INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Secretary positions are at a -7% growth rate, which is negative. With that said, there are currently 3,363,900 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to decrease by -226,200 to 3,137,700 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Secretary jobs was $40,990 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $26,880, and the highest 10% more than $67,510.
Our conclusion? The Secretary job market is facing competition due to decreasing demand.
Top secretary sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write the perfect secretary resume experience section
Secretary Experience Section: Checklist
- List your positions in chronological or reverse-chronological order;
- Go for 4-6 bullet points;
- Add only relevant work experience;
- Include information about the challenges you’ve faced, the actions you’ve taken, and the results you’ve achieved;
- Use action verbs instead of filler words.
We’ve selected some of the top Secretary resumes made using the Enhancv platform to illustrate what a great experience section looks like. Use them as inspiration when building your own resume:
- Rapidly progressed career within the organisation.
- Wide range of public inquiries face to face, via email and hotline.
- Managing a team of seven secretaries, doubling as a PA to the Dean, updating website content, organising local and international events, Board meetings and seminars.
- Developing various projects, managing a choir, processing a collection of research articles, liaising with printing companies, researchers and reviewers from local and international organisations.
- Complete requests by greeting customers, in person or on the telephone; answering or referring inquiries.
- Organization of work by reading and routing correspondence; collecting information; initiating telecommunications.
- Providence of historical reference by utilizing filing and retrieval systems
- Reporting on the overall political situation in the country and at regional level with a special view to ASEAN and relations with the EU and Member States;
- Coordinates the EU's work in the field of human rights in Malaysia according to the EU Human Rights Country Strategy and chairs the bi-monthly Human Rights Working Group meetings;
- Conducts analysis and reports in the fields of Justice, Home affairs, security, the rule of law, human rights as well as good governance in the host country and at regional level;
- Monitors ongoing projects funded under the EIDHR, Migration and Asylum and other relevant thematic budget programs;
- Expands EU-Malaysia cooperation in the area of migration, rule of law, good governance, fight against corruption and law reforms;
- Answering to qustomer's inquiries, demands and filing.
- Scheduling payment lists for the suppliers.
- Arraning visits outside the country, booking hotels, programming the business trips.
- Organizing meetings, conferences and visits of foregn suppliers.
- Taking care for the everyday practical matters of the company.
- organized participation of HCPs in 10+ international congresses
- organized 50+ local events, meetings, trainings
- led office relocation activities (incl. physical relocation, IT relocation, new premise furnishing and equipment) with 0 working days loss
- Serves as formal liaison for Campaign spokesperson and key executives
- Develops and implements media, communications, and public relations strategies for the Campaign
- Creates and distributes Campaign content including weekly newsletters, press statements, press releases, blog posts, and notable media clips
- The job included day to day secretarial duties.
- Assisting the Company Secretary and Director as and when required.
- Preparing all Export documentation for shipment of goods
- Co-ordination with Clearing Agents for follow up on shipments /delivery
- Organised Junior and Senior State championships (2013-2015).
- Interacted with more than 17 schools and 5 colleges to organise rowing initiation camps to increase awareness and participation.
- Organised summer camps for school children U-16 to promote rowing in the region.
- Managed team of 70 people directly & organized five reunions and mega alumni meet
- Implemented the centralized alumni portal
- Raised a funding of Rs. 1 Crore for infrastructural development
PRO TIP
Make sure to relate your experience to your job description, but never lie. That’s not tolerated and will show up in the face-to-face interview later on.
Action verbs for your secretary resume
Recommended reads:
Secretary Resume: How to Write a Strong Skills Section
The ultimate secretary skills section checklist:
- Balance between all kinds of hard skills – technical, analytical, etc.
- When it comes to technical skills, match them to the job description;
- Add keywords present in the job advert to pass ATS;
- Don’t forget to list transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, work ethic, and presentation skills.
Top skills for your secretary resume
iSAMS
Serco Facility
WCBS
SAP
Keynote
JotForm
Internet
Windows
Word
Excel
Communication
Planning and organisation
Prioritization
Efficiency
Responsibility
Problem-solving
Attention to detail
Customer service
Phone Etiquette
Discretion
PRO TIP
When picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
Recommended reads:
Secretary Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
CHECKLIST For Your Secretary Resume Header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have non-discrimination policies about what kind of information can be included on your Secretary resume. This might include a photo (which is often included in a resume header and might be on personal web pages you link to). You can always email the company’s HR department to ask about their policies before you apply.
Secretary resume summary: things to include and things to avoid
Job-winning secretary resume summary checklist:
- Mention your total years of experience in the field;
- Highlight one or two of your top achievements;
- Avoid getting into too much detail – you’ll do that in the experience section;
- Focus on short sentences that are easy to read and add value to your application.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
When writing a resume summary or objective, avoid first-person narrative.
Recommended reads:
Highlighting education, courses, and certifications in your secretary resume
Education section checklist:
- What? Where? What’s the result? Answer these questions when mentioning education and courses on your resume;
- Give preference to courses and degrees that are relevant to the job position;
- Be honest! Some recruiters love checking with colleges and universities to see if you’ve really been enrolled in them;
- Share more about certifications that have helped you turn into a professional, and mention the bodies that have issued them.
Top certifications for your secretary resume
Becoming a Legal Secretary
You do not need specific qualifications to become a legal secretary, but you will need excellent administrative and word
Effective Legal Office Administration
Effective Legal Office Administration
The Legal Support Specialist
The ultimate course for Legal Assistants, Legal Secretaries, Paralegals and any legal support staff.
Introduction to Legal Concepts
Introduction to Legal Concepts
Technology and Innovation for Legal Professionals
The ultimate course for legal professionals to become tech-savvy and have a competitive edge in the legal market
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Secretary resume format 101
If a couple of years ago Secretary resumes could be text files with no graphic elements, today’s recruiters need a bit more to remember you.
And yet, you can still choose between three basic resume formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
But when it comes to choosing the right format for your Secretary resume, there are two factors to keep in mind: your experience and whether you’re looking for an industry change.
The reverse-chronological format is the most common one. That being said, it gives recruiters exactly what they’re used to in terms of order and information. However, it’s not suitable for applicants with employment gaps or not enough experience.
We at Enhancv suggest the functional skills-based resume format for people with limited work experience who find reverse-chronological resumes irrelevant. This format showcases the applicant’s most significant accomplishments, skills, and strengths.
Don’t miss our resume format checklist:
- Go for a traditional easy-to-read resume font sized 10-12p;
- Don’t risk it: choose standard 1-inch resume margins;
- Make sure your Secretary resume fits in one to two pages;
- Save your resume in PDF to avoid having it edited by someone else.
Looking for more tips? Check out our job-winning guide for crafting a resume that gets you remembered!
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Other sections for your secretary resume
If the position you’re applying for allows for that, you can include some non-traditional sections in your resume. This will add a bit more depth to your application and will also give the hiring manager a better idea of who you are as a person.
Some ideas include:
A secretary resume recruiters would love
You’ve drafted an amazing Secretary resume, but are still not sure whether it will make a strong first impression? After all, recruiters go over tens of resumes each day, right?
Right! And the recipe for getting their attention includes a dash of creativity.
What’s more, a creative resume is perfect for adding your personality to the mix. For example, you could mention your favorite books, quotes, movies, or even what your day usually looks like.
Regardless of what you choose, make sure your levels of creativity match the industry, the company, and the position. Otherwise, your resume might look silly and inapt.
What makes a great secretary resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
