Office Assistant Resume Example

After reading this guide, you'll know what it takes to create a resume that really stands out from other office assistant applicants. You'll find valuable tips on writing a resume that best showcases your unique skills and achievements. There is also extensive guidance on how to structure your resume to match the job description, and to reflect your experience levels to impress HR specialists and employers. Read on to access expert insights from Jobseeker that will help you create a winning office assistant resume.

Key sections for an office assistant resume

Although the content of an office assistant resume may differ according to your experience and seniority, the main sections will remain the same. If you're lacking relevant work experience, you might choose to add sections that showcase your skill set earlier than in a traditional resume layout. These sections might include projects, education, hobbies and interests, skills and other optional sections.

Your resume layout and structure may differ depending on your experience levels, but make sure your resume includes the following:

Resume Header

A office assistant resume header contains your name and contact information. Add your first and last name, your phone number and your email address. Include your address or location, but avoid adding any other personal information. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can add the URL to your header so the hiring manager can get a better understanding of your work history and experience. Create a clear, well-structured header that acts as the headline of your resume. Use color accents and blocks to help this section stand out and catch the eye of the reader.

Make sure the email address you list in your header is professional-looking and doesn't contain any inappropriate content such as nicknames or unsuitable language. Opt for an email address based on your name or profession, or a combination of both. Finally, check your contact details before sending your resume, to ensure everything's up-to-date.

Resume Profile

Your resume personal profile is a short, concise paragraph to highlight two or three key skills and achievements in office assistant roles. You may also see this section named as 'resume summary' or 'resume objective'. Resume summaries tend to focus on your career experience, while resume objectives cover your ambitions and plans for the future. Furthermore, when writing your profile, focus on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for office assistant roles.

Alternatively, focus on introducing your career ambitions, and why this role is a good fit, both for you and the organization.

A good resume summary is short and snappy, and focused on the skills and experience listed in the job description, with evidence to back it up. It will also help the reader to form their first impressions of you by providing an insight into your personality and unique qualities. You can see some positive examples of a resume summary for office assistant jobs below.

On the other hand, an unsuccessful resume summary is one that mentions irrelevant skills, qualities and achievements and fails to differentiate you from other candidates. See above for some examples of things to avoid when writing your office assistant resume summary.

Skills

Listing your key skills can help to prove your suitability for office assistant jobs. These could be quickbooks accounting knowledge, proficiency in MS or various other relevant skills. Once more, review the job description and pick out any key office assistant skills listed that match yours. Focus on these skills and any other key transferable skills that make you a strong candidate for the job.

Showcasing hard skills on your office assistant resume

Hard skills are specific skills related to the job you're applying for. They include particular abilities, technical skills and industry knowledge that relate directly to jobs as an office assistant. Furthermore, your list of hard skills provides a strong indication to the reader of your expertise in office assistant roles, and how well you'll fit into the position. If possible, add four or five hard skills that reflect the requirements of the job description. These will boost your chances of success in your applications.

The best resume hard skills sections focus on specific technical skills necessary for the job, showcasing skills that you have particular expertise in. There are some examples of valuable hard skills for an office assistant resume below.

Adding soft skills to your office assistant resume

Soft skills are the personal skills and qualities that make you a good fit for the job. They include transferable skills and strengths that help you settle into the role, adapt to new challenges and build effective working relationships. In fact, you can develop soft skills throughout your career, and they tend to be suitable for various roles and professions. It's best to aim for four or five soft skills that match the job description and reflect your strongest personal qualities.

Your soft skills section should make the most of your unique personal qualities and strengths, while also reflecting the requirements laid out in the job description. See below for some examples of useful soft skills for an office assistant resume.

Education

The education section provides space to list your highest and most recent academic achievements that are relevant to working as an office assistant.

You don't tend to need a degree for office assistant roles, but you'll still need to list any relevant qualifications, or your relevant educational achievements. If you have Microsoft Office Specialist, add this here, along with any other education that shows your quickbooks accounting knowledge or crm software experience.

Enter the name and level of the qualification, the institution you studied at, its location and your dates of study or graduation. If you have space, include some bullet points outlining any specialist areas of study, awards or high grades, so the employer can learn more about your unique skill set and knowledge.

If you took part in any volunteering or you were a leader or member of any university societies, you could also mention these in your education section.

Relevant Certifications and Licenses

Your certifications section is the place to mention any relevant professional office assistant certifications, licenses or qualifications. Add any official certifications or accreditations that increase your level of qualification and suitability for working as an office assistant. Therefore, include the details of any licenses and professional certifications required for office assistant roles, along with completion dates so employers can see you're up-to-date.

