An office job can be a great career. There is good career progression to go on to become an office manager. If you’ve started as an office administrator or an administrative assistant, you can go the same path too. We will show you in this guide how to create a perfect resume.
Additional Information About The Office Job Resume
On average, an office assistant earns around $35,000 per annum and can go up to $49,000 with years of experience (Payscale.com).
General office clerks average salary is around $35,000, receptionists around $31,000 and secretaries and administrative assistants around $40,000 per year (U.S. Bureau of Statistics).
Here’s something you may be interested in knowing. The top companies where HR managers are hiring for office jobs are LHC Group, Inc., Wellspan Health, USC University Hospital, Westat Inc., and others. We’ve detailed how a job-winning resume for career changers and freshers should look like. We also have given plenty of office assistant resume examples to help you out.
Example of an Office Job or Office Assistant Resume
Here’s a quick office assistant resume example of a professional office assistant resume to get a brief idea about how your resume should be. You can use a similar office assistant resume template too.
Office Assistant
Nevada
773-1114-5668
Tatiana.williams@gmail.com
Professional Summary
Office Administrator with five years of experience and great problem-solving and organizational skills. Applies professional telephone voice and technique to efficiently manage multi-line communication systems and use Office suites and collaboration tools.
Education
False Bay College
Cape Town
Skills
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Leadership reports
Reading comprehension
Research
Coordination
Transporting files
Check process
Executive presentation development
Experience
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Greeted and assisted customers professionally and courteously at the entrance.
Provided domestic and international travel arrangements for staff members, including airline tickets, hotel reservations, and vehicle rentals.
Provided clerical services, handled necessary supplies and office equipment, responded to messages, scanned documents as required, and routed all business correspondence.
Improved accuracy and efficiency of administrative support procedures by detailing and prioritizing tasks and handling incoming calls. Ensured office running smoothly throughout.
How to make the Best Office Assistant Resume
Hiring managers will be on the hunt for experienced or candidates who can fit the organization well. Of all the hundreds of resumes on their desk, if you want yours to be picked up and called for an interview, it should be exceptional. Crafting a resume is not easy. We get it. So here’s the first step to designing an office assistant resume:
The layout of the Office Job Resume
The resume layout is how you place the points, use colors, fonts, font size, and more.
You may have an impressive office assistant resume, but at first glance, if it is not visually appealing, you will not be able to get past the initial round.
Keep the below points in mind while writing your resume:
Font Size – Font style and size are crucial to enhancing the overall look of your office assistant resume. If you’re using readymade templates, go with the default font size.
Bullet points – Pointers are great on a resume. They are crisp and concise, communicating your point across in a straightforward manner without being too boring. Add bullet points to your resume.
Colors – You may think a professional resume is all about adding your expertise and experiences. You’re right but only partially. Colors play a major role too. Loud or dull colors can put the reader off at first glance. Add minimal yet professional-looking colors to your resume.
The structure of the Office Job Resume
Once you’ve decided on the colors and the font, we suggest you structure your resume in reverse chronological order. That means you need to add your recent work experience or the highest education at the top and then add others.
Hiring managers want to know what you did in your last job and not the job five years ago. We all evolve with time, so do our job responsibilities. You would have started as an office assistant and moved on to become an office manager; putting your first job at the top doesn’t help the manager know your ‘new’ evolved version. It takes time to skim through the details, and we all know how much time a hiring manager has. So, always put the latest information at the top of your resume.
If you want to know more about the resume format, be sure to check out our office assistant resume examples.
Start with the Header of the Office Job Resume
Your header of the Office Job Resume is like the title of this blog post. I bet, without the title, you wouldn’t have clicked it. Your resume header works the same way too. Without knowing who you are, the hiring manager will downright be confused and put your resume aside. But, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We have written an example header and the type of header that should be avoided.
Example of a Office Job Header
Here is how to and how not to add the header to your resume:
Office Assistant
Nevada
773-1114-5668
Tatiana.williams@gmail.com
Do you see the difference? The first one looks so informal and doesn’t have the necessary details like your email id and phone number. It’s always good to break down any information and add it to your resume. The second one works like a charm. One, it’s easy to read. Two, all the main details are specified clearly. Do this to yours and see how your resume shines.
Is a photo required in the Office Job Resume?
