8 Traits to Look for in an Administrative Employee

Today’s top administrative assistants are valued employees who possess a wide variety of skills and the ability to handle multiple roles within an organization.

Whether the employee is the first point of contact for a small business, or an assistant for a member of the corporate leadership team, top administrative assistants are continually doing more and taking on new tasks and challenges. Good recruiters understand the value administrative assistants bring to a company.

When you’re hiring for an administrative assistant, here are 8 desirable traits to look for in a candidate.

1. Communication and Interpersonal Skills

In many companies, the administrative assistant is the first point of contact (in-person, phone, or email) for customers, clients, vendors, and even job seekers interviewing with the organization. In order to nail the first impression, an administrative assistant needs to have strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Administrative assistants meet/greet clients/customers. They take phone calls and are put on the spot at a moment’s notice. They answer questions about anything and everything, even from existing staff members. Admin assistants who can communicate in person, on the phone, and via email, are coveted and valuable.

2. Tech Savvy

The days where the receptionist’s tasked were limited to answering phones and fetching coffee are long gone. Today’s top administrative assistants are proficient with a wide variety of software programs such as the Office Suite,  Google Suite, Dropbox, and in CRM’s like Salesforce. Their duties can include putting together presentations, videos, designing the company newsletter, contributing to a company website, as well as making sure the printer, internet, and copy machine are running smoothly. For all of these tech-centric tasks, an administrative assistant needs to possess technological skills.

3. Strong Writing Skills

Administrative assistants at some companies may be asked to craft messages for managers, sales staff, or senior leaders that are sent out externally. They must be able to write well, as they represent the company in those messages. They also are responsible for a great deal of internal written communication that must be clear and concise to keep everyone on the same page.

4. Well Organized

Taking phone calls, setting up projects, managing customer requests, participating in meetings, organizing outside networking events – the list of tasks that administrative assistants are responsible for goes on and on. Administrative assistants have many different duties and responsibilities, and the ability to juggle them all is a must-have skill.

Keeping organized is one thing, but administrative assistants also need to have the ability to multi-task. There’s plenty of situations where a task might be interrupted for something pressing. Administrative assistants need to be able to pause one task, do another, and return to the first task without missing a beat.

5. Trustworthy

Administrative assistants often have access to private/personal company information. In fact, admin assistants probably know way more than they want to know. Those who can keep private and personal information confidential are valued.

6. Calm Under Pressure

Admin assistants may take calls from upset customers, they may be in meetings that get heated, and/or they may have to put out fires and the unexpected at any given time. Those who can remain calm (at least on the outside!) and cool under pressure will stand out to employers.

7. Good Judgment/Decision-Making Skills

Things will come up, and good administrative assistants will have the confidence, knowledge, and freedom to provide information or make decisions without having to seek a manager’s approval. To do so, they’ll need to have strong judgment and demonstrate above average decision-making skills.

8. Reliable

Simply put, the best administrative assistants are reliable. You want your employees to know that an administrative assistant will follow-up on a request, complete a task, provide the timely information, and get the job done. That’s why today’s top administrative assistants are so valuable, when they do their job well, they can improve the efficiency of others.

Today’s administrative assistants are talented, skilled, and key members of any company, and these are some of the top skills recruiters should look for when recruiting, interviewing, and hiring administrative assistants.

Does your company need an administrative assistant? Contact Reliable Resources today to accelerate your search for a talented administrative assistant.

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