Administrative Resume Examples

The specific definition of ‘administrative’ refers to the running of a business or organization.

In general, most administrative functions relate to organizing, overseeing and managing the overall functions of an enterprise. Oftentimes, administrative roles are associated with management and executive leadership.

‘Administrative duties’ refers to the tasks that are performed to keep an organization running smoothly.

Administrative duties will vary from role to role within an organization.

For instance, the administrative duties of a secretary might include tasks like filing, record-keeping, dictation or managing correspondence.

Conversely, the administrative duties for an executive might include tasks like meeting with clients, organizing corporate structure or reducing corporate overhead.

If you click any of the job titles above, you’ll find that JobHero’s certified career professionals have included a brief duties description for every job title included on this page.

As with any resume, you’ve got to include the basics: your contact information, a professional summary or objective statement, skills, education and relevant administrative work experience if you have it.

However, the way you want to organize that information depends on which format you use.

Another thing to consider is trying to work numbers into your resume wherever possible as they are the most concrete way possible to indicate to a hiring manager what you are capable of as an employee.

For instance, if you’re applying to be an administrative assistant, you might want to mention how many words you can type per minute. If you’re a team leader, it would be good to mention how many people were on the team you lead. Or, if you’re in an executive or financial administrative role, it would be very wise to include a flattering statistic about how you contributed to reduced overhead, improved productivity or exceeded forecasted financial goals.

Wherever you can fit quantifiable numbers in your resume without sounding forced, do it. Eyes gravitate to these numbers and they’ll definitely catch the attention of the hiring manager viewing your resume.

‘Relevant administrative experience’ refers to any task you’ve performed in an administrative-type role that might be useful to the job that you’re applying for.

You might have held a variety of different roles in the administrative realm, but look at the wording of the job description or posting to get a sense of what duties you will need to perform in this new role.

Scan your work history, considering all the tasks and duties for which you were responsible. Include the ones you feel would be the most similar to the tasks you are expected to perform in a new role on your resume.

This will make a strong argument for the effectiveness you will bring to the table for this new job because after all, if you were capable of doing it for one company, you’ll be able to do it again with a new one. It gives hiring managers the impression that they can be confident about your performance if they hire you.

For an entry-level role, you should look over JobHero’s list of job titles in the administrative assistants and support category. Most of the positions in this list are entry-level and the perfect way to get your foot in the door.

If you are interested in an entry-level role, it also probably means that you don’t have tons of experience in the administrative realm. The best strategies here are to try to include any experience you might have from a different industry that would apply to an administrative job.

For example, if you were a server and are looking to become an administrative assistant, highlight your skills in multitasking or mention the financial duties for which you were responsible.

Another important thing to consider if you don’t have administrative experience is to choose a functional format if you have less than two years’ experience. Choose a hybrid format if you have between two and five years’ experience.

Doing so will draw less attention to your lack of administrative experience by focusing on the other factors that make you a capable and desirable candidate.

Yes, attention to detail is an important part of working in administration, always include a cover letter when you send your resume.

In addition to giving you more room to sell yourself, a cover letter gives you the chance to tell a story about your administrative experience and better convey who you are as a candidate.

If you need inspiration, JobHero has plenty of well-written administrative cover letter examples that you can use to create your own strong letter.