Photo or no photo? That’s a debatable question. While some say adding a photo to your resume can help the HR manager know you on a better level, others say the resume showcases your skills and they hire based on it and not by looking at a mere digital print of the candidate.
Most of the jobs do not require adding a photo. Around 80% of US human resources managers straightaway reject the profiles if a photo is included. So it’s best to avoid it in your office job resume.
Choosing your Office Job Title
Adding a one-line title does not harm your resume. If you thought the title doesn’t matter, here’s what we’ve got to say to that. The title does give you an edge over others. You may have a super cool resume; well, some of them have it too, but if your title is just “office assistance,” reconsider and add a title. It adds weight to your resume.
Office assistant resume sample:
Tatiana Williams
Detail-oriented and organized Junior Office Assistant
Professional summary for an Office Job
A summary is about you in 2-3 lines. It doesn’t have to and shouldn’t include every aspect of your job but should have the relevant information in short. You need to communicate your entire experience and skills powerfully in your summary.
Let’s see how to write a summary here:
If you observe the two, the first shows your experience and also the roles you’ve handled. The second one is unclear and just says you can manage multiple things that are wrong and not specific to your job profile. As an office assistant, you need to be a great organizer and a communicator, and that should be highlighted in your summary. You can also write it is as a resume objective or objective statement instead of a summary.
Work Experience in the Office Job Resume
Introduction of the Professional Experience section
This section is one of the most important sections of your perfect office assistant resume. If you just add the company name on your resume, don’t even think of getting a call from the company. Professional experience is what you have done in your previous job.
Whether you’re someone fresh out of college or have years of experience, this section is a must. How to add an entry-level office assistant, you ask? Well, volunteering, internship, and others can be added to stay ahead of your peers. Let’s see how to describe and also an example to do so. Many tasks outside of an office job can translate well as office assistant work experience.
Describe your professional experiences on your Office Job Resume
Your professional office assistant resume should elaborate on the responsibilities handled in your previous office assistant jobs. You should add the following:
- The company name and the number of months or years you’ve worked.
- Your job role should be added without fail.
- The responsibilities held during office administration and your achievements in the company.
- You can also include volunteering experiences and other roles you’ve handled outside of your job. But keep in mind that it should be aligned to the company’s requirements you’re applying to.
Examples of professional experiences for a Junior Office Job
Here’s how the section should look on a junior office assistant resume.
Westat Inc., Jan 2018 – December 2019
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Producing error-free letters and supported senior directors by producing consistently professional presentations.
Prioritizing office assistant duties, maintaining records and office supplies inventory, making travel arrangements, answered multi-line phones, and Improved efficiency and accuracy of administrative duties and procedures by detailing them.
Managing, sorting, and distributing incoming calls and responded accurately and quickly. Reduced the loss or decline of contact with clients and customers.
Greeted customers with professional understanding and offered friendly assistance.
Examples of work experience for a Senior Office Job
Take a look at the work experience of a senior office administrator resume:
Westat Inc., January 2020 – Present
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Prepared and promoted open communication within the organization by preparing minute meetings and distributing them to the relevant participants.
Providing clerical services, answering phone calls, responding to messages on time, scanning documents, and channeling business communication.
Implemented office procedures to serve clients and promote overall positive user experiences
Implemented physical and digital filing systems for easy access by the team of the company documents, scheduled appointments, and handled business administration
Education in the Office Job Resume
If you have a high school diploma, you will easily qualify for a junior role as an Office Assistant. Here, you need to add your college name, your specialization subject, and the year you graduated. You will have to include your education details after the professional section. Let’s see how to write an office job resume here.
Should you start with education or work experience in a Office Job?
It’s always good to start with your work experience and then go to the education section. However, if you’re a junior, adding your education first works best so you can highlight your strengths rather than your lack of experience.
How to properly list your education in an Office Job Resume?
For an office job resume, you need to showcase highly organizational and verbal skills. In your education section, adding the following will help recruiters understand you better.
- Include the name of the institution you studied at. Add the number of years and the course taken.
- You need to add your GPA under this section.
- You can also include workshops and training sessions attended or any other certifications obtained.
As an office assistant, you need to be people-friendly, highly motivated, be a multi-tasker, and organize and manage well. If you have done or held positions in your college that showcase these relevant skills, you can add them. It will help in your next job too.
