Administrative Assistant Job Description [With Examples] (2024)

Administrative assistants handle general office tasks and administrative duties, such as directing communications between colleagues and customers, organizing schedules and events, entering data, bookkeeping, maintaining office equipment and so on. An effective AA enables teams to be focused on their goals and prepared for anything that comes their way. It is a vital role, especially for teams and individuals that have a lot of plates in the air at all times.

Job Title: Administrative Assistant for [Company Name]

[Company Name] is more than a sports outfit retailer. It explores potential and eliminates boundaries to a healthy and relaxed life. The company seeks someone ready to improve the client experience by ensuring their fitness or relaxation journey flows seamlessly from day to day.

Offering a starting wage of $25.00 per hour, [Company Name] seeks a part-time administrative assistant who will grow with the company and enjoy benefits like a generous rewards package, a 30% discount on purchases and health insurance.

Administrative Assistant Duties & Responsibilities

• Greet clients and make them feel comfortable, both in person and over the phone
• Manage the schedule for fitness classes and therapy sessions
• Provide recommendations according to customer needs or preferences
• Provide essential details to potential clients, such as class or membership pricing
• Maintain front desk and verify that orders are placed as necessary to ensure necessary supplies are available at all times
• Direct clients to the appropriate departments for classes, therapy, or one-on-one training
• Ensure client records are up to date
• Alert the management of potential security issues

Education and Experience Requirements

• High school diploma
• Two years working in the service or administrative industry preferred

Required Skills

• Self-motivated, highly organized and detail-oriented
• Verbal and written communication skills
• Basic math and accounting skills

Preferred Skills

• Experience operating a cash register (as needed)
• Critical thinking, evaluation and analytical skills

If you meet the above requirements and would love to join us, please submit your application.

Application closes by the end of the month.

An administrative assistant job description describes both the employer and the job, in addition to defining a highly-qualified candidate. It should be descriptive and informative, and filter for candidates who can and want to do the job.

If the job responsibilities and qualifications sections are unclear, then you will attract unqualified candidates and repel the ideal ones. A poor job description can also increase turnover, as employees will leave if you sell them on one job and give them something other than what was described.

Your job description should include a short, informative job brief, followed by a descriptive list of responsibilities and qualifications (both required and preferred). Lastly, don’t forget to add any legally required language.

Job Brief

A job brief provides job seekers with top-level details about the job, and a sample of the duties and expectations that come with it. Here is where you will list the title of the job, who the AA reports to, day-to-day responsibilities, skills and qualifications, location (hybrid, remote or in person), travel requirements and other unique details about the job.

For those who do offer remote work, you should mention the number of days workers are expected to work at home versus in the office.

Responsibilities

The job responsibilities section should provide candidates with a thorough list of duties that they are expected to complete. Something simple such as “provides administrative support” can be interpreted in many ways. But “provides administrative support, such as entering data into the CRM, copying contracts and keeping meeting notes” doesn’t leave a lot of room for the imagination. Candidates don’t have to wonder if this job is right for them.

Here are examples of common responsibilities for administrative assistants:

• Maintain, organize and order general office supplies, including paper, pens, ink/toner, etc., to ensure teams have everything they need to succeed
• Greet and sign in visitors, guide them to the appropriate location and make them feel at home
• Manage and organize the team schedule using Google Calendar
• Book travel arrangements for executive staff
• Keep detailed meeting notes
• Answer and direct phone calls

Skills and Qualifications

The goal of your skills and qualifications sections is to filter for the candidates with most, if not all, of the skills and qualifications that are required to do the job. It needs to be thorough, with little room for interpretation; someone should be able to determine quickly if they are qualified for the job. You should limit this section to only the skills and qualifications that are relevant to the job because a long list can be intimidating and steer good candidates away.

