Best Administrative Assistant CV Examples for 2023

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:

• An administrative assistant CV sample better than 9 out of 10 other CVs.
• How to write an administrative assistant CV that will land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a CV for administrative assistant positions.
• How to describe administrative experience to get any job you want.

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And if an admin assistant CV isn’t quite what you’re after, here are some alternatives:

• Receptionist CV Example
• Customer Service CV Example
• School Leaver CV Example
• Student CV Example
• Graduate CV Example
• Internship CV Example
• Shop Assistant CV Example
• Administrator CV Example
• Teaching Assistant CV Example
• CV for a Part-Time Job Example

Administrative Assistant CV Template

Here’s how to write an administrative assistant CV:

1. Use the Best Format for 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. 

2. Add an Administrative Assistant CV Profile

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:

• Who are you? 
• What can you offer to the employer? 
• What are your career goals? 

The way you answer will be different depending on how experienced you are. Here’s how a veteran admin assistant should approach it:

• Make a list of your professional abilities, considering all of the experience and skills you have that make you an admin whiz.
• Then check out the job advert and match 3–4 points from your own list to what’s listed in the job requirements.
• Use these points to write a CV summary targeted to the job you’re applying for.

Here’s an example of how it could work:

Administrative Assistant CV Profile Example

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.

• Make a list of any experience and skills you already have, focussing on your education and any practical experience you’ve already gained.
• Then target your existing experience and skill set to the job requirements and throw in some passion for the job, and knowledge of the employer to show you’ll be a good fit.

Here’s how it could look:

Administrative Assistant CV Personal Statement Example

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

3. Describe Your Administrative Experience on a CV

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.

Administrative Assistant CV Template—Experience

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:

How to Write About Administrative Experience in a CV

• Don’t list non-critical or routine day-to-day tasks, unless they’re in the job ad.
• Don’t list responsibilities. List achievements.
• What is administrative experience without the numbers? Quantify your achievements whenever possible.
• Introduced a procedure or initiative that saved time or money? Show that off.
• Don’t use clichés like ‘responsible for’ or ‘managed.’ Use action words to highlight your strengths: ‘organized,’ ‘trained,’ ‘arranged,’ or ‘distributed.’
• Use results-based statements to talk about your work. For example: Saved £3,000 a year in office supplies after negotiating a new deal with the current supplier. Problem? Money wasted. Action? Renegotiated. Result? Saved £3,000.

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.

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When you’re done, Zety’s CV builder will score your CV and tell you exactly how to make it better.

4. Put the Right Skills on an Administrative CV

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—

20+ Top Hard and Soft Skills for Administrative Assistant CVs

• Appointment setting
• Communication
• Problem solving
• Active listening
• Attention to detail
• Customer service
• Phone etiquette
• Research skills
• Calendar management
• Travel planning
• Time management
• Foreign language skills
• Email management
• Writing letters and emails
• Faxing
• Receiving visitors
• Customer service
• Transcription
• Recording minutes of the meeting
• Training new employees
• Order processing
• Data entry
• Filling systems
• Bookkeeping
• Inventory management
• Billing
• Salesforce
• Computer skills

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:

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)

5. Mention Your Education

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:

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]

6. Write a Cover Letter for an Admin Assistant

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.

Key Takeaway

So, to write a professional administrative assistant CV you need to follow these steps:

• Grab the hiring manager’s attention with the perfect administrative assistant CV objective or summary.
• Focus on achievements to prove you’re worth your weight in gold.
• Show you’ve got the right education by listing relevant coursework and vocational training.
• Pepper your AA CV with relevant skills.
• Prove your communication and research skills by writing a catchy admin assistant cover letter for your CV.
• Include contact information, but consider skipping the address on your CV.

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!