17 Administrative Assistant Resume Examples and Templates

Open with a summary that states who you support and your scope

Write three to four sentences that name your years and level, who and how many people you support, one or two headline results, and the role you are targeting. Say what you keep organized and on schedule, not what you want from the employer. Put your strongest number, usually the size of the team or the budget you manage, in the opening lines.

Administrative Assistant with 7 years supporting a 20-person consulting team. Manage complex calendars, coordinate domestic and international travel in SAP Concur, and run quarterly client events for up to 120 guests. Skilled in Microsoft 365, Outlook, and vendor and records management. Targeting a senior administrative assistant role supporting a leadership team.

Lead experience with calendars, coordination, and what you kept on track

The work an admin resume is hired for is measurable, so name it and attach one modest number to each bullet. Open every line with a strong verb, never "Responsible for".

• Support: state who and how many you support, like managing calendars and inboxes for a 20-person team.
• Coordination: name the volume, such as booking travel for eight executives or scheduling 40 meetings a week.
• Ownership: show the scope, like running a $200K office budget or planning events for 120 guests.
• Efficiency: quantify a fix, such as building a filing system that cut document retrieval from 15 minutes to two.

List education and administrative credentials

The degree or certificate supports the record, so keep this section tight and match the credential to your track.

• List your degree or diploma; a business, communication, or office administration background fits well.
• Add the credential that fits your seat: a CAP from IAAP for a career admin, an MOS for software proof.
• Match specialty certs to the role: a CMAA for medical, a legal-secretary credential for law, a SHRM-CP for HR.
• New to the field? A short administrative certificate plus an MOS shows you can run office software from day one.

Put your skills in the posting's language

An administrative skills block should read like the job description. Split it so a recruiter and a parser both find what they need.

• Software: name the suite outright, Microsoft 365 with Excel and Outlook, or Google Workspace.
• Coordination: calendar management, travel booking, expense reports in SAP Concur, and meeting coordination.
• Collaboration: the tools a modern office runs on, like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Asana.
• Specialty: name the system your niche uses, such as Epic for medical, Clio for legal, or Workday for HR.

Keep the format clean and ATS-safe

Most employers run administrative applications through an applicant tracking system, so a clean layout with standard headings is the standard.

• Use a single-column or simple two-column layout with headings a parser recognizes.
• Lead with your most recent role in reverse-chronological order and keep dates clean.
• Save as a PDF so the layout holds, then run it through our ATS resume checker for a format and keyword pass.
• Swap the numbers in the templates above for your own team size and workload; do not copy them as is.

How do I write a resume for an administrative assistant?

Start with your contact details, then a three-to-four-sentence summary that names who you support and your scope. Follow with a skills block, work history in reverse-chronological order, and education. Lead each role with the calendars, travel, records, or events you keep on track, and attach one modest number to each achievement: the size of the team you support, meetings scheduled, travel booked, or a budget you manage. Name the software you drive, like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, plus any specialty system your niche uses.

What are the top skills to put on an administrative assistant resume?

Match the posting first, then cover the core: calendar and email management, travel coordination, expense reports, meeting and event coordination, and records management. Name the software outright, Microsoft 365 with Excel and Outlook or Google Workspace, and the collaboration tools an office runs on, like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Asana. Add your specialty system where it fits, such as SAP Concur for expenses, Epic for medical, Clio for legal, or Workday for HR. The skills that appear in the job description belong near the top.

Should I use a resume objective or a professional summary?

Use a professional summary if you have a year or more of administrative or transferable experience, since it lets you lead with what you have supported and accomplished. Use a short objective only if you are entry-level or changing careers and need to state the role you are targeting and the transferable skills you bring. Either way, keep it to two or three sentences and lead with what you offer, not what you want from the employer.

How do I write an administrative assistant resume with no experience?

Lead with transferable work and the tools you already use. Retail, food service, campus jobs, club leadership, and volunteering all show scheduling, cash handling, customer service, and organization. Name the software you know, like Microsoft Office and Google Workspace, and quantify what you can: customers helped, a budget you tracked, events you set up. A short administrative certificate and a Microsoft Office Specialist credential show you can run office software from day one. The no-experience example above shows how to fill a strong one-page resume before your first office role.

How long should an administrative assistant resume be?

One page for most administrative assistants, including entry-level and mid-career applicants. Move to two pages only once you reach senior, executive assistant, or office administrator with a longer record to show. Lead with your most recent roles and strongest numbers, then summarize or drop positions older than about 15 years. A tight, quantified one-page resume beats a padded two-page one, and a recruiter scanning for team size and systems will find them faster.

What is the difference between an administrative assistant, a secretary, and an executive assistant resume?

The core skills overlap, but the scope differs, and your resume should show which one you are. An administrative assistant supports a team or department with scheduling, records, and coordination. A secretary or receptionist centers on front-office work: phones, visitors, and correspondence. An executive assistant supports one or a few senior leaders with complex calendars, travel, board logistics, and confidential work, so that resume leads with the executives supported and the judgment the role demands. Match your summary and examples to the title you are applying for.