How to write a resume for administrative and office jobs

The best administrative resumes are specific about scope: how many people you supported, which systems you used, what you handled on your own, and which processes you set up or improved. Those details separate you from the many applicants who list the same duties.

What people hiring in administrative and office usually look for

In general terms. Every employer is different, so read each posting closely.

• The scope of support: how many people, departments or executives you supported, and at what level.
• Software and systems: office suites, scheduling, accounting or customer databases, named as [software] until you fill in the real name.
• Accuracy and organization: records, filing, data entry, scheduling and follow-up that others relied on.
• Communication: phones, front desk, email and visitors, handled professionally and with discretion.
• Processes you set up or improved, such as a filing system, an ordering routine or a new checklist.
• Typing speed or other skill measures only if you have a recent, real result to quote.

How to structure a administrative resume

• A skills section with real software names. Recruiters and tracking systems search for software names. List the versions or modules you have actually used.
• Scope in the first bullet. For each job, open with who you supported and how many, then the tasks.
• Process improvements. If you built or fixed a system, give it its own bullet: what it was, what you did and what changed.
• Keep it to one page if you can. Administrative readers value a resume that is itself tidy and easy to scan.

Three layouts cover most situations, each in one column with standard headings:

• Administrative Professional: Administrative assistants and office staff with a steady history of support roles. Order: Summary, Skills and Software, Professional Experience, Education and Training.
• Executive and Office Manager: Executive assistants and office managers whose scope and improvements lead. Order: Summary, Professional Experience, Systems and Improvements, Skills and Software, Education and Training.
• Office Skills First: Career changers and people returning to work, where skills and software are the strongest match. Order: Summary, Skills and Software, Systems and Improvements, Professional Experience, Education and Training.

Example bullet structures

These are structures, not real results. Replace every [placeholder] with your own facts, and leave out any number you can't back up.

• Supported [number] [managers, executives or staff] in [department or office type], managing calendars, travel and meetings.
• Answered [number] calls per day and greeted visitors at a [type of office] front desk, routing requests to [teams].
• Processed [invoices, orders or records] in [software] each [day or week], checking [what you checked] before submitting.
• Created [filing system, template or checklist] that [what changed, e.g. made records easier to find; add a measured result only if you have one].
• Prepared [reports, minutes or documents] for [meetings or audience] using [software].

Action verbs for this field

Summary structures

• Administrative professional with [number] years supporting [number] [managers or teams] in [industry]. Skilled in [software] and [software], with a strong eye for [accuracy or scheduling].
• Executive assistant to [title level] with [number] years managing complex calendars, travel and [project type]. Known for discretion and [strength].

More structures by situation (career change, returning after a layoff, new graduate) are on our resume summary examples page.

Common mistakes

• Listing "Microsoft Office" or "computer skills" with no detail; name the programs and what you do in them.
• Writing a list of duties without saying how many people you supported or how much volume you handled.
• Leaving typos in a resume for a job that is about accuracy.
• Quoting a typing speed or test score you can't back up with a recent result.
• Including confidential details about past employers' clients or staff.

Do it yourself, or have it done

Questions

Other resume guides: customer service and retail, sales, it and tech support, and the career services page. Got laid off? See what to do after being laid off.

General information, not career, legal or employment advice. We are not career counselors, and nothing here promises interviews, offers or a particular result.