As a temporary administrative assistant, you might struggle with effectively showcasing the diverse skill set and adaptability gained from various short-term roles on your resume. Our guide provides tailored strategies to help you present your temporary positions as a series of valuable learning experiences that demonstrate your professional growth and versatility to potential employers.
- Sample industry-leading examples to learn how to write your best resume yet.
- Improve the experience, education, and achievements section of your resume with insights from resume-writing professionals.
- Curate your technical expertise and personality to stand out amongst the pool of candidates.
- Succinctly focus on your unique skill set all through your temporary administrative assistant resume.
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Enhancing your temporary administrative assistant resume: format and layout tips
"Less is more" - this principle is key for your temporary administrative assistant resume design. It emphasizes the importance of focusing on why you're the ideal candidate. Simultaneously, it's crucial to select a resume design that is both clear and simple, ensuring your qualifications are easily readable.
Four popular formatting rules (and an additional tip) are here to optimize your temporary administrative assistant resume:
- Listing experience in reverse chronological order - start with your most recent job experiences. This layout helps recruiters see your career progression and emphasizes your most relevant roles.
- Including contact details in the header - make sure your contact information is easily accessible at the top of your resume. In the header, you might also include a professional photo.
- Aligning your expertise with the job requirements - this involves adding essential sections such as experience, skills, and education that match the job you're applying for.
- Curating your expertise on a single page - if your experience spans over a decade, a two-page resume is also acceptable.
Bonus tip: Ensure your temporary administrative assistant resume is in PDF format when submitting. This format maintains the integrity of images, icons, and layout, making your resume easier to share.
Finally, concerning your resume format and the Applicant Tracker System (ATS):
- Use simple yet modern fonts like Rubik, Lato, Montserrat, etc.
- All serif and sans-serif fonts are friendly to ATS systems. Avoid script fonts that look like handwriting, however.
- Fonts such as Ariel and Times New Roman are suitable, though commonly used.
- Both single and double-column resumes can perform well with the ATS.
Think about the location of your application – Canadian resumes, for instance, might follow a different structure.
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If you failed to obtain one of the certificates, as listed in the requirements, but decide to include it on your resume, make sure to include a note somewhere that you have the "relevant training, but are planning to re-take the exams". Support this statement with the actual date you're planning to be re-examined. Always be honest on your resume.
Fundamental sections for your temporary administrative assistant resume:
- The header with your name (if your degree or certification is impressive, you can add the title as a follow up to your name), contact details, portfolio link, and headline
- The summary or objective aligning your career and resume achievements with the role
- The experience section to curate neatly organized bullets with your tangible at-work-success
- Skills listed through various sections of your resume and within an exclusive sidebar
- The education and certifications for more credibility and industry-wide expertise
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- Proficiency in office software, such as Microsoft Office Suite and knowledge of administrative software like CRM systems.
- Demonstrated ability to manage scheduling and coordinate calendars for multiple staffers.
- Experience with data entry, record keeping, and excellent typing skills.
- Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, for internal and external correspondence.
- Evidence of high-level organizational skills and the ability to prioritize tasks effectively.
Quick guide to your temporary administrative assistant resume experience section
After deciding on the format of your resume, it's time to organize your experience within the dedicated section.
It's common for temporary administrative assistant professionals to be confused in this part of the process, as they may have too much or little expertise.
Follow the general rules of thumb to be successful when writing this part of your resume:
- The perfect number of bullets you should have under each experience item is no more than six;
- Select not merely your responsibilities, but the most noteworthy achievements for each role that match the job requirements;
- List any certificates or technical expertise you've gained on the job and how they've helped you progress as a professional;
- Carefully select the power verbs to go along with each bullet to avoid generic ones like "managed" and instead substitute those with the actuality of your particular responsibility;
- Integrate valuable keywords from the job advert in the form of achievements under each role you list.
If you're on the search for further advice on how to write your temporary administrative assistant experience section, get some ideas from real-world professional resumes:
- Improved filing system efficiency by 30%, leading to quicker document retrieval and enhanced office organization at Deloitte.
- Coordinated and managed schedules for a team of 10 executives, ensuring all meetings and travel arrangements adhered to time-sensitive deadlines.
- Implemented a new digital record-keeping system that decreased paper use by 40%, aligning with company's sustainability goals.
- Spearheaded the preparation of key presentations for monthly board meetings, praised for clarity and professionalism at KPMG.
- Trained and supervised two junior administrative staff, enhancing overall productivity and departmental efficiency.
- Managed the office supply inventory with a stringent budget, reducing expenses by 25% without impacting office operations at KPMG.
- Led the organization of an international conference with 200+ participants, ensuring all logistical details were managed flawlessly at PwC.
- Played a critical role in the transition to remote work by setting up and maintaining virtual collaboration tools for staff.
