Resumes for Administrative Assistants

Whether you're just starting out as an administrative assistant, or you're considered an executive secretary, this article on creating resumes for administrative assistants can help you to organize your resume in a logical and professional manner.  That's important in the workplace today, as we all compete for the top jobs in our professions.

We're going to begin this publication by talking about the three most common resume styles in use today, and how they apply to administrative assistants looking for a new job.  Next up, we're going to talk briefly about some of the skills a secretary might possess, and how those skills should be written on the resume itself.  Then we're going to finish up by providing an example resume that you can download.

Resume Styles for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Before starting to write a resume, you have to decide on the appropriate resume format or style to use.  Your resume acts as an "advertisement" for your knowledge, experience, and skills.  You want to choose a resume format that highlights your strengths, while not drawing attention to any weakness you might possess.

Generally, there are three resume formats from which to choose:  chronological, functional, and the combination style.

Chronological Resumes

Although it is the most common resume format in circulation today, the chronological resume format is not a great choice for everyone.  Since this format requires the writer to list out their work history in reverse chronological order, it's a good choice for individuals that have a lot of prior work experience.

If you're new to the workplace, then the chronological resume will highlight your lack of experience.  For that very reason, relatively inexperienced secretaries or administrative assistants should use an alternate resume format such as the functional resume.

Functional Resumes

As just mentioned, the functional resume format is a great choice for relatively inexperienced workers.  This includes individuals that are just entering the workplace for the first time, or more experienced workers that are making a career change.

A functional resume emphasizes what you've learned and / or the skills that you possess, which is a good strategy if you don't have a lot of prior or related work experiences.  By listing out what you know, rather than where you've worked or the titles you held in the past, this resume format helps the reader to better understand the value you might bring to their organization.

The down side of using a functional resume is that readers often get suspicious if they cannot get a good feel for where you've worked in the past.  That's okay, because if that question is asked during a job interview, you'll be prepared with a great explanation.

Combination Style Resumes

Perhaps the most marketable, and under-utilized, resume format in use today is the combination style resume.  With this format you will first highlight all of the important secretarial skills you possess (following the functional format), and then finish up by listing all of the companies where you've worked in the past (a chronological format).

If you have a lot of administrative assistant experience, then the combination resume is the best way to highlight what you've learned as well as where you learned it.

If you'd like to find out more about each of these resume formats, then take a look at our article on Resume Writing Samples.  There you will find more detailed descriptions of each resume type, as well as examples that you can download.

Highlighting Secretarial Skills on Resumes

Many of us have a tendency to be modest about our past experiences or knowledge.  We are inclined to down-play what we know or have learned through the years.  If there's one place where you don't want to be modest, it's on your resume.

In fact, your resume is the ideal place to put your creative side to the test.  Carefully chosen words on a resume can often mean the difference between being filtered-out from consideration and being called in on a job interview.

Resume Wording Examples

The following table demonstrates the difference between the wording on a great resume, and one that is likely to wind up in the circular file.  Take a look at these examples, and then use this concept to help formulate ideas for your resume.

Sample Resumes of Administrative Assistants

You can see how we've packaged all of the above concepts in our example of a well-written administrative assistant / executive secretary resume.  The example we put together is in the combination resume format, so that you can observe the elements of all three resume styles.

We've also demonstrated how the concept of using creative wording can be incorporated into a resume.  In particular we used this technique in the Skills section of the resume we've provided.

You can download our free sample here - Sample Administrative Assistant Resume.  We hope this resume will help you to generate some ideas of your own.  As we've mentioned in other publications, it's your own unique experiences that make you a valuable asset to the job market.  Make sure you tell the right story on your resume.

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