

See how to write an administrative assistant CV that ticks all the boxes. Packed with expert tips to show hiring managers you’re the answer to their admin prayers.
You are seven minutes away from the perfect administrative assistant CV. But first—
An administrative assistant is the office’s one-person special operations unit. You make the boss run like clockwork. You make that Monday morning teleconference happen.
You make the world go round.
The problem?
Landing that job in the first place.
Demand for secretaries and administrative assistants isn’t growing fast enough.
You need the perfect admin assistant CV to land your next job.
This guide will show you:
Want to save time and have your CV ready in 5 minutes? Try our CV builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ CV templates and create your CV here.
Sample CV made with our builder—See more templates and create your CV here.
And if an admin assistant CV isn’t quite what you’re after, here are some alternatives:
Arabella Johnson
07777 777777
ajohnson_zety@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/ajohnson_zety
Senior administrative assistant with 6+ years of experience. Planned busy executive schedules and coordinated business travel for 3 top-level executives whilst maintaining excellent performance on general office admin duties. Seeking to assist with efficient appointment management, coordinate internal and external communication, and contribute to QuickBooks bookkeeping at Body Corporate Inc.
Work Experience
Executive Administrative Assistant
Melton Logistics, Manchester
October 2017–Present
Key achievements: Saved £2,000 a year in office supplies after negotiating a new deal with the current supplier. Commended for creating the in-house newsletter to communicate management’s vision.
Administrative Assistant
Green Office Solutions Inc.
August 2014—October 2017
Education
BA in Business Economics—2014
University of Manchester
Skills
Languages
Professional Memberships
Here’s how to write an administrative assistant CV:
The best format for an administrative assistant is elegant and personable like Pam Beesly. But it packs a punch like Peggy Olson—
It’s the reverse-chronological CV format.
You can’t go wrong with this format for a professional administrative assistant CV.
Remember how hard it was for you to write your first CV?
This time it’s different.
What’s a good administrative assistant CV template?
Professional. Clean. Simple. Easy to scan.
The core of administrative assistant job skills is organization. Prove your worth by using a professional CV template—
A modern CV-friendly font. White space to guide the hiring manager’s gaze. Headings that help navigate the contents.
Finally, save your perfect administrative assistant CV as a PDF. The PDF format keeps the layout in shape better than bubble wrap.
Pro Tip: Check the job description for the administrative assistant position to make sure PDFs are OK. Some Applicant Tracking Systems can’t read PDF-formatted CVs. Then a Microsoft Word file may be preferred.
How many pages? Aim for a one-pager, but double-check if it’s your ideal CV length.
You need to write a compelling CV introduction. It’s known as a CV profile or CV summary.
And the simplest way to write it is to answer these:
The way you answer will be different depending on how experienced you are. Here’s how a veteran admin assistant should approach it:
Here’s an example of how it could work:
RIGHT |
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Senior administrative assistant with 6+ years of experience. Planned busy executive schedules and coordinated business travel for 3 top-level executives whilst maintaining excellent performance on general office admin duties. Seeking to assist with efficient appointment management, coordinate internal and external communication, and contribute to QuickBooks bookkeeping at Body Corporate Inc. |
WRONG |
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Admin assistant with on-the-job experience. Well-versed in handling day-to-day office management duties and bookkeeping. Excellent at multitasking. |
The right administrative assistant CV summary cuts to the chase. The hiring manager will want to call this skilled candidate ASAP.
This candidate has the experience. Delivered quantifiable results. No need to mention multitasking, it’s clear she’s a pro.
The wrong administrative assistant CV summary isn’t completely wrong. It’s just like the mystery meat you were served at school dinners. It looks fine, but you’re clueless about specific ingredients (How many years of experience? What’s their background?). Some might like it, but only if they have no other choice.
So how about if you’re just starting out and don’t have much experience? Then use this approach.
Here’s how it could look:
RIGHT |
---|
English graduate with proven communication, travel planning, and email management skills. Seeking a position as an administrative assistant at Body Corporate Inc., to leverage organisational and research skills to support internal and external communication. |
WRONG |
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Looking for an admin assistant role where I can apply my skills. I’m a self-starter that wants to make a difference. |
Both examples actually come from the same candidate. She was writing an admin assistant CV without experience in the industry.
In the right example, she included work experience relevant to the position. She got it through internships, freelancing, and in college. It's a success!
