Administrative Assistant Resume Examples, Template Complete Guide

Administrative Assistant Resume Examples, Template Complete Guide Are you on a lookout for a new job or are looking for a first one? Have you written your resume yet?If you are hesitant to answer this question because you are not sure of the CV you have is the right for the job, weve been there.Everyone has. This is such a universal problem that we decided to create this guide and help you.What do you think a good resume should contain?Is it important to list all the experience you have, all the interests? How long should it be?To make sure that your resume will catch the recruiters attention and get yourself an interview that could possibly lead to making your professional dreams come true there are actually only a few things you should pay attention to.There are several questions that should answer in order to make the best of your resume:How do I make the best first impression so that recruiters notice my CV?What information should I include in my resume?Is it better to keep it short and sweet, or should I write a long one?When it comes to the l ayout, which one should I choose?If you have other questions in mind, that is okay. We will answer those, too. If you follow all the points in this guide, you will not dread sending resumes out anymore. What will you get from this guide?You will learn:How to draw attention to your CV among hundreds of othersHow to recognize what personal, professional, and additional information to include in your resume, and which ones you should avoidHow to handle the experience section if you do not have anyHow to make your resume look better than the 90% of resumes out thereThis does make even our heads spin a little, but luckily for you, yours does not need to. We have created various resume layouts for you to pick from.The layouts are created to keep your information organized and showcase your advantages in the best possible way.If you use a layout, there is absolutely no chance that you will forget a piece of information or two, so breathe in and lets start paving the way to your future.Pick out a layout that suits your personality best. In this case, as a prospective administrative assistant, you want to choose one that shows how neat and organized you are.There are many to choose from, and they are all really easy to use.Now that you have chosen the layout you want, it is time to fill it with all the right information. In order to show you how a good resume looks like, we decided to include 2 great resumes in this guide.Just going over them will help you get the notion of what kind of look you should strive to.However, we will break down all the sections just in case you have missed something and make a resume-building process even easier for you.Feel free to take notes, or even fill in your chosen resume layout as we go; it will save you time. Lets start!Administrative Assistant Resume for New York Public Library Right Administrative Assistant Resume for Spectrum Group International Right Create your own resumeNow that we have shown you two examples of different administrative assistant positions, is it clearer for you how you should write your own resume?Has your own attention to detail helped you notice the important points of difference among these, and other, usual resumes?At least for you, it should not be difficult to make it really neat and in that way, showcase your organizational skills.The recruiters love those short, compact and yet highly informative resumes as they give them all the information they need to know if you are the person that could be right for the job.Did you know that recruiters spend only 6 seconds scanning the resumes?Keeping them short and filling them with on-point information makes it easier for the recruiters to spot the required information in a matter of seconds!It is time for you to start developing your own resume! Get that layout that you have chosen and fill it in as we go about explaining each section step by step.GUIDE ON WRI TING THE PERSONAL INFO SECTIONThe personal information section is like a business card- it contains information that you want your potential employer to have.No matter how great your resume is if the first impression is not good, then, they probably not read the rest anyway.So, to make sure your personal information section is professional and that it contains everything needed to contact you.The rules of what you must include are pretty straightforward and cannot vary too much.The problem arises when the information you provide is not written in a professional manner.For example, you are using your nickname instead of your full name:John Parker RightJohnny Parker WrongAnother rather common situation is that your e-mail address is not professional enough since you have been using the same one since the day you made your MySpace account.Take a few minutes out of your day to create a new e-mail address which you will use on your resumes and professional correspondence.You can still use the one you are emotionally attached to for your personal connections.Pro tip: Make sure that it is clear and memorable.johnparker@gmail.com Rightjohnnylovesstarwars@gmail.comorjohnparker9931706@gmail.com WrongNow, let us go through the list of information you should