- Conducted meticulous data entry for financial reports, contributing to the team's ability to track and manage a $2M budget.
- Managed complex calendars and arrangements for international travel, optimizing executives' time at Accenture.
- Contributed to a 50% reduction in missed appointments by introducing a new scheduling and reminder system.
- Played a key role in organizing a 300-person corporate event, securing vendors, and ensuring a seamless experience.
- Streamlined office communications by developing an internal website, enhancing staff productivity at IBM.
- Managed the onboarding process for over 50 new hires, ensuring a smooth and welcoming transition into the company.
- Acted as the primary liaison between departments, facilitating clear and timely communication of important updates and changes.
- Optimized document management protocols utilizing SharePoint, boosting data retrieval times by 35% at Oracle.
- Orchestrated a major office relocation successfully, including IT setup and vendor coordination with zero downtime.
- Managed sensitive HR documentation for over 300 employees while maintaining strict confidentiality and compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Enhanced customer service by developing a streamlined front-desk process, which reduced wait times by 20% at Salesforce.
- Coordinated the execution of quarterly team-building events within budget, fostering improved team morale and collaboration.
- Assisted with financial record keeping, aiding the accounting team in closing monthly books 15% faster than previous months.
- Designed a system for tracking expenses against budget goals, significantly increasing department's financial accountability at Ernst & Young.
- Facilitated cross-departmental meetings which led to the development of a new company-wide process improvement strategy.
- Handled confidential employee relations communications with discretion, maintaining trust and integrity in HR processes.
- Mastered the use of advanced Excel functions to create reports that provided insight into operational efficiencies at Cisco Systems.
- Developed a digital filing system for legal documents, ensuring compliance and rapid access during audits.
- Played an instrumental role in supporting the marketing team during product launches by scheduling events and liaising with vendors.
- Oversaw database management for a client portfolio, which boosted data accuracy and improved client relationship management at Hewlett Packard.
- Collaborated with IT to troubleshoot office equipment, reducing downtime by 50% and maintaining productivity.
- Authored and distributed internal newsletters, keeping the team informed and engaged with corporate news and achievements.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- Include the number of calendar appointments and meetings you scheduled and coordinated, demonstrating your organizational skills and efficiency.
- Specify the volume of phone calls and emails you managed per day to showcase your ability to handle high-traffic communication lines.
- Mention the percentage of time you saved for executives by streamlining administrative processes, highlighting your resource-management abilities.
- Quantify the accuracy of your data entry work, such as "maintained a 99% accuracy rate," to reflect your attention to detail.
- Detail the number of reports, memos, and documents you prepared to emphasize your writing skills and proficiency with business software.
- Indicate the size of the budgets you handled or contributed to managing, to underline your financial trustworthiness and analytical skills.
- List the number of projects you supported simultaneously, demonstrating your multitasking capabilities and project management skills.
- Mention any improvements in customer or employee satisfaction scores during your tenure, showing your ability to positively affect workplace environment.
Action verbs for your temporary administrative assistant resume
Temporary administrative assistant resume without experience: a walk-through guide
If you don't happen to have any relevant experience yet, you can substitute this with:
- Short-term gigs and stunts - like month-long internships, that you have done during your university days
- Contract work - be specific about the relevance and outcomes of each role you include
- Resume format that prioritizes your skills - the functional-skill-based format or hybrid format could work
- Research roles - feature those especially prominently if you've participated in a noteworthy project or your role was of utmost importance to the project's success.
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List all your relevant higher education degrees within your resume in reverse chronological order (starting with the latest). There are cases when your PhD in a particular field could help you stand apart from other candidates.
Bringing your temporary administrative assistant hard skills and soft skills to the forefront of recruiters' attention
Hard skills are used to define the technological (and software) capacities you have in the industry. Technical skills are easily defined via your certification and expertise.
Soft skills have more to do with your at-work personality and how you prosper within new environments. People skills can be obtained thanks to your whole life experience and are thus a bit more difficult to define.
Why do recruiters care about both types of skills?
Hard skills have more to do with job alignment and the time your new potential employers would have to invest in training you.
Soft skills hint at how well you'd adapt to your new environment, company culture, and task organization.
Fine-tune your resume to reflect on your skills capacities and talents:
- Avoid listing basic requirements (e.g. "Excel"), instead substitute with the specifics of the technology (e.g. "Excel Macros").
- Feature your workplace values and ethics as soft skills to hint at what matters most to you in a new environment.
- Build a separate skills section for your language capabilities, only if it makes sense to the role you're applying for.
- The best way to balance temporary administrative assistant hard and soft skills is by building a strengths or achievements section, where you define your outcomes via both types of skills.
There are plenty of skills that could make the cut on your resume.
