Perfect Office Assistant Resume to Land the Job [+ Examples & Templates]

Office Assistant resume
Created by Cake

To write an outstanding office assistant resume, we should first absorb the knowledge about this position. An office assistant is an entry-level administrative job. Usually, an office assistant has to ensure the office works smoothly. Therefore, he/she will do things like schedule arrangement, organizing files, answering phone calls, email reply, ordering office supplies, etc.

These responsibilities also sound similar to those of administrative assistant and secretary. True, all of them are related to clerical work, but sometimes their responsibilities may be divided more specifically due to the larger size of a company. According to Corporate Job Bank, a secretary and an administrative assistant are often entry-level positions, but an administrative assistant can sometimes be a mid- or even high-level one.  

How should one write a resume for an office assistant job? And why is a good office assistant resume important for one to land a job?

📝 Fact: Take the statistic of Glassdoor into consideration: a hiring manager spends no more than 6 seconds on one’s resume, and a position will receive 250 resumes on average.

Hence, a well-structured office administration resume and a well-prepared candidate form an impeccable formula for getting an office assistant job.  

How to write a great office assistant resume?

Here are some tips to know before writing an office assistant resume:

 💡 Tip 1: Adopt an ATS-friendly resume format for an office assistant.

Currently, many companies use the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to scan resumes for position-relevant keywords and select qualified candidates automatically. Hence, it is recommended to adopt an ATS-friendly resume format with as few graphs or charts as possible.

 💡 Tip 2: Refer to online office assistant resume templates and samples.

Taking a look at professional resume samples and templates can bring you ideas. At the bottom of this article, we have provided a text-format office assistant resume sample. You can also see more office assistant resume examples on Cake!   

 💡 Tip 3: Tailor your office assistant resumes and adopt keywords specific to the position. 

This tip is more crucial when it comes to resume writing. Compared with an office assistant CV, an office admin resume usually requires more customization for the position.

A proper office assistant resume should not exceed two pages, and using skills mentioned in job descriptions can increase the chance of getting an interview.

However, a curriculum vitae (CV) is usually more than two pages and contains lots of details about one’s experience. 

 💡 Tip 4: Quantify results on your office assistant resume.

Previously, we stated that it takes a recruiter no more than 6 seconds to browse one’s resume, and the average number of competitors is 250. Imagine that we simply told you instead, “ a hiring manager reads your office assistant resume in a short amount of time, and you have a lot of competitors.” 

Which one convinces you more of the importance of a good resume?
It is probably the one with exact figures. Thus, quantifying your achievements can make your office assistant resume more compelling.

 💡 Tip 5: Showcase soft skills in the work experience section of your office assistant resume

Soft skills, also called personal skills, are often as important as technical ones. However, figuring out how to clearly illustrate one’s soft skills is sometimes a difficult task. One useful method is to showcase them in the work experience section to make these skills more concrete.

 ✍🏻 Pro tips: 

  • If the company’s requirements include "excellent time management skills,” and you happen to have a similar experience, you can describe this as "planned daily schedules for executives, such as travel arrangements, incoming meetings, and event organization.”
  • If you have no idea what office administration skills for your resume are required, you can search for office assistant jobs online to see the job descriptions.

What is a good objective for an office assistant resume?

A career objective is the description of one’s career goal and therefore is more suitable for applicants who have less experience. If you are not creating an entry-level office assistant resume, it is better to use a resume summary. Having a concise office assistant resume objective can grab hiring managers’ attention at first glance.

