Your job description should begin with a concise overview of the open position and a brief description of your ideal candidate. Writing this summary will help you focus on the most critical qualities you seek in your next administrative assistant.

You might phrase it: “We seek an administrative assistant to join our fast-growing, highly congenial workplace. The ideal candidate is efficient, detail-oriented, and skilled in developing and maintaining workplace and customer relationships.”

About Our Workplace: Use this administrative assistant job description section to highlight what sets your workplace apart. This is also the perfect place to summarize your organizational mission and values and explain what makes your workplace unique. Do you manage a large corporation with multiple opportunities for career growth or a small business with close ties to the local community? Do you run a fast-paced retail enterprise or a highly organized institution?

One of the best ways to craft this section is to ask your existing administrative staff to craft two to three sentences describing what they like best about working for your organization. The more you can communicate the elements that make your work setting stand out, the more likely you will attract applicants who will succeed.

Administrative Assistant Job Responsibilities: The following list of day-to-day job responsibilities may differ significantly depending on your industry, business nature and size, and organizational needs.

• Provides administrative support to ensure efficient office operations.
• Maintains physical and digital filing systems.
• Answers phone calls and directs callers to appropriate personnel, schedules appointments, signs for incoming packages, and assists clients and other visitors.
• Responds to emails and other digital queries and correspondence.
• Manages calendars for senior staff, including making travel arrangements.
• Drafts and edits letters, reports, and other documents.
• Inputs and updates information in databases and spreadsheets.
• Prepares meeting agendas and takes meeting minutes.
• Coordinates logistics for meetings, including room setup and catering.
• Uses word processing and presentation software to create and edit documents.
• Operates and maintains office equipment, including printers, copiers, and fax machines.
• Works with maintenance staff and outside vendors to ensure office equipment is in good working order and office supplies are always on hand.
• Researches as requested and compiles and summarizes information for reports or presentations.
• Works closely with other administrative staff and supports other colleagues as needed.
• Works with sensitive information with discretion to maintain confidentiality and security and ensure compliance with privacy policies and regulations.
• Ensures that deadlines are met and adapts to changing priorities.
• Presents a positive and professional image for the organization.

Work Hours and Benefits: Next, you’ll want to include the required hours, salary range, and benefits of this position. To determine a fair offer for your city or town, you can use a salary tool like Monster’s, which allows you to input job titles and location to calculate estimates for low, median, and high salaries.

One of the best ways to use this section of your administrative assistant job description is to emphasize benefits and perks that are most likely to appeal to applicants, such as paid time off, health insurance, tuition reimbursement, and other professional development opportunities.

Administrative Assistant Skills: Some candidates are less likely to apply for positions if they think they have only some listed qualifications. Exhaustive lists of required skills and experiences can be especially detrimental if you want to strengthen your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and attract female applicants and candidates from underrepresented groups. For this reason, you may want to limit the number of required skills you include or divide your requirements between “required” and “optional” qualifications.

Skills

• Digital literacy and research skills, including the ability to analyze the reliability of information
• Familiarity with standard office platforms, such as Microsoft Office and QuickBooks
• Data management and entry skills, including the ability to maintain and improve filing systems
• Accurate record keeping
• Written communication skills
• Time management, multitasking, and flexibility
• Organizational skills
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Supply management and inventory control
• Interpersonal skills, professional and courteous demeanor, excellent office and phone etiquette, and the ability to diffuse tense situations
• Ability to work well under pressure and navigate multiple deadlines
• Proactive approach to problem-solving and process improvement
• Ability to work well independently and in collaboration with others
• Event planning and coordination