Administrative Assistant interview questions and answers

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Administrative Assistant Interview Questions

Administrative assistants are found in all types of industries. This is usually an entry-level position with wide-ranging support duties. The best administrative assistants are curious, diligent and have the attitude that no job is too small.

What is the role of an administrative assistant?

Administrative assistant responsibilities include making travel and meeting arrangements, preparing reports and maintaining appropriate filing systems. Some tasks, such as data entry, report preparation, calendar management require proficiency with workplace software such as Microsoft Office.

Use these interviews as an opportunity to evaluate these skills. Some employers may even include a short skills test in the interview process. If there is a specific skill that you need, such as travel coordination, be sure to add questions about that to this list.

The following open-ended and situational interview questions will encourage your candidates to speak at length about their relevant experience. They will also help you get a sense of their interpersonal skills, such as how well they “manage up”, how well they can work on a team, and what motivates them as employees. The best candidates will be able to articulate what interests them about your company, and will contribute several prepared and spontaneous questions of their own to the conversation.

Operational and Situational questions

 

• What interests you about working in an administrative position at this company?
• What kinds of administrative projects do you like to work on?
• What administrative projects are less interesting for you? How do you overcome your disinterest in order to do a good job?
• How would you rate your computer skills?
• Describe your experience with calendar management.
• What kinds of documents have you made from scratch using MS Office programs?
• What is your experience with data entry?
• How do you ensure accuracy in routine tasks such as processing expenses and preparing reports?
• If you support multiple people at one company, how do you decide which projects to work on first?
• Have you ever been on a team with a difficult coworker? How did you handle it?
• Describe a time you worked with a team to meet a common goal. What was your role?
• Describe a time you suggested a way to save time, lower costs, or increase revenue.
• What does “managing up” mean to you? In what ways have you done that?
• Some of this work can be repetitive. What motivates you to excel in this role?