We use cookies to tailor the experience of creating resumes and cover letters. For these reasons, we may share your usage data with third parties. You can find more information about how we use cookies on our Cookies Policy. If you would like to set your cookies preferences, click the Settings button below. To accept all cookies, click Accept.
Settings Accept
Cookie settings
Click on the types of cookies below to learn more about them and customize your experience on our Site. You may freely give, refuse or withdraw your consent. Keep in mind that disabling cookies may affect your experience on the Site. For more information, please visit our Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.
Choose type of cookies to accept
Analytics
These cookies allow us to analyze our performance to offer you a better experience of creating resumes and cover letters. Analytics related cookies used on our Site are not used by Us for the purpose of identifying who you are or to send you targeted advertising. For example, we may use cookies/tracking technologies for analytics related purposes to determine the number of visitors to our Site, identify how visitors move around the Site and, in particular, which pages they visit. This allows us to improve our Site and our services.
Performance and Personalization
These cookies give you access to a customized experience of our products. Personalization cookies are also used to deliver content, including ads, relevant to your interests on our Site and third-party sites based on how you interact with our advertisements or content as well as track the content you access (including video viewing). We may also collect password information from you when you log in, as well as computer and/or connection information. During some visits, we may use software tools to measure and collect session information, including page response times, download errors, time spent on certain pages and page interaction information.
Advertising
These cookies are placed by third-party companies to deliver targeted content based on relevant topics that are of interest to you. And allow you to better interact with social media platforms such as Facebook.
Necessary
These cookies are essential for the Site's performance and for you to be able to use its features. For example, essential cookies include: cookies dropped to provide the service, maintain your account, provide builder access, payment pages, create IDs for your documents and store your consents.
You love your new job. It’s just incredible—you have complete health and vision insurance, plus dental! And the people are so nice.
At least that's the plan. But, office assistant jobs are tight, and the good ones go to the best candidates. For those jobs, you'll need an office assistant resume like Peggy Olson's from Mad Men. And you’re about to find out how to make that perfect office assistant resume a reality.
This guide will show you:
An office assistant resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
How to write an office assistant resume that will land you more interviews.
Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on an office assistant resume.
How to describe your experience on a resume for an office assistant to get any job you want.
Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.
Engaged office assistant with 6+ years experience, seeking to facilitate office excellence at Caliphon Inc. Have fulfilled shipping, CRM data entry, and other office assistant duties at various firms. Improved customer complaint resolution by 53% and decreased scheduling mistakes by 32% at Castle Rock Mineral.
wrong
Experienced office assistant with skills in CRM data entry, customer complaint resolution, and scheduling. Looking for a new position.
See the difference? The first example makes you look like Miss Moneypenny with a dental plan.
But what if you don't have that much experience?
In that case, start with an objective statement for your professional office assistant resume.
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.
When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.
How to Write a Resume Objective for an Entry Level Office Assistant
Coming up empty for experience? Afraid your front office assistant resume will look like Dunder Mifflin on a holiday?
Don't panic. I'll show you two great ways to fill those gaps.
Start with an objective statement. They're for entry-level office assistants.
right
Friendly, efficient office assistant, seeking to leverage proven tech and communications skills for Caliphon, Inc. Have handled temp administrative assistant duties for several firms. Answered phones, fulfilled CRM data entry, and performed administrative tasks. Received frequent commendations from management for efficiency and positive attitude.
wrong
Office assistant with BA in liberal arts and administrative skills. Seeking work experience in fast-paced office. No experience but very friendly and hard-working.
The difference is obvious, isn't it? The first might be the next Alfred from Batman.
But hang on. How did a junior assistant get that much experience for an office assistant resume?
I'll show you in a minute.
Pro Tip: Put 1-2 achievements in your resume summary or resume objective. They're the hook that pulls the manager to the rest of your resume.
Check out these very different front office assistant resume samples:
right
Office Assistant
Dunder Mifflin
2012 - 2017
Fulfilled office assistant responsibilities for a fast-paced chemical company. Maintained customer relationships, handled shipping and communication logistics.
Monitored and responded to client emails. Resolved complaints and issues 53% faster than previous office assistant. Increased customer retention 22%.
Used MS Office, Word, and Excel for correspondence, scheduling, and reports. Decreased clerical errors by 15%. Lowered scheduling mistakes by 32%.
Performed CRM data entry for all sales orders. Completed and sent sales orders to warehouses. Noticed a recurring problem that saved $25,000/year.
wrong
Office Assistant
Dunder Mifflin
2012 - 2017
Fulfilled office assistant duties in a fast-paced firm.
Maintained customer relationships through good communication.
Took orders and handled shipping logistics.
Monitored and responded to client emails.
Used MS Excel and MS Word daily.
You get it, don't you? That second example is generic. Sugar free. The first? That might as well be Pam from The Office.
How to Write an Office Assistant Resume with no Experience
Now the good news: everyone has office assistant experience. And anyone can get more in a day or two.