include in your personal information section:Your full name- first and last nameYour current address, a working phone number, and appropriate e-mail addressYour Linkedin account information â€"it’s the virtual extension of your resume.Your photo â€" a clear headshot in professional clothing and neat appearance. Note: in the USA, putting the photo on the resume is unfavorable, so check what the general practices about it are in your country.Information like driver’s license, security number, other online sources (blogs, websites), and others are not necessary unless they are relevant to the job you are applying for. (E.g. A job description specifically asks for an administrative assistant with a driver’s lice nse.)Using our resume builder, you will be able to add and delete sections according to what your needs are.There are also templates with and without photos. Make sure you chose the one that is right for you.GUIDE ON WRITING THE SUMMARY SECTIONWriting the summary section is maybe the most complicated part of building a resume since it needs to contain information about who you are, what you are looking for and your skills.What makes it hard is putting it into 2-3 sentences without making it scarce or generic.The problem with writing too short, uninformative or generic summaries is that it does not give the recruiters the information of who you are.A summary should have that personal touch that would distinguish you from other candidates. The difference can be in your experience, your achievements, or your personality.Let us take a look at these examples:Summary WITH EXPERIENCEA hard-working, accomplished professional with over 10 years of experience and over 50 successful projects i s looking for new opportunities to apply his experience. My ideal environment is one where I can work with people of the same work ethics RightSummary WITH EXPERIENCEA hard-working, experienced administrative assistant is looking for a new job opportunity WrongSummary WITHOUT EXPERIENCEAn ambitious college undergraduate is looking to put her acquired knowledge to real-life situations. With a 97 GPA score and a completed summer internship in the field, I am looking for a first-time job to jumpstart my career. RightSummary WITHOUT EXPERIENCEA Business School undergrad is looking for a first-time job as an Administrative Assistant. WrongCan you spot the difference? Improving your summary by adding a little bit more information (GPA score, numbers of projects, percentages, other achievements) will make you stand out. And from the example, you see that it works for both experienced and inexperienced applicants.The generic summaries will not stand out, as they only state the obvious â €" that you want the job you are applying for.Go ahead and write your own summary now while the information is still fresh in your mind. And do not forget to use our easy layouts!GUIDE ON WRITING THE EXPERIENCE SECTIONThe experience section could not be more straight-forward, however, this is where people tend to get a little overboard.The thing is, we generally think that the more information about our experience we include the better; however, this is not always right.The important things to consider are:RelevanceOrderMannerThe key to writing a great experience section is in limiting yourself to the experience relevant to what you are applying for.When you are applying for an administrative management position, it is not important if you have spent your summers tutoring neighborhood children in math.You may still want to include this type of information, but have a ready response to the interview questions about that.E.g. “How did tutoring children help you become a better admin istrative worker?“If you ace this, you may even get the plus points. However, since the first round of the recruitment process is only in written form, the additional and irrelevant information may crowd over the relevant ones.As far as the order in which you are listing your experience, the best choice is to use reverse-chronological order, i.e. start from the latest experience   and work your way down to the first one. It helps emphasize your latest and most relevant experience.The manner in which you are writing about your experience should be concise and straight to the point. First state the time you spent working on that position (E.g. June 2018-present), then emphasize the position you held, and then the institution you were working for. This order appears the most logical for HR.When talking about your assignments, list your achievements and obligations using bullets, and keep them short yet informative:ExperienceIncreased productivity by 15% during the three quarters.Succ essfully completed over 200 assignments. RightExperienceIncreased productivity.Completed allocated assignments WrongIf you stick to simply stating the facts without supporting them with evidence, it looks like you are just trying to fill in the information and that they do not actually mean much since it is understood that those are usual tasks of an administrative assistant.If you do not have any experience in the field, do not resort to putting down just anything. It is better to delete the entire section and focus on the education part and the summary, rather than including irrelevant information.If