Skills to Highlight When Interviewing as an Administrative Professional

The role of an administrative professional often entails answering phone calls, scheduling meetings and coordinating travel, among other pertinent tasks. These individuals operate as the backbone of a company, so employers are keen to hire the most qualified professionals. When interviewing for an administrative role, showcasing your relevant skills is of the utmost importance.

Below are the top skills employers are looking for when interviewing administrative talent.

1. Personability

An administrative professional is often the first face people see when entering an office. As such, it’s important to be personable when interacting with customers, clients and employees. Showing empathy and diplomacy will allow you to have successful interactions at every level of the organization. To demonstrate personability in an interview, speak about the relationships you built in previous roles and how that contributed to a strong work environment.

2. Organizational and Time Management Skills

Successful administrative professionals are highly organized and efficient, responsible for managing leadership schedules, coordinating office functions and more. High levels of organizational skills and time management skills are key to highlight. Share your daily responsibilities in previous roles and discuss the organizational tools you used to execute your role efficiently.

3. Problem-Solving Skills

It’s essential to hone your problem-solving skills if you are seeking an administrative role. Schedules can change, and technology can malfunction, so you need to be agile in your solutions. Being skilled at problem-solving also means being a good collaborator. When speaking about your problem-solving skills, share a time that you and your colleagues worked together to resolve an issue and what you learned from that experience. Making those connections during the interview will establish your compatibility with the tasks and teams in your new role.

4. Technology Skills

Administrative professionals need some level of comfort with software such as Microsoft Office. The tasks associated with this technology may include scanning documents, submitting invoices, managing online calendars and inputting data or information. Additionally, if administrative professionals have a developed knowledge of technology they can be quickly upskilled to suit the needs of their particular organization.

Administrative professionals wear many hats. They keep organizations running smoothly through coordination and management. By highlighting your problem-solving skills, technology skills, communication skills, organizational skills, personability and ability to navigate change, you will position yourself as the ideal candidate for an administrative role, well-equipped to handle any challenge and maximize efficiencies for the organization.

Partner with Aston Carter to find the administrative career that’s right for you.