Interview Questions To Ask For Administrative Assistant

Questions To Ask In An Interview That Will Get You Hired Immediately

Landing the perfect job is all about asking the right questions. In an interview, you want to ensure that you put your best foot forward and show the interviewer that you are interested in the position. But what should you ask?

Here are 45 questions to ask in an interview that will help get you hired.

Top 5 Administrative Assistant Interview Questions

Now that weve got the tips covered, its time for the moment youve been waiting for: the top 5 administrative assistant questions and answers.

Remember, as you read through these, think about how you would answer them and how you might best highlight your relevant skills and knowledge.

Dont forget to include successes from past jobs as well!

Name A Time A Supervisor Gave You Constructive Feedback What Changes Did You Make To Improve

Is this person willing to accept feedback, even if its negative? Again, no one is going to be perfect at their job, especially if they are a new hire. New employees will need training and instruction to understand their role within your business entirely. Therefore, learning about a time a candidate received constructive criticism and how that person reacted will ultimately give you a good idea of what kind of employee will be working for you. Moreover, it may also reveal aspects of a candidates work ethic as well as their growth within past positions.

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Tell Me About A Time That You Exceeded Your Expected Responsibilities

An interviewer can use this narrative question to learn more about your work ethic. When an interviewer asks you to describe a time, try to answer using the STAR response method by including a situation, task, your actions and the result. For this answer, you can think of a time at work, school or in a volunteer program where you went beyond expectations and managed additional tasks.

Example:In my last volunteer position in my local park restoration, I exceeded expectations when requesting additional tasks. I was originally in charge of removing trash from one section of the park, but I noticed the garden needed help. I offered to raise the funds to buy new flowers. I printed pictures of the current garden and showed them to local businesses when asking for donations. In one week, I secured enough donations to buy new flowers, and I spent an afternoon planting them. This made our park more beautiful, and I noticed more people spending time in that section.

Read more:How To Use the STAR Interview Response Technique

Take A Hard Look At Your Soft Skills

Weve covered soft skills before, so make sure you go over the list and hone in on the soft skills the job requires. Being technically proficient is only half the job. Having a solid grasp of the soft skills you need for the position youre interviewing for and showcasing them in your cover letter, resume and interview will help turn you from job seeker to employed!

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What Are The Roles Of An Administrative Assistant

If youve researched the subject and worked in the field, youre probably aware of what an administrative assistants responsibilities are. The interviewer here wants to assess your expertise and determine whether you have sufficient knowledge of the role so that he can hire you based on your abilities.

Sample Answer

Administrative Assistants are responsible for conducting and directing an organizations day-to-day administrative operations. An Administrative Assistant job description often emphasizes the importance of organizational abilities, communication skills, and the ability to manage multiple tasks or requests at the same time. Soft skills like professionalism and excellent time management are also important.

Administrative Assistant Interview Questions And Answers

Learn what skills and qualities interviewers are looking for from an administrative assistant, what questions you can expect, and how you should go about answering them.

Administrative assistants are the backbone of any organization. They keep the office running smoothly by managing schedules, organizing and filing documents, and handling customer inquiries. They also provide support to the managers and employees of the company.

If youre looking for an administrative assistant job, youll likely need to go through an interview process. One of the best ways to prepare for an interview is to know what to expect. In this guide, well provide you with questions and answers that are commonly asked in administrative assistant interviews.

Why do you want to be an administrative assistant?

Employers ask this question to learn more about your passion for the administrative assistant role. They want to know what motivates you to do your job well. When answering this question, try to talk about what you enjoy most about administrative assistant work. You can also talk about what you hope to gain from this position.

Example:I want to be an administrative assistant because I love helping others. I am very organized and I enjoy finding solutions to problems. I feel like this role would give me the opportunity to use my skills to help others succeed. I also hope that I can learn more about how to be an effective leader by working as an administrative assistant.

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Which Of Your Strengths Helps You Excel As An Administrative Assistant

With this admin assistant interview question, the hiring manager learns how you view the role, as well as gets insights into your capabilities. Its a simple way to assess your mindset and find out about your strengths.

