key roles for the administrative assistant job and using them in your resume, you will have propelled yourself ahead of the competition. You will show recruiters your worth to them and this will earn you an interview at least.

How to tailor a resume to an administrative assistant job description?

1. Identify the job requirements for the administrative assistant position.

  • Note the specific qualifications and education level listed for the administrative assistant opening.
  • Identify the most important responsibilities and duties listed. You can follow the order of listing in the job advert unless you feel there are some major ones mentioned last which can be elevated to the top.
  • Be sure to note the job-specific skills continuously mentioned throughout the administrative assistant advert. (i.e. analytical skills, communication, typing, leadership, attention to detail, etc.)
  • Don’t overlook the experience needed for your consideration for the job.

2. Match the job specifics to your administrative assistant resume.

List your work history achievements (or education for fresh graduates) relevant to the job roles in bullet form, starting from the latest.

3. Provide facts and evidence in your bullets for the administrative assistant role.

As much as possible provide figures, facts, and evidence on how you solved a problem through quantifiable action verbs.

What results did you get? What did you achieve? What was your improvement index?

Show these using percentages, dollar amounts, range, numbers, benchmarks, etc. 

E.g. As an entry-level administrative assistant:
"Scheduled 80 meetings monthly with potential clients, an increase of 37.5% from previous months through strict scheduling, which increased profits by $23000."

4. Review, proofread and re-order the administrative assistant points.

It’s important to comb through each bullet for any errors, placement, and omissions. You can review and reorder as necessary.

5. Tailor the administration assistant resume format to an ideal presence.

You need to use the right format demanded by the company if any. Use a resume template if in a hurry, but you can use the services of a professional resume writer for support. For those who are writing an entry-level administrative assistant resume, this will help you tailor it to your new desired role of an executive administrative assistant.

Step 5: Craft a cover letter for your administrative assistant resume.

A cover letter is a short document attached to a resume or CV summarizing what the applicant is about, relative to a job. It comes first before (covers) a resume. 

An administrative assistant cover letter showcases an applicants’ unique skills, experiences, and abilities for the role being applied for. It is the first marketing tool to allow recruiters to gauge your worth to the company and why they should even read your resume.

Step 6: Proofread your administrative assistant resume.

A well written resume is a ticket to a dream job. It’s the key to greener pastures. No one will employ you if your administrative assistant resume is full of glaring typos, spelling, and grammatical mistakes. Read it loudly, word by word, twice, or thrice to iron out the errors if you expect the recruiters to understand everything in your resume.

What to Put on an Administrative Assistant Resume?

A resume is a gateway to a job opening. It is supposed to help the recruiter to:

Gauge if the applicant is qualified for the job based on skills, education, and training.

Evaluate the value the applicant will bring to the company if offered the job based on experience and accomplishments. 

Be able to contact the candidate.

Administrative Assistant Resume Outline:


  • Contact Information
  • Resume Summary
  • Work Experience
  • Education
  • Skills
  • Achievements
  • (Optional) Resume objective, Hobbies, References

1. Personal Information on an Administrative Assistant Resume

To identify yourself and be contacted by a recruiter, at the top of your first page on a resume, include personal information like:

  • Full Name
  • Email Address
  • Phone Number
  • Professional Job Title
  • (Optional) LinkedIn url, Address, Social Media links, Personal website, Languages, etc.

💡 Insight : Social media accounts links help a prospective employer to verify your real identity beforehand.

2. Resume Headline of an Administrative Assistant Resume

An outstanding relevant headline is the first step to landing your dream senior administrative assistant job. This profile title or CV headline sums up the whole resume.

The title should lie just below your name above your contact information to be able to attract recruiters and help them decide your value at a glance.

Administrative assistant resume headline example:

Top-rated Administrative Assistant with over 5 Years’ Experience

3. Resume Summary of an Administrative Assistant Resume

The resume summary is also known as a profile summary and should be placed just below the contact information. 

A resume summary has a few lines outlining your best achievements and skills relevant to the senior administrative assistant position that you want.

After the resume headline and contact information, the recruiter will glance at the resume summary for relevant skills, experiences, and achievements, to decide whether to proceed further with your resume. 

To enhance your chances further, pick important points from the job requirements section and infuse them into your resume summary. The resume summary for an administrative assistant shouldn’t be more than 100 words on average.

Administrative assistant resume summary example:

An energetic senior administrative assistant with over 7 years of corporate experience and certification in several administrative tasks coupled with excellent communication skills.