To create a compelling hook, here are 4 elements to include in one’s career objective:

  1. Two to three positive characteristics you have that are relevant to the office assistant position
  2. Experience or achievements related to job requirements
  3. One primary goal that is achievable if you successfully get the job
  4. The hiring company’s name

Office assistant resume examples for the career objective: 

  • In a medical office assistant resume: 
    A well-motivated self-starter with high resistance to stress in a fast-paced environment. Specialized in using Aprima and MS Office Suite. Seeking a chance to utilize my multitasking skills to optimize the administrative process of Noble Clinic. 
  • In a front office assistant resume:
    A multilingual communicator with 1-year clerical experience in an office setting. Skilled in reception and database management. Eager to enter Filerk incorporation as a front office assistant to facilitate the working efficiency of your office. 
  • In a back office assistant resume:
    A Logistics and Supply Chain Management graduate with a deep understanding of the accounting process and inventory management. Currently seeking a position as a back office assistant at Priver company to create value and strengthen vendor relationships of your company.

 📝 Note: A good office assistant resume objective should be within three lines.

How to write a professional resume summary for an office assistant job?

The format of an office assistant resume summary is similar to that of the career objective. However, a resume summary is more common since it tends to be more explicit. An office assistant summary should be placed right after the personal information so hiring managers can quickly understand your outstanding features. 

Five things to put in your office assistant resume summary:

  1. Earned awards
  2. Soft skills and characteristics
  3. Hard skills for the office assistant position, such as languages, MS Office, FileMaker Pro.
  4. External achievements
  5. Job title (if you have work experience) / Education background (if you are a fresh graduate)

Office assistant resume summary examples:

  • In a medical office administration resume:
    A 2-year experienced medical office assistant with Certified Medical Assistant (CMA). Desire to enter Mercy hospital as a medical office assistant to assist physicians and maintain a smooth appointment procedure. Standardized medical record process, which reduced administrative cost by 20%.
  • In a front office assistant resume:
    A customer-oriented front office assistant with 2 years of experience in office administration. Excited to grow with Shrive corporation as a front office assistant. Proficient in assisting co-workers with administrative work such as schedule arrangements and meeting organizations.
  • In a back office assistant resume:
    A proactive team player with 1-year of experience in the retailing industry. Specialized in customer service and presentation skills. Designed phone calls and email answering processes, which increased customer satisfaction rate by 35%. Have a great ambition to devote my ability to Lorate Incorporation.

What are some great skills to put on an office assistant resume?

Skills are a prominent and efficient standard to compare between different candidates. Hence, it is crucial to write an excellent skills section for your office administration resume and select the right listing format.

Here are some tips to use:

👍 Be short and concise in the skill section of your office admin resume. 

Skill section should not take up a large space in your office assistant resume, especially if you are a seasoned job seeker (if so, you should emphasize more in your work experience).


👍 Only include relevant skills in your office assistant resume.

Even if you have many professional skills, only those related to the office assistant position are meaningful to recruiters. 


👍 Be legible.

Later we will discuss the skill listing format for your office assistant resume. Choosing the proper layout can make your resume more readable to hiring managers. 


👍 Add both hard skills and soft skills to your office administration resume.

As you may notice, many companies mention the expected technical skills and personal characteristics in their job descriptions. Hence, it is vital to add those hard and soft skills to your office assistant resume. 


👍 Use keywords mentioned in job requirements.

An office assistant resume with keywords is more ATS-friendly. Even if the company does not adopt ATS, recruiters will focus more on resumes with relevant statements.

Hard skills

  • MS office
  • FileMaker Pro
  • Word per minute (Fast Typing Speed)
  • Data Entry
  • Office inventory management

Soft skills

  • Organizational skills
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Scheduling and Time management
  • Problem-solving 
  • Verbal and written communication

 💡 Four ways to list your office administration skills for a resume:

1. Simple bullet list

It is the simplest way to demonstrate your competencies (also the listing way we use in this article). Back these skills up in the work experience sections or your office assistant cover letter.

2. Expanded bullet list

  • An expanded bullet list is a similar version of the simple bullet one, but it includes more information.
  • Take “verbal and written communication skill” as an example: 
    "Organized 10+ events with employees from multiple countries, communicated with the Marketing, IT, and HR teams in more than 20+ projects, one of which exceeded revenue goal by 150%."
  • This listing format’s metric is in its effectiveness of persuasion, but you should include at most five skills since this method is lengthier.

