How To Write An Administrative Assistant Resume (With Tips)

Updated 2 March 2023

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An administrative assistant is a professional who helps manage the clerical work that allows an office to run efficiently. This can include tasks like file organising, appointment scheduling, payment processing or greeting and communicating with guests and clients. If you want to use your administrative skills to help an organisation succeed, learning about resume requirements for this role can help you demonstrate your abilities professionally. In this article, we describe how to write an administrative assistant resume in six steps, share a template and example resume and provide tips to help you craft an effective document.

How To rite An Administrative Assistant Resume

These six steps can help you learn how to write an administrative assistant resume:

1. Create an outline of all necessary components and format the page

Before you write, create an outline that includes sections for all the essential components of your resume. This can include a professional summary along with education, work experience and skills sections. Consider the order in which you want to present your information so that you can show your qualifications in a logical and engaging manner.

You can also generate your own layout using stylistic elements like headers, sub-heads and bold typeface. When doing so, remember to maintain common standards for formatting resumes so yours is easy to read, including the use of one-inch margins and legible 12-point font. Presenting your resume in a readable fashion can help a hiring manager understand your content and easily contact you for further steps of your application.

2. Draft a concise professional summary

Convey your most influential qualifications with a professional summary and place this at the top of your resume. It is a two-to-three sentence statement that includes experiences, education, skills or accomplishments that you think most qualify you for an administrative assistant role. As this may be one of the first introductions a hiring manager has to your application, select the most impressive information to include in your statement so that you can make a positive first impression. If you have multiple years of experience in your field, consider including this information in your summary.

3. List your education details

Your education section describes the formal training you have received to help you gain your skills and knowledge. Include the name of the institution, the dates you attended your programme and the name of the highest degree you received. Add any achievements or honours you earned during your educational experiences. Sometimes, an administrative assistant may hold at least a high school diploma, though some roles may also require a bachelor's degree in a field like business administration. Check these educational requirements to ensure that your qualifications fit your desired role.

4. Detail your experience and include measurable results

The next section describes your previous professional experiences. Add two or three recent roles within your field and describe the company name, its location, your job title and duration of the employment. If you choose to list a current role, you can add your beginning date and then use the word current instead of an end date.

After describing each role, you can add a few bullet points to describe your job duties and their impacts on the organisation. Use strong, actionable verbs like created, filed or optimised to show the importance and nature of your work. Add measurable results like the efficiency increase because of your contributions or the number of clients you contacted per day, which helped increase business revenue. Make sure that the verb tense of your verbs matches the dates you performed your role. For example, use present tense for a current job and past tense for a previous role.

5. Outline the skills you possess

At the end of your resume, you can include a section that lists the various soft and hard skills you possess. For example, you may choose to outline your proficiency in specific computer programs, language fluency or your effective communication ability with others. You can also prioritise the organisational abilities that can help you succeed in your role. Try to focus on incorporating skills the employer desires in a qualified candidate. You can do this by comparing your competencies with the skills listed in the job description and prioritising those that match or apply.

6. Reread and revise your writing

Once you finish writing your resume, remember to proofread and ensure the writing is both high quality and professional. This is especially important for prospective administrative assistants whose work requires a detail-oriented and thorough approach. Try to examine your first draft for grammatical errors, language inaccuracies and sentence-level mistakes. From here, you can revise accordingly and submit your resume with confidence. You can also request a peer or friend you value to review your resume for feedback on areas of improvement and implement them accordingly.

Administrative Assistant Resume Template

You can refer to this template when you prepare your own document:

[Your Name]
[Phone number] | [Email address] | [City, state] | [Professional website]

Professional Summary
[Two to three sentences that detail your level of experience, key skills and professional goals as an administrative assistant.

Work Experience

[Job title] | [Dates of employment]
[Name of organization] | [City], [State]

[Duties and accomplishments]
[Duties and accomplishments]
[Duties and accomplishments]
[Duties and accomplishments]
[Duties and accomplishments]

[Previous job title] | [Dates of employment]
[Name of organization] | [City]. [State]

Duties and accomplishments
Duties and accomplishments
Duties and accomplishments

Education

[Title of degree and any honours you earned], [Date of graduation]
[Name of the educational institution]

Skills

[Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill] | [Skill]

Certifications

[Certification name], [Host organisation] - [Year completed or expiration date]

Example administrative assistant resume

This example can guide you as you write an effective resume:

Carlos Ray

555-321-4030 | cglennon@email.com | Mumbai, Maharashtra

Professional Summary
Efficient and detail-oriented administrative assistant with five years of experience providing support to organisational leaders and executives in both corporate and education environments. Offers competencies in office management, record-keeping, organisation, scheduling and internal communications. Eager to learn and develop professionally.

Work Experience
Administrative Assistant | 2018–Current

Blue Solutions |Mumbai, Maharashtra

Support organisational leaders administratively by managing office operations, monitoring the progress of special projects, checking in with managerial team members and keeping records accurately
Manage calendars of leaders and managerial team members to coordinate company travel, personal appointments, general events and meetings with external stakeholders and clients
Draft internal communication materials, including memos, reports, presentations and newsletters
Proofread materials to ensure clear and effective communication of important information
Create an organisational system to manage long-term projects, kept track of regulatory documents and streamlined the exchange of information between teams

Administrative Assistant | 2017–2018

McGrath Research Corporation | Mumbai, Maharashtra

Coordinated with outside vendors to ensure timely deliveries of important research materials
Received shipments and catalogued them accordingly to provide a high level of organisation to researchers as they performed their duties
Served as the main point of contact for all organisational leaders and executive team members. Took messages, scheduled appointments and managed calendars.

Education
Bachelor of Arts in Communication
Singer State University, Maharashtra