How Would You Approach A Situation Where You’re Given A Task But Not Provided With Complete Instructions
This question helps the employer determine how you approach complex situations that don’t have clear instructions. The interviewer may be looking to find out what research skills you might use to find out how to do something and if you’re comfortable asking for clarification and assistance when you need it. When answering this question, make sure you demonstrate that you’re able to research an issue on your own and ask for clarification when needed.
Example:’If I was given a task and didn’t receive clear instructions, I would first consider whether I could get the information I would need to complete the task by conducting simple research such as doing an online search. If I still need further instruction, I would ask the person who assigned me the task if they could provide clarification. I would ensure that I fully understand what needs to be done and when the deadline for the task is before I start working on it.’
What Role Do You Feel The Administrative Assistant Serves In The Office
This question helps employers determine how much you know about the role an administrative assistant plays in the office and helps them understand how you would view your job responsibilities. This question can help an employer understand how you view yourself within the office hierarchy, whether you view yourself as part of the team and if you enjoy the job duties of an administrative assistant. When answering this question, try to highlight the most common job duties of an administrative assistant and discuss why the role is important to the office.
Example:I feel the administrative assistant is a key member of an office. In addition to keeping up with everyday tasks such as filing, organization and maintaining schedules, they also help the people they support by providing important information when needed and making sure everything runs smoothly.
Related: Learn About Being an Administrative Assistant
What Software Do You Use For Your Daily Tasks
Employers prefer administrative assistant candidates who can exhibit their knowledge of basic computer programs. Tasks like data entry, filing, monitoring email inboxes and much more are all done on the computer. This question tests your tech abilities and general computer skills. When answering this question, highlight the computer software you’re familiar with and your proficiency level.
Example:I’ve had experience working with computers from a young age. I used them for projects in high school, university, and in my previous administrative positions. I’m proficient with the entire Microsoft Office Suite such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. In my previous role, the owner commended me for my detailed and aesthetically pleasing presentation slides. I can also set up virtual meetings and remote working software.
Related: Technical Skills: Definitions and Examples
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What Do You Feel Are Your Most Valuable Skills As An Executive Assistant
This question allows you to showcase your knowledge of what an executive assistant is expected to do and allows you to connect that knowledge to the skills that you possess. When answering the question, pick two or three skills that you feel are important as an executive assistant. Explain what the skills are, why they are important to an executive assistant and how you developed the skills or have used them professionally.
Example:”I think my strongest skill is my decision-making. In my prior position, I supported a construction project manager, and for one project, a contractor contacted me about an unforeseen problem at the job site. I knew that my responsibilities in my role as an executive assistant included making calls in situations where the project manager was unavailable. So I assessed the problem, discussed the two options the contractor had to solve the problem and reviewed the project manager’s notes on similar circumstances. I chose an option that enabled the crew to get back to work that same day rather than wait until the next day when the PM was available. The project continued and was completed on schedule.”
Read more: Executive Assistant Skills: Definitions and Examples
Describe A Time When You Failed In This Role And The Lesson You Learned
This question may be the most significant factor in winning the job, but it all relies on your story and how it makes the recruiter feel. The interviewer can tell if you are a growth-oriented person or if you struggle with obstacles based on your response.
Sample Answer
My present position is processing insurance claims for our client. In one case, I made an unintentional error about the clients information, and the company faced much criticism. Our team suffered as a result of the error, which was alarming. I was keen not to make the same mistake twice, so I talked to my boss about work tactics I might use to avoid making the same mistake again. I havent made any more task errors since then, and Im much better at keeping track of my work.
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Why You Chose Us
This is a trending interview question and is appearing nowadays in several interview sessions held across the world. Through his question, an interviewer wants to know your level of commitment and seriousness towards the organization.
Sample Answer
Being a decades-old business organization with operations spread across the nation and the presence of more than 4,000 employees. These facts speak volumes about the stature and position of the enterprise in the industry. This is a highly profitable company that believes in an employee-centric approach by extending adequate training and developmental opportunities to the candidates. I am highly interested in this organization as I believe this would not only add substantial value to my resume but also help me to prosper and improve my skillset.
Rigorous Preparation
Prepmycareer has designed an exclusive post that provides ten unique and impressive sample answers for this interview question. This question could be asked in several variations without any change in the answer. Refer to this post here, to strengthen your preparation.
