When employers sift through resumes for secretarial roles, they aren’t looking for the same traits they sought a generation ago. Modern secretaries need highlight specialized skill sets, including shorthand and proficiency with a variety of communication, scheduling, and planning platforms. If you have the qualities your employers need, use your resume to make this clear. Every section of your document should show off your proven abilities and set you apart from the crowd. Use this secretary example resume as a formatting guide and start drafting a winning document of your own. Ensure that every section and every line is precise, strong, and memorable.
Secretary Advice
To succeed as an assistant, a standout resume is a must. Our resume examples for secretaries and administrative assistants are designed to help you improve your own resume. Take advantage of these samples to build a great resume and win the job.
Resume Tips for Secretary
Don’t make the Secretary job hunt hard on yourself. Follow these basic guidelines to make sure you put your energy where it matters most.
- Create a financial backup plan. Some get lucky and find a job almost immediately. Other times it takes a few months. Know how you’ll deal with a long search financially so that you’re not forced into a mediocre position just to get a paycheck.
- Stay busy. Just because you’re looking for a job doesn’t mean you can’t be working. As you wait for an opportunity to arise, take on freelance projects that will fill out the time you’ve spent unemployed on your resume.
- Apply to new industries. Spreading your talents means not marrying yourself to one type of business. Think of this search as a chance to grow and seek out positions that allow this.
- Contact the hiring managers of the places you like. Because these individuals handle bringing in candidates for interviews, there’s a higher chance you’ll be noticed if they know your name. In addition, they can help you find any gaps the company may see as reasons not to contact you.
- Invest time in interview practice. Write out your answers to the more common interview questions and memorize them. Even if the actual interview questions differ, preparation allows you to collect your thoughts before being put on the spot.
Secretary Job Seeking Tips
Across the country, the most important aspect of any job candidate is their resume. It is the first impression company’s get about a potential hire. Should it not be acceptable, a person’s experience and career goals will count for nothing.
- Keep it to one page. Unless you’re applying for a senior management position, recruiters do not want to sift through pages of information. After all, the resume is designed to summarize, not ramble.
- Experiment with the design. Do you like the look of a left-justified header? Do you like smaller bullet points? Though it sounds silly, these small changes can add a lot to the visual attention your resume receives.
- Lying is forbidden. Do not ever list fallacies on your resume. As soon as you are found out, the company will blacklist you and warn other recruiters, potentially barring your entrance into the Secretary business scene.
- Make the language exciting. Open up a thesaurus and get to work. Recruiters go through hundreds of resumes, and anything to make yours sound different will earn you an upper hand in the fight to land an interview.
- Still include the date and locations of past jobs. Some modern resumes omit this information. Don’t omit it in yours. Companies want to know where you’ve been.