In the wrong example? Well, she simply called it quits and moved on.
You can see even more examples of job-winning CV summaries here: How to Start a CV: 20+ Tips to Start Your CV in Style
Followed our advice on writing the best admin assistant CV summary?
Great, the hiring manager will read on.
Time for the make or break part of your CV—the experience section.
RIGHT |
---|
Executive Administrative Assistant Melton Logistics October 2017–Present
Key achievements: Saved £2,000 a year in office supplies after negotiating a new deal with the current supplier. Commended for creating the in-house newsletter to communicate management’s vision. |
WRONG |
---|
Admin Assistant Melton Logistics October 2017–Present
|
See the difference?
The right example of an administrative assistant’s CV will get any hiring manager’s seal of approval!
The wrong example of an administrative assistant’s CV?
It reads like a generic administrative assistant job description from Gumtree.
Listen, hiring managers know the responsibilities and duties of an administrative assistant. They wrote the job ad to hire new employees.
Curious how you can give your CV a boost like our candidate in the right example?
Here are the best tips for writing perfect administrative assistant job descriptions on a CV:
You really need to do this right.
But remember knowledge of office equipment is not enough. Fine-tune your experience section with help from this guide: How to List Work Experience on Your CV [+20 Examples]
When making a CV in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional CV template here for free.
When you’re done, Zety’s CV builder will score your CV and tell you exactly how to make it better.
You’re well on your way to finishing the perfect administrative assistant CV.
Remember how jobs aren’t growing fast enough? That means competition.
Time to tip the scales in your favour and emphasize your administrative skills on the CV.
The ones that double as CV keywords for administrative assistants—
A good admin assistant is like a Swiss Army knife—dependable and can do almost anything.
See the administrative assistant skills list above?
It combines soft skills, technical abilities, and hard skills.
But don’t just copy and paste the whole thing into your CV. Pick your best abilities which mirror the requirements of the job ad. Match them to your previous jobs and mention them in bullet points describing your administrative duties.
Does the job listing require you to know something about accounting, managing communication, and be fluent in Spanish?
For this candidate it’s check, check, and check. Look how she put these administrative skills on her CV:
RIGHT |
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Administrative Assistant Decent Company January 2017–Present
Receptionist Incredible Staffing Agency August 2014–January 2017
Skills:
|
Can’t quantify or prove your administrative skills through achievements?
Don’t worry, you can’t put a number on everything. List the remaining relevant skills in the skills section of your AA CV template.
Always highlight your command of foreign languages. Especially, if you’re a bilingual admin assistant.
It’s not easy to come up with administrative skills on your own, so let us assist you: 99+ Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a CV (Proven Tips)
Just list the highest level of education and move on, right?
Not really.
Yes, A-levels work just fine on an entry-level administrative assistant CV.
But for many executive administrative assistant CVs, you’ll need a bachelor of arts.
Either way, this is how to put education on an AA CV:
BA in Business Economics—2012
University of Manchester
See that?
It’s not just the degree, date, and the university’s name. Our candidate also listed coursework that matches the job requirements of the position.
Still working on your degree? Just finished vocational training? Employers will appreciate this. Read our CV tips to find out how to put that education on your administrative assistant CV to wow them: How to Put Your Education on a CV [Tips & Examples]
You’ve got some serious communication skills, right?
Don’t do like the rest of your competition and just plonk communication skills in your administrative assistant skills list.
Prove them by writing a cover letter for the administrative assistant position.
For administrative assistant jobs, are cover letters necessary?
Spoiler alert: Yes.
Approximately half of all recruiters expect to get a cover letter.
Don’t make them send you that thanks–but–no–thanks email the previous admin assistant wrote.
Write an administrative assistant cover letter that makes them think, “Wow! I need this candidate to write everything from now on!”
Aim for a short cover letter for your administrative assistant CV. Show you’ve got the skills, you know the company inside out, and provide them with an offer they can’t refuse.
You can see a great selection of cover letter writing advice here: 14 of the Best Cover Letter Tips for Success
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your CV 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:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
So, to write a professional administrative assistant CV you need to follow these steps:
CV writing can be a challenge. Do you have any questions on how to make an administrative CV shine? Want others to review your document? Give us a shout in the comments section!
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If you’re sending your cover letter as an email you’ll need to make a few tweaks to get it right. Read on to guarantee success when you click send.