Q2 Describe A Situation When You Had To Plan And Organize Multiple Tasks Admin Assistant Interview
- Give a specific example of when you managed multiple tasks.
- Use Situation, Task, Action and Result.
- Try to add a time element to the situation.
In my previous job, I had a situation one day where the Managing Director required multiple tasks to be completed within a very short time frame. A situation occurred whereby a key member of staff was off sick, so somebody needed to step up and get the work done in super-fast time. The tasks involved: Organising an important meeting for the following day Taking notes and recording minutes for another meeting that afternoon Collating sales data for the next days meeting and briefing my Managing Director. I set about creating a plan for each task based on the priority and importance. The following days meeting was organized first of all. I booked the meeting room, sent out invitations and created the meeting agenda.
Try to add a time element to the situation
I then planned for the meeting that afternoon by reading the meeting notes from the previous meeting to make sure I was fully briefed and aware of the action points and agenda.
Following the meeting, I wrote up my notes before starting work on the collation of sales data. It became apparent that I would not finish the collation of data in time for 5pm, so I briefed my manager that I would stay late and send over the figures as soon as they were ready.
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How Do You Stay Motivated At Work
At work, I always make sure that I come to the office with a positive mind. If I am optimistic about any sort of task coming my way, I can do my work without procrastination. Any sort of negative thoughts can hinder my performance. For many years in this field, I do set my own goals to stay motivated, only reasonable goals. This helps me in putting energy in one way and staying focused.
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What Do You Think Is The Most Challenging Part Of The Administrative Assistant Role
This question is another way of asking about your weaknesses. How you answer this question tells the interviewer whether you’re able to identify and develop areas for improvement. When answering this question, use the STAR technique to describe a specific situation you found challenging and describe what you did to successfully overcome that challenge.
Example:’In my previous role, I realised that I sometimes struggled to prioritise tasks if I didn’t use a clear schedule to manage my time. I wanted to get everything done straight away and had difficulty putting things to one side or making someone wait for me to complete a task. I overcame this by creating an organised schedule for myself to follow that prioritises my tasks based on their deadline. I use an electronic calendar which allows me to plan my days and helps me stay on track.’
Related: Interview Question: âWhat Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?”
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Administration Is All About Exercising Control And High Handedness Comment On This Statement
This is a tricky interview question that criticizes your own profession and core duties. An ideal response to this question requires you to defend your position and mention the bright aspects of administration.
Sample Answer
Sir, in my opinion, this is not at all true and correct. This statement puts administration into the light of dictatorship which is incorrect and absurd. The administration is a beautiful profession, wherein an administrator is extensively engaged in managing the entire organization, by maintaining and establishing a sweet rapport between the several employees, departments, or teams working within the organization. Not only this, he or she is also responsible to manage the several operations of the organization ranging from finance to marketing to business development. This leaves little to no space for exercising control or put on display any kind of negative attitude.
How Would You Motivate And Keep Employees Engaged
The interviewer wants to see that you have strategies in mind that influence employees’ engagement and productivity. If you have experience conducting performance evaluations, implementing incentive programs or another method of motivating your teams, describe this in your answer.
Example:”I recently developed an incentive program for my last where we offered $50 gift cards to employees for surpassing quotas at the end of the month. We also provided one extra hour of PTO every 60 days for employees with perfect attendance. I’ve also helped integrate teambuilding events and workshops at least three times per year to encourage socialization and collaboration and promote wellbeing in the workplace.”
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An answer could be, I was given a task that required me to send personalized emails to several of the companys clients in a short period of time. I needed to make a list of the clients and then determine what kind of personalized emails they should receive. My time management skills came into play here, as I had to find out each clients time zone and work within those boundaries.
How Do You Prioritize Your Work?
The purpose of this question is to gauge your time management skills and see if you can work within specific timeframes. When answering this question, you need to demonstrate that you are good with meeting deadlines and you do not take your tasks for granted.
You can say, Every day, I make a list of all my tasks and arrange them in order of importance. This way, I know where to start and what can wait. I set a timer for myself to complete each task based on their priority as well as the deadline. When I notice that I am unable to complete certain tasks or am feeling overwhelmed, I meet with my supervisor so we can find a balance.
Tell Me A Time You Were Under A Tight Deadline
The first type of behavioral interview question to expect as an administrative assistant is something related to deadlines/schedules.
Be ready to demonstrate youre battle-tested and have worked in high-pressure situations in the past. This can be helping your team get a last-minute project completed for a customer or client, helping your team improve an area that was causing problems, etc.