3. Resume Objective of an Administrative Assistant Resume

It’s a stated career/professional goal placed just below the contact section on a resume and tailored for the job one is applying for. It can be 2-3 sentences. It’s mostly used by fresh graduates (freshers), those with career gaps, and those changing careers.

Administrative assistant resume objective example:

An interactive progressive senior administrative assistant proficient in multitasking in an office environment. Seeking to use his/her skills and experience in scheduling, human resource, and office management at XYZ in order to help in its projected rapid growth. 

💡 Insight : By mentioning the keywords of the job desired, it helps your resume be filtered through the ATS which scans keywords.

4. Skills for an Administrative Assistant Resume

This section lists the skills you possess as an Administrative Assistant that are relevant to the role you are aspiring for. Skills are abilities you are equipped with through learning, education, interaction with people, and personality traits. 

The skills section can be placed after the contact section for those changing roles and fresh graduates. Experienced Administrative Assistant applicants can place it after work history and education sections. Administrative Assistant can possess:

Hard Skill
Technical for specific job

  • Microsoft Office
  • WordPress
  • QuickBooks
  • Typesetting
  • Database management

Soft Skills
People & personality traits

  • Communication
  • Office etiquette
  • Organization
  • Leadership
  • Problem solving

5. Work Experience Section for an Administrative Assistant Resume

Most employers want polished candidates with some level of experience in a similar or same role. They also wish to know your quantifiable accomplishments and the extent to which you may have solved problems in past jobs.

When writing work experience on an administrative assistant resume, include the name of the company, position title, location, and dates for the period worked for each role. Match your experience to the opening you’re aiming at using a maximum of five bullets. Encompass both paid and unpaid experience but start with paid ones.

Example of work experience for an administrative assistant resume:

WORK EXPERIENCE

Entry level Administrative Assistant | Durable Stores Inc
Delhi, India
Apr. 2016-Present

  • Trained 5 entry level administrative assistants on database management skills, leading to the use of an electronic filing system saving over $51000 monthly previously used in paper file management.
  • Screened over 60 calls monthly from the previous 40, which raised sales by 35%, and increasing revenue by 40%
  • Developed a newsletter to showcase company services and product

6. Education Section on an Administrative Assistant Resume 

The education section lists the institutions one has attended in reverse order starting with the highest level. E.g., doctorate-masters-bachelors. There is no need of listing high school if you have a degree or diploma. Indicate if completed or in progress.

  • Include the location of places you earned the education (institution, town, and country) plus completion or expected completion date. 
  • Those with e-learning and online courses from credible sources can list the credentials especially if they have no formal education.
  • Certified training on the job and in other industries is also acceptable followed by any “Awards & Honors”.

💡 Insight : Those with a lot of work experience and went to school several years (over 5 years) ago may omit the education dates and the GPA (Grade Point Average).

Example of an education section on an executive administrative assistant resume:

EDUCATION

MBA-Operations
Amity University, New Delhi, India
06/2016-10/2018

Technical : QuickBooks, CRM- HubSpot, Microsoft Office Suite, Advanced Human Resource Course.

7. Additional Information Section for an Administrative Assistant Resume

This lists additional information like: 

Publications & papers, hobbies, licenses, certifications, commendations, awards, sports, etc.

It’s recommended to include those relevant to the job you are pursuing, otherwise, leave them out entirely.

Importance of some additional information on an entry-level administrative assistant resume:


  • May emphasize your personality and character.
  • Shows time management skills.
  • Reveals your versatility.
  • Might showcase coaching and leadership skills.

💡 For instance, a "sports team coach" award shows you, an executive administrative assistant, can be entrusted to manage or coach a team of other entry level administrative assistants.

Tips for Writing the Best Administrative Assistant Resume

Tip 1: Customize the resume for each target administrative assistant job.

Only use relevant experiences suitable for the job opening. This calls for an in-depth look at the job and company so as to extract the best qualifications matches from your resume. 

Tip 2: Use bullets with action verbs and keywords for the administrative assistant resume.

Write short concise statements with action words (e.g., developed, trained, screened, etc.,) to highlight your skills and achievements.

Recruiters have a short time (15-20 seconds) to spend on your resume, so, long paragraphs may lead to rejection of your resume. Keywords should be adopted from the duties and responsibilities listed on the job advert and relevant research on the role.  

Tip 3: Quantify your achievements and results for the administrative assistant resume.