EXAMPLE ANSWER:

If I had to choose just one strength that I feel allows me to thrive, its active listening. An administrative assistant is generally a support role, ensuring others have what they need to manage their tasks. Active listening skills make me particularly effective.

As part of my process, I go beyond simply hearing whats shared. In my last role, I began with simple listening. Then, I restated what Ive heard, allowing me to ensure I fully understand. As necessary, Ill ask probing questions to gain additional clarity. Overall, Ive found the strategy is highly effective, allowing me to exceed expectations simply by gathering the right information from the beginning.

What Are Your Computer And Technology Skills

Piggybacking off typing, its important to understand a candidates skills with computers and technology. You can ask them with experience with certain programs like Microsoft Office and Adobe Suite, and you can also find out their troubleshooting capabilities with computers. Though you may have an IT team to deal with major technology issues, having an assistant with basic computer troubleshooting skills will probably help save you and the IT team tons of time.

If you have candidate who describes themselves as illiterate with computers, they might not be a fit for the role if it requires a lot of interaction with technology.

Sample answer:

Im very comfortable using a computer, and I have experience with a variety of software programs, including Microsoft Office Suite and Google Docs.

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Use Your Interview Questions For An Administrative Assistant Today

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General Volunteer Interview Questions Answers

Interviews are an important step in securing rewarding work as a volunteer in an industry that closely aligns with your personal beliefs, professional goals, and life values. Make a good impression at your first volunteer interview by highlighting your skills and illustrating why youre a great fit for the position.

Here are some of the most common interview questions for volunteers:

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Deeper Dive Into Work Styles

Managers often dont know the work style of candidates until theyre on the job, but its worth asking about the way they take direction, their communication style, how they prefer to structure their day and whether theyre adaptive, dependable, efficient, able to multitask and so on.

16. Can you walk me through a typical day in your current/most recent position?

17. Have you ever reported to multiple supervisors at once? If so, how did you juggle each persons priorities?

18. What is your first step when given a large project to manage? How would you organize it?

19. Can you describe a challenging project you were assigned in the past and how you approached it?

20. Are there any tools, equipment or procedures you would replace or change at your most recent/current job? If so, what changes would you make and why?

Interview Questions To Ask A Hotel General Manager And Assistant Manager

While assistant managers do not carry the same level of responsibilities as the general manager, they do at times fill the shoes of the general manager. In a 24/7 environment with a high level of unpredictability, you may want to consider asking hotel assistant manager interview questions that are similar to the general manager role: expect a successful candidate for general manager to consistently show experience above par on the spectrum of skills, where an assistant manager instead would show great potential but likely less experience.

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Have You Ever Had To Juggle Multiple Tasks Tell Me About How You Stay Organized

Next, the company will want to know about your ability to multi-task and organize multiple projects.

So be ready to share an example of that, too. Theyll feel a lot more comfortable hiring you for the job if you can tell a story about how you have been successful while managing a high number of tasks. Show that you have great communication skills, that youre able to manage and organize lots of moving pieces, etc.

What Contribution Would Your Administrative Skills Provide To Our Team

Administrative assistants play a significant function in the organization. Share how you anticipate contributing to or assisting your employers success to demonstrate that you can make a huge difference. In your response, show the interviewer how you intend to support the companys development and growth.

Sample Answer

I am confident in my ability to keep everyone on track and organized so that we can all reach our goals. I also believe that by taking on most administrative responsibilities, team members could better delegate their time and boost their work productivity.

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What Major Challenges Did You Face During Your Last Role How Did You Manage Them

An interviewer may ask this question to gauge how you handle challenging or stressful situations. Include how you felt about the incident and how you handled it in your response. Similarly, suppose you have no past knowledge of resolving a conflict in the workplace. In that case, you might answer this question by describing how you would handle a stressful scenario if one arose.

Sample Answer

I once dealt with an irritated customer on the phone while working as an administrative assistant at XYZ firm. The customer was upset and anxious because an unauthorized transaction had been made to their credit card. Even though the customer was yelling at me, I did not stop them, and I reminded myself of how nervous and stressed they must be to be behaving in this manner. I acknowledged the customers feelings before asking for their membership details and continuing to investigate the issue. It turned out that the customer had forgotten about their membership due date. The consumer was calm once we handled the situation and apologized to me. We talked about the weather and my three-month-old puppy near the end of our session.

