Auction Assistant

One of the hallmark duties of an administrative assistant is answering a stream of telephone calls. You must remain courteous at all times and maintain a high level of efficiency. With these kind of administrative assistant interview questions and answers, the hiring manager wants to know that you are completely capable of this task.

An administrative assistant has to provide support to a number of different people under a number of different circumstances. Your ability to adjust successfully to different individuals and task requirements is very important. Provide specific examples of when you had to adjust your approach and behavior in different situations.

Administrative assistant interview questions will explore your ability to gather and manage information. Detail the types and volume of data you had to manage and how you ensured your information management was up to date and accurate.

The risk here is to sound negative, and interview guides always recommend avoiding this, so focus on the positive without being glib. Highlight an area that you know to be commonly unpopular and discuss how you handle that so it does not impact on your performance.

It is important to ensure that your answer largely reflects your own education history. Cover academic qualifications, plus ongoing professional development, practical training such as mentoring or coaching and membership of any professional institutions.

Depending on the size of your prospective employer, you make have to work with another or multiple administrative assistants. Together, you will manage the necessary administrative tasks to make the enterprise as effective as possible. Give an example of how you were able to delegate and focus as an integral part of a team. Keep the anecdote short, but make your point.

Focus on how specific elements of the role relate to your own skills and experience in order to highlight your strength as a candidate. Also, be sure to cover how the role aligns to your personal and professional development ambitions.

One of the best interview tips is to ensure you have a good understanding of the organisation and its products and services and be able to relay this clearly and authoritatively. There is no need to be an expert at this stage but you should be able to talk confidently about the history of the organisation as well as its place in the market and key people.

Interview guides recommend discussing your membership of any professional or academic institutions, reading blogs, articles and newsletters, and attending networking events. Also, mention your own professional network of fellow Accounts Assistants that you are continually growing and developing.

The example given should convey how a combination of technical expertise and personal characteristics enabled you to successfully deliver within very challenging constraints.

In most administrative assistant jobs you will find yourself using various computer programs. Make sure you are honest, as you don’t want to be asked to do something on your first day and have to admit that you lied in an interview. Think about classes you’ve taken and programs that you've used in previous roles.

“I have a lot of experience using all Microsoft Office programs like Word, Publisher, PowerPoint and Excel. In fact, I recently took a class at the community center to really get a feel for Excel and everything it has to offer. In addition, my previous roles had me putting together many PowerPoint presentations and I have basic PhotoShop knowledge.”

An office assistant is able to use various standard communication software, such as – emailing tools, Messenger, and Skype. Moreover, he/she is able to type and be proficient in Word, Office, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.

Administrative assistants have to work effectively as part of a team or group. Your answers should highlight your ability to build relationships with other group members and show how you contribute to team success.

Your prospective employer wants to know how you respond to setbacks. This reveals a lot about your drive and ability to learn from your mistakes. When you encounter administrative assistant interview questions and answers like this, it is imperative to keep your reply positive. Focus more on how you overcame the setback or issues. Furthermore, show how it made you a more effective professional.

Again, these should relate to the role in question. A final interview tip is to make sure your goals appear clearly thought out and well articulated to demonstrate that this is a serious and ongoing consideration.

Office assistants typically write any or all of the following: thank-you letters, newsletters, labels, donor and annual reports, emails, messages, fax messages, etc.

It is tempting to adopt a common interview tactic by glossing over this, or to provide a fake answer by attempting to dress up a strength as a weakness. This is a mistake. The interviewer will want to see an example of self-awareness and a commitment to self-improvement.

Interview questions and answers like this are another opportunity to demonstrate that you have done your homework so instead of focusing on pay and benefits, talk about how the philosophy of the organisation impresses you and how you are excited at the prospect of making a contribution to its ongoing success.

When you are asked about your strengths, you want to relate your response to skills and abilities that are relevant to your prospective position. Perhaps you are excellent at speaking and working with clients or keeping the office impeccably organized. Either of these can be highly prized in the right environment. Frame your strengths as an asset to your prospective employer.