You dont need to sound like you love this type of scenario, but you do need to sound like youve been through it and are comfortable/ready for it.
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What Management Style Do You Prefer
This question helps the interviewer determine your level of independence in the workplace and helps them decide whether their management style aligns with your work preferences. It is important for administrative assistants to be independent enough to keep the office running smoothly with limited oversight but it is also important that the administrative assistants work preferences and their supervisor’s management style align. When answering this question, it is important to be honest about your preferences to make sure the job is a good fit for both you and the employer.
Example:I prefer a supervisor who gives me the information I need to complete my tasks and who sets clear expectations but also trusts me to complete those tasks without being micromanaged. Because I am organized and efficient at managing my time, I dont need someone to check in regularly to make sure I am staying on task and productive. I also appreciate occasional feedback that lets me know how I am doing and gives me suggestions for improvement if there are any.
Read more:Management Styles: Overview and Examples
Do You Have Any Experience With Bookkeeping
Sometimes administrative assistants are also responsible for bookkeeping tasks, such as invoicing and tracking expenses. Ask them to be specific with the experience they have. If they dont have experience, you can ask if they have any skills related to bookkeeping like organization or practice with Microsoft Excel.
Sample answer:
I have previous experience tracking expenses for team-building events on the executive leadership team. I worked hand-in-hand with the budget and expenses department to help the executive team remain within budget for their outings.
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Office Administrator Questions And Answers
Why do you want to work as an office administrator for our company?
Office administrators are needed in all industries, so the interviewer will want to know why you chose their company. Although you can have practical reasons, such as commuting time, focus on the companys characteristics. Do some research ahead of time and find something about the company that excites or motivates you.
I love that your company is involved in international business. I love working with people from all different cultures because there is always something to learn and connect on. I have traveled a lot, and I believe my experiences abroad will help add to the companys multicultural philosophy.
What do you imagine your day-to-day tasks to look like?
You might want to ask this question yourself, but dont be surprised if the interviewer puts you on the spot. They want to see if you read the job description and thought about what the job entails. Your answer should show that you have deeply considered the role and that you embrace its responsibilities.
Based on the job description, I imagine every day I will be expected to schedule out the tasks for the office. I will arrange the meetings and provide the necessary material for any current projects. On days when we have clients or guests, I will make sure they have everything they need to feel comfortable.
Admin Assistant Job Description
To begin, lets take a look at the admin assistant job description:
We are looking for a responsible Administrative Assistant to perform a variety of administrative and clerical tasks. Duties of the Administrative Assistant include providing support to our managers and employees. Planning and organising daily tasks, managing diaries and appointments, not taking, prioritising tasks and communicating with our customers and clients.
From this, there are 4 relevant interview questions:
Q1. Give an example of when you have provided support to a team within an administrative role.Q2. Describe a situation when you had to plan and organize multiple tasks.Q3. Give an example of when you have took notes during an important meeting. Q4. Describe a situation when you have communicated effectively with customers.
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Sample Interview Questions For Hiring An Administrative Assistant
At many companies, the administrative assistant often wears more hats than a hat rack.
Theyre experts in office software and online research they track and organize your projects, handle your scheduling, and diplomatically represent you at all levels of the corporate hierarchy.
And maybe most importantly, they like you well enough to work shoulder-to-shoulder with you all day.
Knowing how to interview administrative assistant candidates will increase your ability to find the perfect assistant for yourself and your organization. Try these interviewing tips to learn how to interview administrative assistant job seekers for both technical and interpersonal skills. Begin by knowing yourself and the demands of the position then ask questions that focus on the hard and soft skills needed to do the job:
Q What Do You Want To Accomplish As An Administrative Assistant
You can hardly talk about changing someones life as an administrative assistant, or taking the company to the next level. It is just out of your reach, out of the scope of your duties, and possibilities, at least on this position.
Nevertheless, you should still try to talk about some accomplishments, and ideally you should talk about them from a perspective of your employer .
For example, you can say that you hope to help them improve the productivity of work, or that you want to help create the best possible atmosphere in the office, with your attitude to colleagues and clients, being attentive to their needs and feelings, always trying to build a good relationship.
Alternatively you can focus on yourself , saying that you hope to learn a lot of things while holding the position, and that you hope to grow professionally in the company, perhaps later on trying to get a job of an office manager, or a similar role.
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