you have completed internships, write them down in the same manner.How is building your own resume going? Do you find our layouts user-friendly? We hope so!Let’s continue!GUIDE ON WRITING THE EDUCATION SECTIONThis section is where you should showcase all the points in which your formal education helped prepare you for the job you are applying for.Again, as in the experience sectio n, use the reverse chronological order.State the name of the institution in which you got your degree.Use bullets to provide information relevant to the job.For example, your major is not as relevant to the job, but your minor is, it would be a pity not to accentuate it.Pay close attention to the education section, especially if you do not have any experience regarding the job.The best way to make your case is to list all the achievements you made during your schooling:AwardsHonorsScholarshipsGPAProjects you have been included inand so onOther facts that you should include in this section are other types of education:CertificatesOnline CoursesLicensesAnything that helps you do your job and show your will to better and educate yourself beyond formal education.GUIDE ON WRITING THE SKILLS SECTIONIn this section, you should write down any and all skills that help you do your job well. We divide skills into two groups:Hard skills- the ones that are specifically related to the job, e.g. u sing a certain program, fast typing, tech-savvy, and so on.Soft skills- they usually come as a part of your personality and what your innate or learned characteristics are, e.g. time management, communication skills, public speaking, and moreLet us assume that you have all the desired skills that you see in the job description, but you have others that you want to flaunt. Should you? Well, if they are in any way related to the job, then the answer is yes. E.g. if you are hoping to work for an international company it is fabulous if you speak other languages; in this case, write the skill down even if it is not specifically required of an applicant to speak, say, French.On the other hand, are you are an avid horseback rider?That might be a good skill to single out if you are applying for a stunt position on a movie set.It would not do you much good in an office while you are trying to juggle schedules, finances, and events.There is an easy guide on how to pick the skills to showcase Mirror the job description. It is as easy as that! Be careful not to copy all the keywords, though.E.g., the responsibilities you will have are: managing executives calendar, coordination of appointments, handling communication both written and verbal, pulling out monthly expense reports,Spot the keywords and address them in your skill section. This will show the recruiters that you have what it takes to do the job wellMany applicants make a mistake of just throwing down skills, however, you should make sure that the skills are organized and graded.SkillsProficient in QuickBooks, Zoho Expense, and FreeAgentMS Office Package-4/5 RightSkillsQuickBooks, Zoho Expense, and FreeAgentMS Office WrongThere are various ways of grading your skills, and we have included all of them (description, scale, stars…), just pick the one you like, and get going!FINAL TIPS TRICKSKeep your resume short. Upon revision, delete all the unnecessary points- something that is less relevant, filler words, and so on. One page is more than enough. The bonus is, all the information are there on one glance, if the recruiters have to flip through the pages, chances are they are going to miss something.Stay clear of highlighting any causes that might be politically colored.Change perspective and look at your resume from the HRs viewpoint. If you cannot distance yourself, ask a friend, a family member or a mentor to take a look at it from an objective standpoint.Practice answering the questions related to your previous experience and skills. E.g. Why did you leave your last job? How did participating in the XY event help shape you as a successful administrative assistant? And the like.Proofread your resume.  If you have read it so many times that you know it by heart, it is possible that you will miss a typo, a double word or a missing comma. Ask a friend for help, or wait a couple of hours, so you are rested and check again.Use our resume builder to accent the right information, as not al l of them are of the same importance.Make sure that your resume fits the job description. Revise it every time you apply for a new job since what fits the one may not quite fit the other, and those slight differences are what will tip the scale in your favor.Save your resume in a PDF file. It is the neatest there is, and it is no editable. Luckily, our resume builder saves it to PDF automatically, so you do not have to bother with converters.FINAL THOUGHTSSo, here it is- your guide to the perfect administrative assistant job! We do not guarantee that you will get the first job you apply for, but we do guarantee that your resume will stand out and that you will at least increase the number of callbacks, and in turn, your chances of working where you have always desired to work.Hopefully, this guide and our resume builder make the dread of job searching easier and a little less stressful. Happy job hunting! Create your own resume