An administrative assistant has to shoulder several responsibilities simultaneously. Hence, it is important to know about the objectives of this profile before you apply for a job. Here, we provide an insight into the role or objectives of an administrative assistant and also examples of various objective statements for your resume.
If you like to support and help people, and have a penchant for chasing deadlines, then this job is ‘the‘ job for you. An administrative assistant undertakes routine administration-related work in an organization. The minimum educational qualification for an entry-level position is high school graduation with basic managerial and computer skills.
Though this job seems easy, it involves a lot of multitasking, hard work and attention to detail. The administrative assistant profile exists across all industries. Whichever be the field or industry, you must be aware about the job expectations or objectives of this profile in order to get hired by a reputed organization. Here is a list of the key objectives of an administration assistant.
Objectives of an Administrative Assistant
Assisting the Management
An administrative assistant plays a pivotal role in assisting the management by providing general support services for office administration. This includes directory maintenance, electricity and telephone connections, preparing research reports, logistics management, repairs and overhauling, vendor management, equipment management, tracking paper and electronic files, etc. Sometimes he also troubleshoots administrative hindrances by analyzing problems and providing immediate solutions.
Inventory Management
An administrative assistant has to monitor and maintain the level of stocks of stationery and various office supplies. Accordingly, he has to anticipate the inventory needs and expedite orders by inviting tenders, and select a vendor based on cost-effectiveness and quality. Also, he has to verify the receipts before making payments. Thus, an administrative assistant has to follow a proper process for ordering inventory, collecting invoices and payment of bills.
In-house Coordination
The administrative assistant coordinates with all the other departments for taking care of day-to-day administrative and operational tasks. If an organization has branch offices set up at various locations, the administrative assistant has to coordinate with these offices for their administration requirements. This means that at times, the administration assistant may have to undertake traveling.
Travel and Accommodation Arrangement
In many organizations, it is the duty of the administrative assistant to make travel and accommodation reservations on behalf of the executives who travel for official duties to domestic and international destinations. He has to prepare reports for dispensing advance cash or company credit cards to the employees who travel and also collect their expense sheets along with proofs.
Cost Management
An administrative assistant is in charge of buying and acquiring office equipment like printers, fax machines, photocopiers and stationery. He has to follow a process as per the organization’s purchase policy. This also includes cost approvals from senior authorities. Also, he has to prepare and control administrative budgets. He should be able to negotiate with the vendors. He has to undertake cost reduction and implement cost-efficient methods wherever possible, in the interest of the company.
Maintenance and Overhauling
The administrative assistant has to ensure that the office equipment is in constant working condition by undertaking preventive maintenance for old equipment and evaluation of new equipment. He has to prepare, validate and renew the yearly service contracts of various repair and safety equipment agencies.
Systems Management
An administrative assistant creates, follows and updates various office management systems and procedures periodically. He undertakes a study of new trends in operating practices, record management systems, office administration, budget management, etc., before implementing any kind of changes. He has to recommend and develop continuous improvement measures for enhancing routine administration procedures.
Intraoffice and Interoffice Communication
An administration assistant needs to have strong networking and communication skills as he has to interact with the senior management, employees, as well as the vendors. He has to draft correspondence and reports for the reporting authority. Also, he has to write important administration related notices and mails for mass distribution, and needs to have a good command over business English.
Maintaining Records
The office administrator maintains records of employee files, staff office space, booking of conference rooms, office keys, parking space, office phones, company credit cards, company cars and accommodation, etc. Also, he has to maintain a record of the incoming and outgoing mail. In some organizations, it is the duty of administrative assistant to ensure that the housekeeping activities are undertaken on a daily basis and a report is presented on the same. In some companies, he has the responsibility to maintain records as required by Federal and State laws. At times, an administration assistant has to prepare and maintain confidential records and files for the senior management.
Support During Events
Many times organizations have events like new facility inauguration, important delegation visit, customer meet, vendor day, etc. During such events, it is the duty of the administrative assistant to extend his full cooperation towards making the event a grand success. He has to undertake excellent venue management and provide a warm welcome to the guests. He also has to arrange for corporate gifts for the guests.
Miscellaneous Tasks
An administrative assistant has to cater to the administrative requirements of the employees and senior management. Attending meetings wherever administration support is required, monitoring visitor access, receiving and delivering parcels, liaisoning with third parties to benefit the organization, etc. are some of the duties of an administration assistant. In some organizations, the profile of administrative assistants also includes general secretarial duties like attending calls on the behalf of the reporting authority, greeting general visitors, listing appointments, arranging business lunches and dinners, attending meetings, noting the minutes and internal documents, etc.
Desirable Qualities and Skills
• Organization and administration skills
• Strong communication skills
• Process-management skills
• Professional approach
• Interpersonal skills
• Networking skills
• Analytical skills
• Decision-making ability
• Planning and execution skills
• Trouble-shooting skills
• Leadership quality
• Time-management skills
• Multitasking ability
• Pro-activeness
How to Draft an Objective Statement?
The objective statement in your resume is significant for getting hired and therefore, should be compiled very carefully. It is also the first thing that your prospective employer notices in your resume. Drafting an objective statement is very simple. All you have to do is ask yourself the following questions.
What exactly are my career goals?
Are my qualifications specifically related to my goals?
What is the position that I am seeking?
What type of organization would I like to work for?
What is my area of expertise?
Is it related to my career goals?
Answering these questions will give you a rough draft of your objective statement. Now compose the statement by trimming it down and making it very specific.
Examples of Objective Statements
The following shows a few objective statement examples for the post of an administrative assistant that will help you in composing your resume objective. Being to the point and honest in your objective statement will help you to stand out starkly, as compared to your competitors.
✓ Seeking a position as an administrative assistant to acquire some quality experience in administrative tasks related to the ABC field.
✓ Looking for a position in administrative assisting, that requires excellent computing skills and good vendor handling skills.
✓ A motivated administrative assistant seeking a challenging position in administrative assisting, that demands excellent computer proficiency with good managerial competence and interpersonal skills.
✓ Seeking to acquire a position at a reputed firm, as an administrative assistant, that will help me in gaining additional experience in this field.
✓ As a proficient administrative assistant, I am looking for a position that allows me to employ my existing talents and acquire new expertise.
✓ Seasoned administrative assistant with over five years of authoritative experience, seeks position where talent and skills can be applied.
✓ Seeking to commit my acquired skills to an administrative assistant position in the XYZ service industry.
✓ Seeking to provide efficient and effective administrative assistance for the ABC sector.
✓ Seeking to acquire an administrative assistant position, that bestows extensive experience, working in active environment, and requiring strong organizational and analytical skills.
What to Avoid?
Do not have general, open-ended or vague assertions. The following is an example of how an objective statement should not be.
✘ Seeking an administrative assistant position that will allow me to utilize my knowledge and expertise in various areas.
The above mentioned statement does not say anything about your expertise or field of interest. So this should be avoided at all costs.
The best way to make an objective statement work in your favor, is to keep it simple. Especially freshers with entry-level resumes, should not even think of inserting anything fancy or too clever statements. You should understand exactly everything that you have mentioned in the objective and use it with a proper resume format. It is advisable that you develop your own objective statement based on your skills and goals, instead of just copying the above. Also, once you start working as an administration assistant you will learn through experiential and educational opportunities to write the objective statement in a more professional manner.