Questions About Experience And Background

During your interview as an administrative assistant, you’ll also be expected to answer questions related to your experience in this profession. Here are some examples of questions you might be asked to determine how you perform and react during certain situations:

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Tell Me About A Situation Where You Had To Deal With A Difficult Boss Colleague Or Client

This personality-based interview question is meant to assess your ability to deal with people in challenging situations. Administrative assistants can be the ultimate problem solvers and fixers. That can mean staying calm and focused, and achieving a good outcome.

Possible answer: You might focus again on specific scenarios from your work past where you kept your cool under fire. Youll be ahead of the game if you can reference your personality type from a Myers-Briggs test or similar assessment to talk about how that helps you keep your cool when work gets tough.

Tell Me About A Time You Had A Conflict With A Supervisor Or Coworker What Happened And How Did You Resolve It

Workplace disagreements and conflicts are natural. As an administrative assistant, you interact with a lot of the staff, so the likelihood of a dispute arising is higher. Hiring managers use this question to assess if you possess the ability to self-reflect, self-analyze, and learn from past experiences.

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Are You Familiar With Any Planning And Organization Tools

Administrative assistants need to be highly organized and able to manage their time well. They achieve this by using tools to manage tasks such as planning meetings, tracking events, or monitoring project milestones. This question gauges your knowledge of essential planning tools. Mention the tools and software you’ve used before and your preferences. Explain what they helped you achieve and how you use them to stay organized.

Example:âI’ve used several tools to help me achieve success in my work. In my previous position, I used Microsoft Outlook to manage several of the senior managers’ schedules, ensuring they never missed a meeting or appointment. I also like Microsoft Project for office initiatives that require a lot of collaboration, so we can keep everyone on track and monitor progress.”

What Interviewers Look For In Administrative Assistants

Considering the central role played by administrative assistants, employers look for specific attributes that combine both hard and soft skills. Here are some important attributes interviewers for this position evaluate in a candidate:

• Communication skills: One of the essential roles of an administrative assistant is to communicate professionally and effectively inside and outside the company.

• Administrative skills: Administrative assistants perform various administrative tasks such as ordering stationery, opening and closing the office, and ensuring the office is clean and welcoming.

• Interpersonal skills: Administrative assistants work closely with almost everyone in a business. They need to have excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills to build relationships with clients, customers, and colleagues.

• Computer skills: Administrative assistants use computers for most communication and documentation. An administrative assistant must show their proficiency in using a computer to accomplish various tasks such as typing, preparing presentations, responding to emails, and making phone calls.

• Organizational skills: An administrative assistant manages events and several calendars for executives or managers. They need strong organizational skills to ensure their work and others’ schedules are up to date and easy to follow.

Related:

Here are nine of the most common administrative assistant interview questions to expect:

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How Do You Keep Confidential Information Private As An Administrative Assistant

As an administrative assistant, you are frequently trusted with privileged or sensitive information. This question tests whether you can maintain confidentiality and restrict information from others. In your answer, provide an example of relevant situations where you kept private information secure.

Example:âIn my previous role, I accompanied my boss to a high-level meeting where a potential merger with a rival company was discussed. I was responsible for taking, typing, and safely sending the minutes. I didn’t disclose the information about the merger to anyone and kept the details to myself. If any information about the merger had leaked, it could have affected employee morale or the relationship with the other business. I know how important it is to keep confidential information private.”

Describe A Time When You Quickly Had To Change Priorities

In a similar vein to the question above, administrative assistants often deal with changing priorities. Again, the hiring manager wants to know how you navigate that challenge.

EXAMPLE ANSWER:

In my last job, the other administrative assistant in my department had a medical emergency, taking them out of the office for several weeks. Since I was the only administrative assistant available, that meant quickly pivoting to cover critical tasks for the whole department.

To simplify the process, I met with each manager to learn more about the projects the other admin assistant had on their plate. This allowed me to create a functional to-do list, accounting for my workload and that of the absent team member. While the transition was challenging, I was able to adapt, covering critical tasks for the entire department.

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