Read on to see some relevant example certifications for an office assistant resume:

Work Experience

In your work experience section, list any previous relevant roles you've worked in, as well as your key achievements as an office assistant. Include any relevant jobs you've held in reverse-chronological order. Start with your current or most recent roles and work back through previous roles. For each job, list your title, the name of the company, its location and the dates you worked there.

Under each job entry, add several bullet points highlighting your responsibilities and achievements. Consult the job description for a list of the key requirements for the role and make sure your work experience section showcases how you meet these requirements.

A good resume work experience section includes your most relevant previous jobs and highlights your key achievements in each role. To make the best possible impression on hiring managers, make sure each entry in your work experience section references skills and experience listed in the job description, and shows how you added value to each role with quantifiable evidence and outcomes. See the examples below for some ideas of what a great resume work experience looks like.

In the graphic above, you'll see some examples of less effective resume work experience sections. A poor resume work experience section would typically use vague descriptions of activities in previous jobs, while focusing too much on responsibilities rather than achievements. Failing to focus on the skills and experience that match the job description is likely to harm your chances of success.

Optional Resume Sections

If you need to provide further evidence of your suitability for the job, optional sections can be useful for an office assistant resume. Add any of the sections below that help you showcase your key skills and experience.

Personal Hobbies and Interests

Including your hobbies and interests can be a valuable way of showing your key skills and qualities. They also help to show a different side of your personality, and can help your resume create a more memorable impression on hiring managers. If you're short on real world work experience, hobbies and interests can be a useful way of providing more information about your qualities. Think about adding hobbies and interests to your resume if they add some insight into your personality that you can't express elsewhere in your application.

Volunteering

Voluntary work can help you develop useful skills, so it's a valuable addition to your office assistant resume. List your volunteer job title, the organization you volunteered for, its location and the dates of your involvement, alongside a brief explanation of your responsibilities in the role.

References

Although it's rare to include references on an office assistant resume, some employers may ask for it. Don't add references unless they're specifically mentioned by the employer in the job advert. Include a maximum of three professional references, being sure to check with your referees before including them in your resume.

Best action words for your office assistant resume

Action words can help illustrate to the hiring manager the difference you made in each of your previous jobs. Choose from the list of words below to make the best possible impression.

If you want to create a resume that stands out from the crowd, use Jobseeker's expert-designed resume templates. You can also find cover letter templates that work to get you noticed by employers.

Sample resume for office assistant positions

Now that you know everything that needs to go into your office assistant resume, let's review an example resume that you can use as a guide when creating your own:

How to make your resume ATS compliant

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) help recruiters and employers to manage their hiring process. They can handle some of the more time-consuming and resource-intensive jobs, such as initial screening of resumes. Employers often receive hundreds of applications per vacancy, and ATS software can quickly and accurately scan and rank resumes based on their likely suitability for any role. When drafting your office assistant resume, there are a few guidelines to follow to give you the best chance of passing the ATS screening stage and progressing with your application.

Follow these guidelines to create the best ATS-friendly resume:

• Use a traditional resume layout, such as a reverse-chronological or functional format. This will mean your resume includes all the necessary sections, in the expected order.
• Use of job description keywords throughout your resume will help it rank higher in the ATS scanning stage, as it will more closely match the requirements laid out in the job description.
• Using clear, simple headings makes it easier for an ATS application to scan your resume, as it can easily identify what's in each section of your document.
• Use a resume design that includes clean, professional design elements to give your content space to breathe. This might include clear, readable fonts, subtle color accents and simple design elements.
• Adopt simple, professional language to keep your resume as concise as possible. This tends to make your document more readable, and easier for ATS software to scan.

Key points for your office assistant resume

Writing a strong, impactful resume is about using your experience to demonstrate your relevant skills and achievements. You can do this through your work history or other resume sections. Pick a resume format that matches your experience levels, and tailor the content of your resume to reflect the details of the job description.

Remember, Jobseeker resume templates and other tools make it easy to create a resume and cover letter that leaves a positive impression on hiring managers. Sign up now to start building your perfect resume. Jobseeker's expert-designed cover letter generator can help your applications make a strong first impression on hiring managers. Find detailed cover letter examples to complement your resume and get your application noticed.

Sources:

(1) Writing a Resume, California Department of Human Resources: https://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/resume-tips.aspx

(2) Resumes, Cover Letters and Job Applications, New York State Department of Labor: https://dol.ny.gov/resumes-cover-letters-and-job-applications