3. Integrated with work experience in your office administration resume

This technique is more suitable for seasoned employees because it needs piles of work experience to elaborate on your skills. 

4. Categorized skills section in your office assistant resume

This listing format is useful if the position requires a categorizable skill set. Keep note that you should have a deep understanding of the position’s know-how when using this method. Otherwise, it is easy to result in mistakes. 

For instance, some typical office assistant duties for a resume can be divided into four parts:

File Organization
Scheduling
- FileMaker Pro
- Quickbooks

- Travel arrangement
- Event organization

Data Entry
Communication
- MS Outlook, MS Office
- WPM: 100

- Business English writing
- Bilingual in Spanish

How to write an office assistant resume with no experience?

 📎 Advice 1: Choose the right office assistant resume format. 

A chronological or hybrid resume format is suitable for an entry-level office assistant resume, especially the latter. The skill section appears first in the hybrid resume format, and work experience is listed in a reverse chronological way. 


 📎 Advice 2: Adopt a career objective to your office administration resume.

Since an office assistant resume summary requires more experience than a career objective, it is acceptable to use an office assistant objective if one is a fresher for this position. 


 📎 Advice 3: Highlight your education in your office administration resume.

The importance of the education section will decrease with an increment in one’s professional experience. Since education is an authorized proof of one’s qualification, if you are at the beginning of your career, you can add more information in the educational section in your office assistant resume.


 📎 Advice 4: Include your portfolio/side project/personal website in your office assistant resume.

Due to the lack of work experience, one can showcase hiring managers his/her portfolio, side project, or personal website. For instance: MS Office Suite is fundamental to an office assistant. If you have designed a PowerPoint for a side project or created excel spreadsheets, you can include them in your office assistant resume. 


 📎 Advice 5: Write a sincere office assistant cover letter.

An office administration cover letter is a further opportunity to indicate your core competency to hiring managers.

To write an office assistant cover letter but with no experience, there are five parts to include:

  1. Contact information
  2. Greeting
  3. Motivation (why you want this job)
  4. Qualification (why they have to choose you)
  5. Closing

So far, you may wonder - how can I, a fresher, prove my qualifications? Don’t worry. Simply describing those overlapped or transferable skills you used in your side projects or extracurricular activities in your application letter for office assistant. 

Further reading:  How to Write an Entry-Level Office Assistant Cover Letter!

Office Assistant Resume Sample

Michelle Collins 

Communicative Office Assistant Skilled in Prioritizing Tasks and Scheduling Arrangements

Mobile: (666)666-6666
Address: Atlanta, U.S.
Email: [email protected]
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/michellecollins

Professional Summary

2-year office assistant with strong interpersonal skills and MOS certification. Eager to enter a fast-growing startup like Freenergy to give administrative support. Conducted customization email strategy, which improved the retention rate by 15%.

Work Experience

Poweric Corp.
Office Assistant
Jun 2019–Present

  • Answered phone calls and emails from 50+ clients and received visitors with friendly etiquette.
  • Assisted HR with 5+ office activities and event planning.
  • Coordinated both paper and electronic files by using FileMaker Pro.

Spring Hospital
Medical Office Assistant
Áu 2018-Apr 2019

  • Managed bills and payments, entered charges, and created reports through MS Office.
  • Maintained medical records and organized daily appointments of around 40 patients.
  • Controlled the environment of exam rooms and the number of medical supplies.

Education

2014-2018, M.D. in Pharmacy
University of North Carolina 

Skills

  • MS Office Suite (MOS)
  • FileMaker Pro
  • WPM: 80
  • Email Handling
  • Reception skills
  • Problem-solving
  • File organization
  • Schedule planning
  • Inventory management
  • Language: French & Spanish

--- Originally written by Angela Ye ---

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