Administrative Assistant Job Description
Do you know where administrative assistants work? Their work is found in almost every sector. Most of them work for government organizations, schools, medical centers, and law firms. They spend most of their time in comfortable offices — because most of the work they do is seated. Virtual assistants, however, usually do jobs from home.
They assist managers, employees, and customers by interacting with them positively and effectively. For that purpose, they handle a lot of work, including picking up calls, planning visits and arranging meetings, processing documents, keeping files organized, maintaining supplies, and overseeing company operations.
The following administrative assistant job description outlines the responsibilities and duties of an administrative assistant.
Note: People often get confused about the admin assistant job description and executive assistant job description. If you are looking for an executive assistant job description, click here.
Responsibilities and Duties:
A key responsibility of an Administrative Assistant is to assist others. Daily, their duties vary, so their work is not one-dimensional.
Administrative assistant duties and responsibilities list:
- Manage office work such as creating and listing reports, preparing presentations, planning meetings, making purchases.
- Maintain an appointment calendar.
- Ensure that appointments proceed promptly and avoid conflicts.
- Book flights and other rental cars.
- Make reservations at hotels and restaurants.
- Identify and direct callers to the proper person.
- Interpret meeting minutes.
- Create presentations and generate reports using computers.
- Use computers to prepare spreadsheets, documents, and manage databases.
- Communicate with customers — greet and assist them.
- Communicate politely and professionally with colleagues and customers via email, phone, and mail.
- Use correct spelling and grammar.
- Provide efficient and positive service by anticipating others’ needs.
- Provide correspondence support to office management.
- Keep track of accounts and do bookkeeping.
- Troubleshoot administrative issues.
Skills and Qualifications
The ability to provide detailed reports
An administrative assistant must possess the ability to provide reliable data to the organization through detailed reports.
Able to write for administrative positions.
Writing skills are mandatory for becoming an Administrative Assistant.
Knowledge of MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint.
Technology and tools will continue to evolve, but administrative assistants need to learn the usage of MS Office.
Good at operating systems.
It is helpful to know about particular software like MS Office. But, gaining knowledge of tools like Calendly, Google Calendar, or visitor management systems can be very useful.
Organizational Skills.
For an administrative assistant, it is essential to know how to organize.
Understanding Information.
Administrative assistance should be able to listen well, provide details concisely to comprehend information accurately.
Have a professional approach.
Administrative assistance is the first impression for a visitor. Their professionalism influences customers’ perceptions.
Able to solve problems.
Solving is the central purpose of an Administrative Assistant. He should be able to solve the problems of the organization.
Dexterous communicator.
It is no easy task to balance customer service and administrative duties, particularly if you always have to be on call. Throughout your job as an administrator, you will have regular interactions with staff, management, and customers. For this reason, administrative assistants need to have good communication skills.
Education and Training
High school diplomas or GED are the primary educational requirements for administrative assistants.
Those who have got their bachelor’s degrees are in high demand for the job because they are more likely to have a comprehensive knowledge of mathematics and writing.
For training, vocational schools and colleges offer computer skills and administrative support for high school graduates. They can also get practice in these fields from temporary agencies.
Experience Required
The job of an Administrative Assistant does not explicitly require experience, although companies often consider prior experience when hiring.
Employees with prior experience have learned vital skills. As well as, they are responsible and reliable than those who have no experience.
Those who have:
- Minimum of two years of experience.
- Car insurance and a legitimate driving license.
Are the priority for employers.
Personality
The personalities of administrative assistants are different from casual people. Their behavior is conscientious and conservative. They are consistent, productive, well-behaved, active, passionate, and orderly.
Salary and Benefits
As Administrative Assistants succeed in their careers, they can make a good income.
The freshers can make $7.25 per hour. It is estimated they can make as much as $15.42 per hour in the US.
The highest-paid administrative assistants earn about $30.25 an hour.
Following are the benefits of being an administrative assistant:
- An administrative assistant can find work in every industry. All kinds of companies, agencies, and educational institutions need them.
- Administrative assistants are not limited to a particular sector; therefore, they can establish long and rewarding careers.
Administrative Assistants Job Boards
If you’re hiring an administrative assistant, post positions on smaller job boards – local news sites, Facebook, and regional bulletin boards.
If you want to post your Administrative Assistant ad for free, click here.
Job Resume for Administrative Assistants
Want help creating a job-winning CV for an Administrative Assistant? Here is a sample resume that can serve as a guide for a compelling resume.