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Crush your interview with our guideSecretary Interview Questions
Secretaries lighten the load for the executives they support by taking on a wide range of clerical and administrative tasks. Their job responsibilities are similar to those of Administrative Assistants and Executive Assistants. They field calls, manage calendars, coordinate meetings, and maintain filing systems and databases. They often carry lots of responsibility as the spokesperson and gatekeeper for access to their managers.
The best secretaries are seasoned office administrators familiar with all the tools and processes of the contemporary workplace. They’re detail-oriented, organized, and articulate written and verbal communicators. If there are specific qualifications that you need, such as expertise with travel, or knowledge of your industry, be sure to add questions about that to the list below.
To hire the right secretary for your organization, ask open-ended, process-based questions. These types of questions are best for evaluating their experience and interpersonal skills. Promising candidates will have researched your company and will ask prepared and spontaneous questions of their own.
Operational and Situational questions
- How does your previous experience relate to this job?
- What interests you about being a secretary at this company?
- If you report to multiple supervisors, how do you prioritize your work?
- How do you keep your managers updated on their work schedule?
- At your previous position, what inquiries did you typically respond to?
- What software tools do you use on a daily basis?
- How would you rate your computer skills?
- What kinds of documents or correspondence have you prepared?
- Describe in detail the steps you would take to plan a meeting for ten people.
- Describe a complex project that you worked on with a group. What was the goal, and how did you work with others to accomplish that goal?
- What cash-handling or expense reporting have you done? Can you describe the process you use to record expenses?
- What steps do you take to protect confidential information?
- Who is the most challenging external or internal customer that you have? What is the most effective way to work with this person?