How To Hire An Administration Assistant
Complete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Administration Assistant hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.
Administration Assistant Recruitment Guide
What does a Administration Assistant do?
An Administration Assistant is responsible for most of the clerical tasks to ensure that employees can work efficiently and supports other staff. Most of these clerical tasks include answering phone calls, supporting with documents, ordering, receiving mail and other deliveries, and filing or sorting through paperworks.
Day to day tasks of a Administration Assistant
- Greet visitors upon entry and accommodate their requests or concerns.
- Answer phone calls and transfer to the appropriate department, if necessary.
- Receive and distribute mail and other deliveries.
- Prepare communication materials such as memos, announcements, invoices, and the likes.
- Maintain filing systems, both physical and digital.
- Ensure the work stations are clean and neat.
Administration Assistant definition
An Administration Assistant’s primary responsibility is to provide administrative and clerical support to the company. This helps other employees to be able to be more efficient in their day to day jobs. Because of the nature of the job, they require good communication skills and being organised to enable them to deal with all staff members proficiently.
HIRING PROCESS
Administration Assistant Hiring Process
Build the ideal candidate profile
Skills needed for a Administration Assistant
An Administration Assistant must have good communication skills as he/she will interact with people whether via call or in person. He/she will accept visitors and deliver mail and other correspondence to staff. He/she must also be organized as most of the day to day tasks vary.
- Organization
- Communication
- Attention to Detail
Pro Tip
You’re likely to receive a lot of applications for this role compared to more technical positions. Ensure that you are clear with the skills and qualifications you are looking for, and highlight the values of the company so that applicants know if they are fit for the role.
WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION BASED ON SKILLS
How to write a Administration Assistant job description
Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Administration Assistant job description:
Job Title: What position are you hiring for?
Summary: What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?
Responsibilities: An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization
Requirements: Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully
Benefits: Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer
Pro Tip
In building your candidate profile, remember you’ve already identified what skills are needed to succeed in the role. Here’s where to list your “must-have” skills and maybe a couple of “nice-to-have” skills. For example, an Administration Assistant must have a positive demeanour and have good communication skills. It is also nice to have experience on basic computer equipment.
SELECTING THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sample skill tests for a Administration Assistant
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Question 1
Organization
Question Type: Text
As an administrative assistant, you will be working across many different teams and projects.
How will you keep track of each project and what is required from you and when?
Question 2
Communication
Question Type: Video
Please record a short video outlining your relevant experience and why you think you would be a great fit for this role.
Question 3
Attention to Detail
Question Type: Presentation
Your boss, Bob, has asked you to make some quick edits to a presentation he is about to give. He has annotated the presentation with yellow sticky notes indicating what he needs changed.
INTERVIEW TOP PERFORMERS
How to interview a Administration Assistant
Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.
Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.
Making An Offer
How much does it cost to hire a Administration Assistant?
The US average for an Administration Assistant is $37,491 according to Glassdoor.com. Meanwhile, it is at $42,946 according to Salary.com. The lowest reported figure is at $31,000, and the highest is at $48,467.
Administration Assistant Salary United States
Administration Assistant salaries in the United States range from $31,000 – 48,467. The salary depends on the years of experience, additional skills, and location.
Source: Salary.com, Glassdoor.com
Administration Assistant Salary United Kingdom
Administration Assistant average salaries in the United Kingdom range from £18,826 – £21,734 (GBP), according to Payscale.com and Glassdoor.com, respectively.
Source: Payscale.com, Glassdoor.com
Administration Assistant Salary Australia
Administration Assistant average salaries in Australia range from $49,690 – $67,777 (AUD), according to Payscale.com and Talent.com, respectively. Entry level positions can start at a lower rate of up to $39,000 (AUD), but more experienced ones can be offered up to $77,217 (AUD).
Source: Payscale.com, Talent.com