Method #1: Dig through past non-office-assistant jobs. Find related experience like talking on multi-line phones or handling customers. Example: You set up meetings in a retail job once.
Method #2: Volunteer.
I can almost hear the cries of protest. "I can't volunteer! I need a paying job! That's why I'm writing an office assistant resume!"
Of course! But we're not talking about a year of work. We mean a few hours, at most. Search:
Craigslist
Temp agencies
Friends
Nonprofits
Call centers
Find a couple 1-2 hour stints, and do them. They'll look fantastic on your resume. Plus, we've got a guide that will help you with your first resume: First Resume with No Work Experience
Performed data entry on customer orders. Chosen as the go-to data entry clerk because of speed and efficiency.
Handled returns shipping. Saved 12% on average from taking advantage of special UPS discounts.
Interacted with customers daily. Received customer comment scores in excess of 95% positive.
Freelance Office Assistant
September 2010 - December 2010
Handled office assistant duties in several temp and freelance positions.
Performed clinical and administrative tasks.
Answered phones, responded to customer emails.
Received frequent management commendations for efficiency and attitude.
wrong
Office Assistant Experience: No direct experience yet, but I'm very friendly and efficient.
Other Experience
Retail
Bartending
A little past non-office-assistant experience, a few hours of volunteer work, and bam! You went from fumbling Minion to Pepper Potts from Iron Man.
Want to see this in action? Check out the sample resume for office staff positions at the top.
Pro Tip: If you really can't drum up experience, don't worry. Almost every job offer calls for it, but most entry-level jobs will hire without. Apply. You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket.
Pro Tip: Don't just cram in a long list of personal skills. Highlight skills that fit this job offer, then prove you've got them in your resume bullet points.
Not happy with your results? Do a YouTube search for "Excel tutorials" or "Outlook tutorials." You can even list tutorials you've watched on your resume!
Pro Tip: You can get an "office assistant certification," but should you? They don't hurt, but don't feel you need to spend the extra time and money.
Unless you've got a magic hat that lets you know which kind of HR manager you're dealing with, write one.
Include a cover letter for office assistant resumes you send.
Make it personal. Call the hiring manager by name.
Make it passionate. Mention a fact or two you really like about the company. Can't find one? Dig into their website.
Make it useful. Cite 1-2 wins from your past that show exactly how you'll make life better for the hiring manager.
Last, add a call to action. "I'd love to discuss your needs," works great.
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
Pro Tip: Follow up on your office assistant resume and cover letter. A thank-you email in a few days can jog the manager's mind in just the nick of time.
When writing an office administrator resume, follow all the advice I've given so far. Then add a bit.
Administrators fill the office assistant job description, but with more responsibility.
However, an administrator has a more robust list of skills and abilities.
Start with the basic office assistant resume job duties, like managing communication by phone and email.
Then ask, "What is the role of an administrator in an office?"
That's what you'll need to prove in your resume bullet points.
Performed advanced business administrative functions in a fast-paced nonprofit.
Supervised two full time clerical personnel. Created weekly work schedules.
Prepared annual budgets, handled monthly billing and purchasing requests.
Completed reports. Monitored all email and telephone conversations.
With increased responsibility comes higher pay. When we ask, "What is the average salary for an administrative assistant?" we get an answer between $9/hr and $20/hr.
Administrators can make $20/hr to $25/hr or more.
Pro Tip: An office administrator resume follows the office assistant resume description. The major difference is the accomplishments.
Making a great resume is hard, even if you've got office assistant resume templates to work from. Make sure to:
Start with the job description. Highlight all the skills and office assistant resume duties. Think how you'll prove you've got them. This works in a school office assistant resume or a resume for executive assistants.
Prove you fit the job like a "World's Best Secretary" patterned catsuit. Do it by showing how you used the skills and did the duties in your experience and education sections.
Add other sections to show you're different – in a good way. Anything that shows you as Turtle from Entourage will help your office assistant resume.
Write an office assistant cover letter to boost your chances of landing that job!
Do you have questions on how to write a great resume for an office assistant? Not sure how to describe your skills or achievements? Give us a shout in the comments! We'll answer as soon as possible!
Tom Gerencer is a career expert and Certified Professional Resume Writer who has published over 200 in-depth articles on Zety. Since 2016, he has been sharing advice on all things recruitment from writing winning resumes and cover letters to getting a promotion.
An administrative assistant resume needs to be similar to the administrative assistants themselves: well-organized. And that’s only one of the qualities you’ll see in our step-by-step guide!
See job-winning receptionist resume samples for all types of jobs: from medical, to front desk receptionists. Get actionable, easy-to-follow tips. Read more!
Office clerk resume sample that will get jobs. Read our office clerk resume writing guide and learn how to take your resume to the next level. Nail that ➸ office clerk resume objective highlight the most desired ➸ office clerk skills, and ➸ start getting more interviews thanks to insider tips from HR pros and simple hacks!