• High school diploma or equivalent
• Valid driver’s license and passport
• X years experience as an executive-level administrative assistant in the [industry of choice]
• Experience working with multi-function printers, including the ability to scan documents and send them as an email attachment, configure copy settings and perform light maintenance tasks such as replacing toner cartridges
• Experience with office productivity suites such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
• Experience with CRM platforms such as Salesforce
• Strong multitasking and organizational skills

Preferred Qualifications

It’s important to distinguish between what skills and qualifications applicants are required to have, and those that are nice to have. If you group them together, an otherwise qualified applicant might think they are unqualified and forgo submitting their application.

• Types at least 65 words per minute
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business administration or equivalent
• Multilingual candidates preferred
• Prior experience as an administrative assistant is a plus

Other elements that you want to feature in the job description include details about compensation and benefits, how and where to apply and what supporting documentation to attach. You should also add some details about the company. Depending on your geography, you may need to add an equal opportunity employer statement and other legal details that are required by governments.

Administrative assistant roles entail so many little tasks that you’re bound to forget a few when you sit down to write your own AA job description. It helps to start the process by looking at existing listings, especially those from businesses that are similar in size or play in the same space as yours. Here are some examples to inspire you.

Example 1. Sales Administrative Assistant at Davidson’s

Job descriptions are about attracting attention and filtering for desired candidates. In this case,
Davidson’s listing achieves both of these goals with one question, right off the bat. The question is engaging, and encourages readers with desired traits to continue reading. Those without attention to detail aren’t likely to apply to a job that asks for attention to detail in the first sentence.

Description

Do you have a keen attention to detail and desire to be a part of a fast-growing and dynamic industry? If so, we encourage you to explore joining our team where you will receive excellent compensation and a comprehensive benefits package.

Davidson’s is a 90 years young innovative leader in distribution recognized for our excellence in customer service, product offerings, and financial stability.

Sales Administrative Assistant Position Overview

Davidson’s is currently seeking a full-time, in-house, Sales Administrative Assistant to join our Sales Administration Department and hardworking team in Prescott, Arizona or Chapin, South Carolina!

Sales Administrative Assistant Responsibilities:

• Coordinating team input on various deadlines for specific projects
• Proofing and tracking of manufacturer programs and promotions
• Creating, running, and troubleshooting various reports and data sets
• Handling customer service calls and feedback responses
• Recording and documenting procedures

Example 2. Administrative Assistant at CitiBank

The first thing that CitiBank does in this description is describe the role it is trying to fill, and the top-level tasks that the candidate would be responsible for. Right away, the candidate must consider if this job is right for them. Someone who isn’t interested in managing calendars and appointments isn’t going to pursue this job. Those who are interested, however, will read on. In other words, only people who can and want to do the job will apply.

Description

The Administrative Assistant provides support to another individual or group of individuals by handling correspondence, managing clendars and appointments, arranging conferences and conference calls, making travel arrangements and providing other administrative tasks.

Example 3. Receptionist/Administrative Assistant at Mercury Systems

A thorough, informative responsibilities section can make a huge difference in your retention rates. Mercury Systems does an excellent job of describing each responsibility in detail. It doesn’t just say that candidates will have to manage supplies; instead, it provides a detailed explanation of what managing the office supply inventory entails.

Description

You are responsible for:

• Answering phone calls and directing the caller to the appropriate personnel, department, or voicemail to ensure all calls are addressed
• Welcoming on-site visitors, determining the nature of business, and notifying visitors to appropriate personnel to ensure good customer service
• Providing callers with basic information such as company address, directions to company location, company fax numbers, company website and other related information
• Maintaining office supply inventory by checking stock to determine inventory level, anticipating needed supplies, placing and expediting orders for supplies, and verifying receipt of supplies to ensure supplies are available and organized at all times
• Maintaining office equipment by troubleshooting malfunctions, calling for and expediting repairs to ensure equipment are operational
• Assisting in generating requisitions for non-production materials in support of Engineering, Operations and Facility requirements