Using a problem-action-result approach will sell your value instead of listing generic responsibilities.

Recruiters understand the responsibilities and duties of an administrative assistant for instance, so, saying what you did is obvious. But using percentages and amounts to show what you accomplished will show value.

A statement like ‘trained junior staff on fast call screening methods can change to, "inducted 4 entry level administrative assistants on faster call screening methods, which raised screened calls by 40%, increasing profits by 20%." 

Tip 4. Elaborate further on companies and some experiences you have worked for as an administrative assistant.

Some words and abbreviations may not be common to all, local and international, and need further clarification. 

For example, ‘worked as a senior administrative assistant at the Emirates'. Elaborate that Emirates is an international stadium in England for a premier league team and not Emirates Airlines.

Tip 5: Follow a general layout and format for the administrative assistant resume.

Using simple common fonts (Times New Roman, Calibri, Cambria, etc.), 10-12 font size, automatic black font color on a white background normal text is the standard ATS-recruiter friendly way to go. Use bold 14 size fonts for headings. 

📗 Images, charts, tables, and fancy fonts are your ticket to rejection by ATS unless you're applying for custom jobs that demand so, like artists, designers, infographics, etc.

How to Write a Cover Letter for an Administrative Assistant?

As discussed earlier in this article, a cover letter is a short summary of an applicant’s qualifications and background that accompanies (covers) a resume.

1. Contact details 

Start with your full name, email address, and phone number. It's optional to include physical & postal addresses and links to your social media profiles like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, personal website, etc.

2. Greetings & introduction

Personal greetings addressing recruiters by the real name creates a good impression. You can search the company website or LinkedIn to get the name mostly.

3.. Your motivation as an administrative assistant

Stating what drives you to apply for the opening in that particular company is a plus. Telling them how valuable their company service is to you or society in general earns you points.

4. Qualifications you have as an entry-level/senior administrative assistant

This is the fleshy part of your cover letter where you market your qualities plus skills briefly.

  • Include your relevant experiences.
  • Quantify the most relevant achievements using action verbs, numbers, percentages, range, or whichever is applicable.

5. Closing remarks 

Show gratitude to the reader of your letter with a ‘thank you’ line. You can also state your anticipated outcome like a call to action. Draw the recruiter’s attention to any links or attachments to the cover letter.

Sign your name in full at the end, proofread, and insert links or attachments. 

Congratulations, you are done with an administrative assistant cover letter.

Administrative Assistant Resume Example

Amina Jay Sandra

[email protected]  
601-4363-466

RESUME HEADLINE

Top-rated Senior Administrative Assistant with over 5 Years’ Experience in Corporate companies.

RESUME SUMMARY

An Energetic Administrative Assistant with over 6 years of experience providing administrative functions and support to corporate executives while maintaining inventory and operations efficiently. Seeking to apply my organizational talents and flexible personality to raise the company’s profile. A Business Administration holder with a Diploma in Operations Management.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Madhur Software Ltd, Mumbai, India
Senior Administrative Assistant
December 2017 –Present

  • Screened over 80 phone calls weekly, while receiving and making 20% more executive calls & messages daily
  • Updated up to 55 budget spreadsheets for all 5 projects monthly, up from the previous 30.
  • Assisted managers in drafting, editing, and proofreading 30+ memos, 20+ reports, and bidding proposals monthly, contributing to a 31% cut in administrative budget.
  • Included 6 junior office administrative assistants in electronic filling, reducing paperwork, increasing efficiency, and service time, saving 40% in filing budget.

Parrkur & Asoci, Karachi, Pakistan
Junior Administrative Assistant
December 2014– November 2017

  • On-boarded and successfully orientated over 20+ new entry level Administrative Assistants/li>
  • Amiably greeted and welcomed all official clients and visitors, converting 50% more into customers, increasing profits by 30% in 3 years.
  • Operated and serviced all office equipment like photocopiers, printers, and computers.
  • Planned and coordinated 12 meetings with 40 clients, converted 15 into regular customers, raising revenue by $3 million monthly.

EDUCATION

July 2013, Bachelor of Arts in Literary Studies
Kakatiya University, Warangal, India

SKILLS

Hard Skills

  • Typesetting
  • Computer Applications
  • Bookkeeping
  • Software Mastery
  • Microsoft Office Suite
  • QuickBooks

Soft Skills

  • Time Management
  • Team Building
  • Dependability
  • Creativity
  • Communication
  • Active Listening

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