Ensure your CV format is structured to best highlight your unique experience and life situation.
Administrative assistant CV template (text format)
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Highly organised Administrative Assistant with 7 years of experience in large corporate office settings. Well-versed in coordinating schedules, meetings, and communications with external vendors. Possess strong multi-tasking skills and ability to assist customers via phone and email within short timeframes. Seeking to advance into an executive assistant position by taking on more challenging responsibilities at [Company Name].
WORK EXPERIENCE
Pearl Lemon, Lancashire
Administrative Assistant, July 2019 – Present
- Oversee weekly meetings by booking conference rooms, confirming attendance, organising notes, and distributing appropriate documentation to each member ahead of time
- Schedule appointments and manage the monthly calendars of 10 members of the B2B marketing team
- Manage a budget of £150,000 to help arrange international trips for executives as well as business events for senior managers
- Strengthened project-related communications between departments and clients, leading to an 18% increase in customer satisfaction
- Improved online databases of client accounts and external vendors, and developed an automated filing system for both digital documents and hard copies
Oriel Partners, London
Office Assistant, January 2017 – June 2019
- Assisted 3 senior executives with their daily work schedules, conference meetings, and travel plans
- Planned and executed annual office receptions by researching venues, selecting vendors, and updating guest lists as needed
- Spearheaded the transition from paper receipts to online invoicing and updated payroll database with employee payment information
Love Success Ltd, London
Receptionist, May 2015 – December 2016
- Answered 45+ calls per day, helped guests with their enquiries, and routed courier services
- Improved archive efficiency by 15% by implementing a new automated system for filing physical mail and faxed documents
- Monitored inventory, including stock orders, material requisition, and incoming shipments
EDUCATION
University of London (2012-2015)
BSc (Hons) Business Administration, upper second-class honours (2:1)
- Relevant Modules: Interpreting Marketing and Consumption, Managing Performance, International Human Resource Management, The Individual at Work
Ipswich Sixth Form College, Ipswich
- A-levels: Business and Administration (A), Maths (A), English Literature (A)
- GCSEs: 10 A–B including Maths, English, and French
KEY SKILLS
- MS Office
- Oracle PeopleSoft
- QuickBooks
- Database management
- Scheduling
- Communication
- Data filing
- Invoicing and billing
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
- Cycling
- Playing piano
- Reading
- Cooking
How to write your administrative assistant CV
Before you begin writing, make sure you know how to write a CV in a way that best emphasises your strengths.
Administrative assistants support their teams by doing tasks like managing files, planning trips, and serving clients. Although barriers to becoming an administrative assistant are low and administrative assistant skills are highly transferable, you’ll still need a compelling CV to compete with other qualified candidates.
Follow our four tips to write an administrative assistant CV that lands you more interviews:
1. Do proper research
Understanding the company’s specific skill requirements and work culture is essential to any successful job application.
Before you start writing your CV, read the job description and company website closely to identify:
- the company’s business (e.g., mission statement, business strategy)
- the specific industry knowledge you’ll need
- who your primary supervisor will be
- what team or department you’ll be part of
- what other departments you’ll be working with
- whether the role trends more towards secretary or assistant
- how much you’ll be working with clients and customers
Incorporating the information you’ve learned into your administrative assistant CV shows employers that you’re excited to work for their company specifically.
2. Choose a professional layout
Your administrative assistant CV must be organised and easy to read to show recruiters how you’d handle reporting, diary management, bookkeeping, and other tasks requiring attention to detail.
As you set out to make your CV, remember to:
- use a readable CV font that’s between 10.5 and 12 points
- avoid adding photos or graphics that may not pass applicant tracking systems (ATS)
- use a reverse-chronological format for your work experience (start with your most recent job and work backwards)
- place your education section above your work experience if you’re a fresh graduate
Save time on formatting by filling out a professional CV template that is already laid out and ready to go.
3. Use hard numbers to highlight your administrative assistant work experience
Your CV’s work experience section is the place to showcase any previous professional achievements that have prepared you for the role’s responsibilities.
Measuring these wins with hard numbers will help you demonstrate the positive impact of previous work and underscore your value as an administrative assistant.
Examples of details you can measure with hard numbers include:
- time or money saved
- people trained or managed
- calendars managed
- money invoiced or billed
- reports generated weekly
- clients or customers helped
- calls answered or emails replied to daily
The best administrative assistants can perform a variety of tasks, even if the tasks aren’t listed in the job description or haven’t been done by the company before. Show future employers you’re multi-talented by ensuring each work experience bullet highlights a different skill.
4. Identify the right administrative assistant skills for your CV
Round out your administrative assistant CV by adding key skills that may not have come through in your other sections to your CV’s skills section. Administrative assistants need both hard skills (those learned through education) and soft skills (personality-based skills that affect how you work).
Essential hard skills for administrative assistants include:
- Microsoft Office suite
- data entry and management
- industry-specific knowledge
- file management
- scanning, copying, and faxing
- invoicing and billing
- office supply stock management
- research skills
- calendar management and software
- diary management
- transcription
- travel planning
- foreign language skills
- onboarding and offboarding
- receiving visitors
- order processing
- bookkeeping
- inventory management
- Salesforce
- computer skills
- IT skills
- Adobe Acrobat
- Photoshop
- HTML
- social media management
- taking meeting minutes
Soft skills that distinguish an average from a stellar administrative assistant include:
- time management skills
- communication (written and verbal) skills
- multitasking skills
- confidentiality
- organisational skills
- active listening skills
- project management
- email and telephone etiquette
- problem-solving skills
- customer service
- ability to remain calm under pressure
- ability to pivot quickly
- ability to anticipate needs
- interpersonal skills
Below is an example of how an administrative assistant CV’s skills section should look:
Administrative assistant job outlook in 2024 — things to know
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), administrative assistants in the UK earn an average annual salary of £15,910.
You can find information about the gender pay gap for administrative assistants on the ONS’ website.