Administrative Assistant Resume Example (2026)

What recruiters look for

The office you supported: how many people, what kind of business and what you handled for them (calendars, phones, mail, records).
Software you can use on day one: Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, and any industry software (practice management, property management, CRM).
Volume and accuracy: calls, visitors, work orders, invoices or documents a day or month, and the errors you prevented.
Small improvements: a tracker, a template, a reminder system. They show you fix problems instead of just reporting them.
A friendly, professional manner: front-desk experience and a second language are real advantages.

Writing the summary

Say how long you have worked in office support, the kind of office, and the two things you are best at. Add a second language if you have one; it is a hiring advantage in many offices. Two or three sentences is plenty.

The summary in this example

Bilingual administrative assistant with four years of front-office experience in property management and a busy dental practice. I keep calendars, files and vendors in order for a 14-person office, answer people kindly in English and Spanish, and build the small spreadsheets that stop things from slipping.

First office job after retail or food service

Organized and friendly customer service professional with three years in retail, now moving into office administration. I handled cash, scheduling and customer questions for a store with $2 million in sales, and I hold the Microsoft Office Specialist certification in Word and Excel.

Administrative assistant in a medical or legal office

Administrative assistant with three years in a 6-attorney law office, handling calendars, court filing deadlines, client intake and billing entries in Clio. I keep confidential files in order and never miss a date.

Bullet points that work

Strong lines for this role, beyond the ones in the example. Borrow the shape and put in your own numbers.

Answered and routed about 80 calls a day on a 10-line phone system with a 2-minute average hold time.
Created a shared Outlook calendar for 4 conference rooms that ended double bookings.
Processed 150 vendor invoices a month and matched them to purchase orders with no late payments in a year.
Reorganized 12 years of paper files into a labeled digital system, cutting the time to find a record from minutes to seconds.
Prepared agendas, took minutes and tracked action items for a weekly 12-person management meeting.
Ordered office and kitchen supplies within a $1,500 monthly budget, saving 12% by switching suppliers.
Booked travel and hotels for 6 staff traveling to 20 conferences a year.
Trained 2 new receptionists on the phones, visitor log and filing system.
Typed and formatted 40 letters and reports a week using company templates.

Skills to list

Hard skills

Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams)
Google Workspace
Calendar and meeting scheduling
Data entry and typing speed
Records management and filing
Basic bookkeeping (QuickBooks, invoice processing)
Industry software (practice, property or case management)
Travel booking

Soft skills

Reliability
Friendly phone and front-desk manner
Discretion with confidential information
Juggling interruptions
Clear written communication

Certifications and licenses worth listing

Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS): a quick, recognized way to prove Word and Excel skills; Excel Associate or Expert is the most useful.
Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) from IAAP: the main credential for administrative professionals, worth working toward as you gain experience.
Industry basics: HIPAA training for medical offices or a notary public commission (set by your state) can be a plus in some offices.

Length and format

One page. Order: summary, experience (current job with four bullets, older ones with two or three), education, skills, certifications and languages. A two-column layout fits software and languages neatly beside your experience.

Common mistakes

Listing duties only (“answered phones”, “filed documents”). Add how many, how fast or what improved.
Writing “proficient in Microsoft Office” without saying which programs or how far you go in Excel.
Leaving out a second language, which many offices actively look for.
Typos and inconsistent formatting. For an administrative role, the resume itself is a sample of your work.
An unprofessional email address. Use a simple firstname.lastname address.

Questions and answers

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

Lead with transferable work: customer service, scheduling, cash handling, school office or volunteer roles. Add a Microsoft Office Specialist certification and a skills section with the software you know. The first alternative summary above is a model.

Should I list typing speed?

Yes, if it is above about 55 words per minute and the job involves a lot of data entry or transcription. Put it in the skills section.

What is the difference between an administrative assistant and an executive assistant?

An administrative assistant supports an office or a team; an executive assistant supports one or two senior leaders closely, managing their time and priorities. See the executive assistant example for the next step.

Administrative assistant resume example