9 Administrative Skills to Boost Your Resume
8 min read
As an Administrator, you’re the lynchpin of the office. Thanks to you, office operations run smoothly and on schedule. But that doesn’t happen by accident! You know that, despite your calm and unflustered appearance, you’re actually bringing together an enviable set of skills and experience, as well as the drive to make things happen despite unlikely odds. This combination of skills, experience, and attitude makes you the capable Administrator that everyone relies on – you’ll certainly want to shout about this administrative experience on your resume!
In this article, we’ll delve into the top nine administrative skills to add to your resume, explain where to add them, and even provide some examples to give you confidence in developing your own document.
What are administrative skills?
Administrative skills are a wide range of skills that you bring together to ensure the smooth, seamless, and efficient running of a team, an office, or a business. Administrators use these skills to support colleagues and companies in achieving productivity and, ultimately, profitability.
9 basic administrative skills for your resume
Whether these skills come naturally to you or they’re an advanced skill set that you’ve built up over time, you’ll need to provide some administrative skills examples on your resume so that recruiters and hiring managers can understand the value you’d bring to a new business.
Here, we’ve listed the most in-demand administrative skills that your resume needs.
Organization
Organization is the number one skill for Administrators. Businesses need to know they can rely on you to complete your own tasks and ensure the rest of the office can run smoothly – exceptional organization is key to that.
If you’re an excellent organizer, you most likely have skills in planning, multitasking, prioritizing, time management, and calendar management, too. Your To-Do list is usually a Done list by the end of the day due to your organizational superpowers.
Communication
Whilst communication is an important skill for most professionals, it’s absolutely vital for an Administrator. From relaying messages and writing emails to interfacing with suppliers and customers or building relationships across the team, your verbal and written communication skills will need to be first-class. That means you’re professional, discreet, concise, and articulate at all times.
Attention to detail
Sloppy work not only looks unprofessional, it costs time and money to put right. An Administrator understands that and consistently works with accuracy and meticulous attention to detail to produce work of the highest quality. Errors are rare, and colleagues know that they can trust you to produce work that can be presented to management or clients.
IT literacy
Technology moves forward at an alarming pace – and as an Administrator, you need to keep up! Gone are the days of desks stacked high with paperwork; in are the days of Microsoft 365, Google Suite, and online collaboration software. Make sure your resume shows that you can not only use relevant office applications, but that you can learn new software quickly and even support colleagues in using it.
Problem solving
Somehow, as an Administrator, you become the go-to person if there’s a problem. Your unflappable nature and your natural ability to find solutions quickly become indispensable. Whether a colleague has failed to plan and needs help getting a project across the line, or a client has thrown a spanner in the works at the last minute, you’re reliable in developing workable solutions and smoothing over mishaps. This valuable skill is definitely a key selling point on your resume!
Teamwork
You may not be in charge, but somehow, the team still revolves around you. From planning the Christmas event to organizing refreshments for long meetings to managing the never-ending demand for sticky notes, you have a knack for bringing the team together and making sure it functions like clockwork. Don’t neglect to mention this skill on your resume.
Customer service
Whether you’re supporting internal or external customers, you provide service with a smile and always exceed expectations to provide a positive experience. Hiring managers are always looking for someone professional, courteous, and ready to go that extra mile, so customer service skills are worth including on your resume.
Record keeping
Some people are content in chaos, always rummaging on their desks or through their overflowing inboxes for that one vital piece of information. Not you! Your filing and record-keeping are the envy of the office, as you can lay your hands on the required details at a moment’s notice and probably even foresee the request coming.
Adaptability
The only constant in life is change, as the saying goes. While you can thrive on routine to get tasks done efficiently, you’re also adaptable and open to change. In the fast-paced modern business world, employees who can work flexibly and willingly take on new processes and ideas are valued.
How to add administrative skills on your resume
As you prepare a resume for your next administrative role, you’ll want to include these skills throughout the document. We have some top tips on where and how you can add these job-winning skills and some resume examples that you can use as inspiration.
