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Want a stronger resume? Use our extensive library of professional resume examples as practical starting guides. You’ll also find ready-made content with our helpful Resume Builder – simple click, customize, and download.

Looking for cover letter ideas? See our sample Administrative Manager Cover Letter.

Find out what is the best resume for you in our Ultimate Resume Format Guide.

How to Format an Administrative Manager Resume

How you format your administrative manager resume can help you prioritize your transferable skills and key work accomplishments but downplay potential red flags like a recent career change or lengthy work gap. Let’s see how two candidates with different experience levels format their resumes.

Candidate A has over two decades of experience — the chronological resume is the best format for their application because it uses a detailed and lengthy timeline structure to highlight key accomplishments and promotions over the years.

Candidate B has a little over seven years of experience. Typically, we advise them to use a work-history approach with the hybrid resume. This format works well for candidates with three to nine years of experience. It switches the placement of the skills and work experience sections to lend equal importance to both your technical knowledge and formal experience.

However, Candidate B decided to use a functional format to apply directly to a small office. This skills-based approach means they can break down their experience and managerial accomplishments into different sub skills to highlight their range of qualifications.

Chronological Resume

Candidate A

  • 23 years of experience
  • 7 years at this job
  • HS High School Diploma

Work History

Administrative Manager, Blue Star Navigation
April 2016 to present, Ann Arbor, MI

  • Primary point of contact for and between customers internally and externally.
  • Maintain and stock office space, make small purchases, manage and coordinate office space-related tasks.
  • Manage emails, calendars, budgets, travel, physical correspondence, and greet visitors.

Functional Resume

Candidate B

  • 7 years of experience
  • 3 years at this job
  • AS Administration

Professional Skills

Administration

  • Manages a team of four facilities staff members over a two-floor, 200-staff-member office space.
  • Oversees the day-to-day office and facility operations, coordinating and communicating with the executive leadership team and department heads to ensure effective use of office space.
  • Monitors general company email accounts and forwards inquiries to appropriate team members.
  • Approves the monthly budget and on-site expenses related to supplies, staff meals, and team bonding engagements.

Computer Skills

  • Proficiency with Google Suite, primarily Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides.
  • Familiarity with CRMs, monday.com, Hubspot, ACT and Pipedrive.
  • Administrative knowledge of staff productivity tools like Slack, Asana, Atlassian Jira, Confluence and Trello.

Administrative Manager Resume FAQ.

What are the duties of an administrative manager?

An administrative manager oversees administrative assignments and functions of the workplace. As a manager, your responsibilities may include:

  1. Overseeing an administrative staff.
  2. Scheduling work assignments.
  3. Directing and training subordinates.
  4. Evaluating employee performance through established expectations and work metrics.
  5. Ensuring proper labor conditions and work environments.
  6. Developing budget recommendations and filing.

What is a good summary for an administrative resume?

Your resume summary or resume objective sits just below your name and contact information — a good summary introduces your core administrative skills or accomplishments and persuades a hiring manager to give your resume a comprehensive review instead of a quick scan. The best summary statements include:

  1. Your years of experience in management or administration.
  2. An example of your top administrative achievements backed by numerical proof.
  3. Two or three skills that help you perform the job.
  4. An introduction limited to two or three informative sentences.

We used italicized keywords to highlight how this is an example of a good administrative resume summary:

Confident administrative manager with over five years of leadership experience and ten years of administrative knowledge. Successfully oversaw a team of three facilities staffers and five administrative assistants across two floors and four company departments. Handled office budget, negotiated operational contracts for staff meals and snacks, and provided on-site support for all technical and administrative supply requests.

How do you describe administrative skills on a resume?

When describing your administrative skills on your resume, think of a simple bulleted list under a skills section. This is still a very strategic place to share your knowledge, but you can organically fold additional skills into your summary statement and work history descriptions.

Here’s a list of commonly requested administrative skills with examples of how to describe them throughout your resume.

Common administrative skills

  • Organization: File organization, budget oversight and receipt organization, staffing schedules and time-off organization, supply organization or request organization.
  • Written and verbal communication: Explain and define internal administration processes, email colleagues or clients, or effectively train new hires.
  • Teamwork: Collaborate with business partners to ensure a smooth running organization, effectively manage administrative team, partner with staff to plan company events, work with third-party vendors to provide on- and off-site services.
  • Time management: Plan and complete daily administrative tasks, balance staff schedules, work with the leadership team to meet administrative deadlines, and ensure timely delivery of office supplies.

Review these professional resume samples to see how your fellow job seekers describe their skills and abilities.