Example of the education section of an Office Job Resume
Bachelor of Business and Administration, 2014-2017
GPA – 3.5/4
Skills to put in the Office Job Resume
This is the next section of your own resume after the education. Here, you’re supposed to add the key skills you’re good at. An office assistant with work experience and can make it too.
What are the main skills sought for in an Office Job Resume?
Let’s check out the main skills for an Office Job resume here:
Common office assistant skills to include:
- Accounting skills
- Training and development
- Office supply management
- Legal administrative professionals support
- Mail management
- Database organization
- Staff training and development
- Executive presentation development
- Financial aid application review
- Process improvement
- Account Management
- Minute taking
- Data entry
Other skills:
- Excellent written communication
- Self-starter and a positive attitude
- Tech-savvy
- PC proficient
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Outstanding management skills
What skills for a junior office job?
For an entry-level office Job, you can include these skills in your resume:
- Basic computer system proficiency
- Excellent communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Excellent time management
What skills for a qualified senior office job?
If you’re an Office Manager with years of relevant experience, you can add the following skills.
- Legal office support
- Staff training and building
- Process management and improvement
- Ability to handle administrative office assistant duties
Write the Ideal Resume Hook for an Office Job Resume
A hook in your office assistant resume is a short and crisp line about you, your experience, and what you’re looking for. You need to go through the organization’s job description you’re applying for and then write a hook tailored to that. Most often, candidates don’t write a hook or keep the lines for all the jobs. You should avoid that.
Example of a tagline for a junior office job worker
Sample tagline for a senior level office job worker
Additional Headings for your Office Job Resume
These headings are up to you to add to your office assistant resume, but we recommend you to include them as it will help recruiters know you other than the job skillset better. It also helps you be the best of the rest. Office assistants are sure to make the resume better with these.
Computer skills and certifications in an Office Job Resume
You don’t have to be a tech geek to perform office job duties. If you know how to use spreadsheets, data entry, and know-how of how the basic functions work on a computer. If you know how to work on MS Excel, Microsoft Office, data entry, Google Suite, it will be a bonus. You can also add certification courses or workshops attended in this section.
Interests in an Office Job Resume
Here, you can add your hobbies. But it’s not always necessary. If you’ve done any volunteering work or worked for a cause, you can add it. But ensure it aligns well with the job requirements.
Languages in an Office Job Resume
An office assistant should have exceptional verbal communication. And sometimes written skills too. If you’ve taken up any English language tests, you can add them here. If you’re multi-lingual, you will be able to set yourself apart since you need to collaborate and manage an international association in an office job. You can have a look at our office assistant resume sample for better insights.
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Add this section in the end. It’ll be a part of office skills
Add separate headers and don’t include them in between
Specify your scores and professional certifications here
Summary: Key Points for Writing a Perfect Office Job Resume
Let’s rewind and take a look at all the pointers again to create an office assistants resume:
- Add an excellent hook and a great professional summary
- Keep sentences short and to the point
- Use bullet points where necessary
- Tailor your resume summary and interests to the job description
- Keep the overall layout of your resume minimal
- Include your main interests and key skills in cover letters that aligns with the job
Write a Cover Letter That Goes With Your Office Job Resume
Cover letters are great to add while applying for the job. Though not all organizations specify it, we consier it essential as most employers expect it. You can design one and its another great opportunity to sell yourself to the employer. Your office assistant cover letter should not be more than one page and should include all your core strengths, interests, and the answer to why you’re the right fit for the organization.
Frequently Asked Questions for an Office Job Resume
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How do I write a resume for an office job?
You can write a professional office assistant resume as per our recommendations above. With all the relevant sections, your resume is sure to be exceptional. You can also make one using readymade templates or resume builders. You also need to add a cover letter along with your resume.
What are office skills for a resume?
For office jobs, you need to have an eye for detail, data entry, great collaborative skills, time management, and organizational skills. Additionally, you should have experience using a computer. You can add these to your cover letter. Having a bachelor’s degree or a high school diploma can land you an office job.
How do I describe my office assistant on a resume?
We’ve mentioned the steps to describe your experience and skill on your best office assistant resume sample. You can add them accordingly or go through our tailor-made templates or resume builder and create your perfect resume with a single click. You can also check out our career blog for more details.