Administrative skills in the Profile section of your resume
As the first thing a hiring manager reads, this paragraph at the top of your resume is vital in ensuring your resume makes an impact from the very start. State exactly what you do and highlight your top administrative skills here. If possible, give a hint at the contribution you can make to a new employer by highlighting one of your main administrative achievements. For example:
An organized and efficient Administrator, with an extensive background in the FMCG sector. Combine a resourceful attitude with proven customer service skills. Enjoy contributing to team efforts and is recognized as an approachable, flexible professional. Calm under pressure, methodical, and able to prioritize conflicting demands to consistently achieve deadlines. Recently reduced time spent onboarding new customers by 2 days per month by automating office processes.
Administrative skills in the Key Skills section of your resume
The Key Skills, or Core Competencies, section of your resume is a great place to highlight the most in-demand skills. Use the job advert to inform your decisions of what to include in this section, so that it’s tailored to the exact requirements of the role. Here’s an example of an Administrative Assistant skills summary:
Administration | Customer Service | Calendar Management | Filing | IT Literacy | Teamwork | Organization | Prioritization | Problem Solving | Attention to Detail
Administrative skills in the Professional Experience section of your resume
Of course, you’ll have the opportunity to expand on these skills in the Professional Experience section of your resume. Rather than just listing your responsibilities, such as “filing,” “answering phone calls,” and “scheduling management meetings,” aim for a more compelling and engaging summary of your experience by making your bullet points achievement-focused. Showing how you contributed is a great way of making recruiters and hiring managers sit up and pay attention.
Try these administrative experience examples for size:
Enabled the team to provide first-class customer service by developing an easy-to-use online filing system for contracts and other documentation
Received positive feedback in appraisals for the quality and accuracy of work completed
Improved team morale by planning successful offsite team-building events and optional socials
Which administrative skills are most important in your sector?
In addition to the basic administrative skills listed above, you’ll also need to include more specific skills. If you’re planning a career transition within the same sector, try to add some skills and experience that show off your knowledge of the industry and the role. The actual skills you choose to add here will vary from sector to sector, but you’ll be able to gather ideas from job descriptions. You can also do some research online for in-demand skills by looking at relevant company websites and the LinkedIn profiles of others in similar roles.
FAQ about administrative skills on your resume
You should be feeling pretty confident about adding administrative skills on your resume by now, but let’s take a look at a few FAQs to round off the advice.
Is office administration a skill?
Absolutely! Office administration is a skill in itself, but to be successful at it, you’ll need to leverage many other skills, such as the ones we’ve discussed above. Office Administrators are experts in a whole variety of professional skills that come together under the umbrella of office administration.
What are the most important skills for an Administrative Assistant?
An Administrative Assistant needs all the skills we’ve mentioned above. As an Assistant, you may not use them at the same level as a fully-fledged Administrator, but they are nevertheless important skills to showcase on a resume. Of all the skills we’ve listed, organization is probably the most crucial.
Are administrative skills soft skills?
Many administrative skills, such as the ones we’ve listed above, are soft skills. However, your resume should also include hard skills, which are the skills acquired through learning or experience. For example, you may wish to add specific IT applications you can use or include your typing speed.
Expert Tip
Check out our example of an Administrative Coordinator resume for more inspiration!
Step confidently into your next administrative role
Armed with a resume that proudly shows off your amazing administrative skills, you’re ready to hit the job market and land your next administration role. Good luck!
Still unsure? Why not send your resume for a free review by the ZipJob team? They’ll provide feedback to help you put your best foot forward.
Recommended reading:
Written by
Jen David, Editor & Content Writer, Jen David, Editor & Content Writer
Jen David has been writing CVs since 2010 and is the founder of CV Shed. She has worked with clients in numerous industries and at all stages of their careers, from students through to senior executives of global businesses. She loves producing polished, focused CVs that appeal to both human recruiters and applicant tracking systems, enabling her clients to take the next step in their careers. Jen has written and edited numerous articles for publication on industry-leading job boards.
