What makes any company like a well oiled machine? The administrative assistant. It’s no surprise that these kinds of positions are highly sought after and can get pretty competitive in the job field.
Being a good administrative assistant is a great way to get your foot in the door of a particular industry- any industry really. The really great thing about an administrative assistant position is that you really don’t need any experience in that field. It for sure doesn’t mean you don’t have any skills though.
Here’s my story: I needed a survival job. Since I got a degree in theatre, which takes a long time to break into (especially being among the thousands of young blonde females 😛 ) I needed a way to support myself while bracing for an uphill battle. Plus, I really enjoy learning about the business world and can see how it will help me for the rest of my life.
Maybe you are looking to get out of your current field. Maybe you haven’t decided what you want to do for a career path. You’ve been scrolling through job listings and nothing really seems to fit. I would highly recommend searching for administrative assistant positions to get your foot in the door.
Here’s what you will need to know.
A Killer Resume
Since administrative assistants don’t have any clear prerequisites (i.e. a medical degree) any one position can get hundreds of applicants with various backgrounds. You need to stand out amongst the crowd!
I have a whole post that lays out essential tips you need for assembling a resume here, but let’s get an overview of what you will need now.
Obviously it will vary depending on the company you’re applying for, but here are some blanket terms that you will likely want to highlight on your resume.
- Organizational skills
- Computer literacy
- Customer service aptitude
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving skills
- An A+ attitude!
Don’t be afraid to tailor your resume to specifically fit each job listing you are applying for! Basically, your resume should be helping an employer connect the dots between you and their perfect applicant. Try to do most of the work for them.
Related: Why Creative People Are Best Suited For Business
Fill Out Your Online Presence
We’re talking about LinkedIn people, not Instagram ;). Personally this wasn’t much of a factor in getting my own administrative assistant position, but I know some companies rely heavily one LinkedIn to screen their applicants.
LinkedIn can be a more fleshed out version of your resume, in fact, I created my resume before my LinkedIn profile (yes, I was late to the game) and put a lot of direct phrases from my resume on my profile. However, where you are lacking in space on your resume, you can really fill in on LinkedIn.
I often found I was running out of space to put all that I wanted on my resume. This was actually a good thing because it forced me to focus my intent! LinkedIn can be where you add in all the stuff you had to cut, like portfolios, added descriptions, or jobs that you maybe worked short term. It certainly can’t hurt!
You definitely don’t want to have a half-strength LinkedIn profile when other applicants for the same position might have a fleshed out one they’ve been adding to for years!
Related: How To Start A New Career With Zero Experience
Be Flexible
I got my degree in the arts, but now I am working in the trades. I never would have guessed this would be the field I got a job in, but there are some very good opportunities here.
Think of it like this: every field needs someone as dependable and hard working as you. If you keep your mind open, you can succeed a field that you may not have expected to be in. Some people might just call this life, but keep an open mind that you may even find your passion in a field you never expected.
For myself, I’m not overly passionate about the trades, but I love the opportunity to get on the ground floor of a growing company. Proper business models work in any field, so if that’s what your interested, you should have a lot of a lot of room for your ambitions if you find the right position, regardless of the field.
Show how you will provide value
I want you to gently reframe your expectations form the “time-for-money economy” and implement the “value-for-money” economy. If you can demonstrate in your interview, on your resume, and on your application, and in your cover letter all the value you can provide them, you will have a really strong case going for you.
Essentially, make your application process more about them than about you.
For example, you could say on your resume:
“I’ve worked as a receptionist for 4 years at company XYZ”
But what shows the value your will provide a potential employer is more like this.
“I provided company XYZ with 17% more customer satisfaction in the first 3 quarters I worked for them as a receptionist.”
Practice implementing this mindset as early as you can so you can practice showing the company just how much value you will provide them. Still nervous about showing this in the interview, check out this post on how to slay an interview.
Don’t be insecure about skills you don’t have yet
In the world of administrative assistant work, the job descriptions can vary quite a bit. You could be anything from someone’s personal assistant (or coffee gopher) or you could be essentially running a company while the higher-ups have their focus elsewhere. Either way, there’s no telling exactly what you’ll be asked about in the interview.
For this reason, don’t be insecure if you don’t know something they ask you about. If you can show that you’re the right person for the position, they will be willing to teach you anything for the job.
People can get hung up on buzz-words like ‘Microsoft Excel’ or ‘Quickbooks’ but knowing how to use these softwares doesn’t automatically get you closer to securing the position.
Instead of fumbling with embarrassment over something you don’t have knowledge of, you can demonstrate your aptitude to learn. Let’s run a script here:
Q: “So do you have any experience using Excel?”
A: “No, I do not. However, I have had to learn custom software for a number of different positions I’ve served in. Even though they seem complicated to me at first, I am confident in my ability to adapt to any sort of system that is beneficial to the company.”
Obviously, use your own words and finesse, but you get the idea!
If you need more resources for finding listings for these kinds of positions, I highly recommend you check out this post on tools you need to be using in your job hunt:
The Best Job Hunting Resources You Should Be Using