That's why we've compiled for you some of the most wanted skills by recruiters, so make sure to include the technologies and soft skills that make the most sense to you (and the company you're applying for):
Top skills for your temporary administrative assistant resume:
Microsoft Office Suite
Google Workspace
Data Entry
Scheduling Software
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems
Email Management Tools
Basic Accounting Software
Document Management Systems
Project Management Tools
Virtual Communication Platforms
Time Management
Communication
Adaptability
Problem-Solving
Teamwork
Attention to Detail
Organizational Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Multitasking
Confidentiality
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Bold the names of educational institutions and certifying bodies for emphasis.
The importance of your certifications and education on your temporary administrative assistant resume
Pay attention to the resume education section . It can offer clues about your skills and experiences that align with the job.
- List only tertiary education details, including the institution and dates.
- Mention your expected graduation date if you're currently studying.
- Exclude degrees unrelated to the job or field.
- Describe your education if it allows you to highlight your achievements further.
Your professional qualifications: certificates and education play a crucial role in your temporary administrative assistant application. They showcase your dedication to gaining the best expertise and know-how in the field. Include any diplomas and certificates that are:
- Listed within the job requirements or could make your application stand out
- Niche to your industry and require plenty of effort to obtain
- Helping you prepare for professional growth with forward-facing know-how
- Relevant to the temporary administrative assistant job - make sure to include the name of the certificate, institution you've obtained it at, and dates
Both your certificates and education section need to add further value to your application. That's why we've dedicated this next list just for you - check out some of the most popular temporary administrative assistant certificates to include on your resume:
The top 5 certifications for your temporary administrative assistant resume:
- Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) - International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP)
- Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) - Microsoft Corporation
- Professional Administrative Certificate of Excellence (PACE) - American Society of Administrative Professionals (ASAP)
- Certified Professional Secretary (CPS) - International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP)
- Organizational Management (OM) Specialty Certificate - International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP)
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The more time and effort you've put into obtaining the relevant certificate, the closer to the top it should be listed. This is especially important for more senior roles and if the company you're applying for is more forward-facing.
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Practical guide to your temporary administrative assistant resume summary or objective
First off, should you include a summary or objective on your temporary administrative assistant resume?
We definitely recommend you choose the:
- Resume summary to match job requirements with most noteworthy accomplishments.
- Resume objective as a snapshot of career dreams
Both the resume summary and objective should set expectations for recruiters as to what your career highlights are.
These introductory paragraphs (that are no more than five sentences long) should help you answer why you're the best candidate for the job.
Industry-wide best practices pinpoint that the temporary administrative assistant resume summaries and objectives follow the structures of these samples:
Resume summaries for a temporary administrative assistant job
- Seasoned administrative professional with over 8 years of high-level support experience, adept in streamlining office operations and enhancing productivity through complex scheduling and proactive issue resolution. Recognized for leading a successful document reorganization that improved departmental efficiency by 30% at XYZ Corp.
- Dynamic and results-driven former sales manager pivoting to administrative support, bringing a robust skill set from a fast-paced, client-oriented background. Proven track record in managing multiple projects, which honed exceptional organizational abilities and communication skills, useful in optimizing administrative tasks.
- Former healthcare worker endeavoring to transfer 7 years of patient coordination experience into a meticulous administrative assistant role. Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and a deep understanding of confidentiality protocols essential in managing administrative duties effectively.
- Enthusiastic professional with a passion for community outreach seeking to leverage strong organizational and digital literacy skills acquired from 5 years in non-profit program coordination to thrive in a challenging administrative support environment. Instrumental in fund-raising campaign that raised over $100,000.
- Looking to embark on an administrative career path, bringing forth a strong commitment to leverage acquired interpersonal skills from customer service roles and an eagerness to develop specialized administrative abilities while contributing effectively to team projects and office management efficiency.
- Aiming to apply a proactive approach and a quick learning ability to an entry-level administrative position, with no prior industry-specific experience but a genuine interest in developing professional skills in document management, appointment scheduling, and executive support.
More sections to ensure your temporary administrative assistant resume stands out
If you're looking for additional ways to ensure your temporary administrative assistant application gets noticed, then invest in supplementing your resume with extra sections, like:
These supplementary resume sections show your technical aptitude (with particular technologies and software) and your people skills (gained even outside of work).
Key takeaways
- The layout of your resume should take into consideration your professional background while integrating vital sections and design elements;
- Highlight your most pertinent achievements for the role all through different sections;
- Be very specific when selecting your certifications, hard skills, and soft skills to showcase the best of your talents;
- Include within the top one-third of your temporary administrative assistant resume a header and summary to help recruiters understand your experience and allocate your contact details. A skills box is optional, but it will help you align your expertise with the role;
- Detail the full extent of your professional experience with specific bullets that focus on tasks, actions, and outcomes.
