Most Important Administrative Skills (With Examples)

What Are Administrative Skills?

Being able to function cohesively in business requires utilizing a variety of office skills. Administrative abilities are a series of qualities that allow you to perform well and complete tasks on time. Administrative skills can be useful for many professions, but crucial when it comes to working in an office setting. These traits are usually grounded in making you and the business you represent more productive, organized, and harmonious.

Office skills can be soft and technical. When applying for administrative positions, including both soft and hard skills on your resume can give a more well-rounded applicant profile for recruiters. While hard skills are always valuable in office positions, don’t neglect the advantage that soft skills can give you against applicants with similar experience.

Administrative abilities can be useful in a variety of different jobs.

Administrative Skills Can be Useful For:

• Receptionist

• Administrative Assistant

• Medical Secretary

• Legal Assistant

• Bookkeeper

• Data Entry Clerk

Types of Administrative Skills

Effective business management requires skills in a variety of areas. It’s helpful to be familiar with each type of these administrative abilities, and what specific strengths they entail. Certain office skills may come to you effortlessly, and some may require a little more practice. If you can implement some of the following office skills, it will greatly improve your work performance in any field and your chances of being hired for a new job.

1. Communication. Communication is how things get done in an office. Even if you’re an independent person, and worker, you can’t avoid the need for communication skills working administratively. Offices are busy places with lots of people and information needed to be relayed. Communication keeps all of the administrative madness organized. It’s necessary for interacting with supervisors, co-workers, and clients. Many of the other skills you need, both hard and soft, depend on communication to be done well.

   It’s also especially important that applicants seeking administrative positions have strong over-the-phone and email communication. For many office jobs, being able to communicate effectively without being face-to-face is necessary.

   Examples of Communication Skills Include:

   • Telephone etiquette

   • Professional email formatting

   • Listening

   • Answering questions

   • Presentation

   • Clarity about plans, issues, and goals

   • Giving and receiving feedback

   • Open-Mindedness

   • Being Respectful

2. Technology. Technology knowledge in office positions can be soft qualities or hard skills that you’ve spent time learning. Many of the facets of an administrative job will require some degree of experience, or willingness to learn, technicalsoftware skillsrelated to the job.

   Examples of Office Technology Skills Include:

   • Proficient in Microsoft Office

   • Words Per Minute (WPM) Typing Speed

   • Presentation software

   • Email

   • Google Drive

   • WordPress

   • Record Keeping

   • Quickbooks

   • Database knowledge

   • Research Experience

3. Organization. An organized team is essential in a business running smoothly. The purpose of having administrative support is to work productively and that can only be achieved with organizational skills. Organizational skills refer to habits that keep your work on track and delivered on time. Becoming a master of office organization can make you an extremely competitive applicant and valuable employee.

   Examples of Organizational Skills Include:

   • Keeping a Calendar

   • Setting Appointments

   • Keeping Records

   • Managing Inventory

   • Time-Management

   • Creating a Filing System

   • Multi-Tasking

   • Planning ahead

   • Following a daily checklist of tasks

   • Maintaining a strict schedule

4. Problem-Solving. While we’d all like to work in a problem-free office, however, it’s more than likely that you’ll come across a few issues in your career. Employers know that it’s impractical to expect completely smooth sailing in every project, and that’s why they want to hire administrative staff with problem-solving skills. These abilities involve assessing difficult situations logically and coming up with the best solutions or ways of moving forward. Having effective problem-solving skills has a lot to do with your adaptability. Abilities in problem-solving are extremely in demand for the current administrative market because, as we’ve come to know all too well in 2020, things change and issues arise. If you can take these challenges well and create a positive outcome, it’ll make you more successful in any field.

   Problem-Solving Skills Involve:

   • Active listening

   • Flexibility

   • Critical thinking

   • Open-Mindedness

   • Creativity

   • Willingness to do research

   • Stress Management

   • Resilience

   • Patience

5. Professionalism. Maintaining professionalism at work may seem like a given. However, being professional in an office job is taken even more seriously. You interact with people daily in administrative positions. Whether it be your co-workers, boss, or clients, you need to maintain the same even-toned, calm professionalism to every interaction. Being an overall professional includes a lot of strong habits that make you a better employee to work with, and ultimately, more effective.

   Professionalism Involves:

   • Respectfulness

   • Strong communication

   • Appropriate clothing

   • Being reliable

   • Punctuality

   • Integrity

   • Meeting deadlines

   • Receiving feedback constructively

   • Work competence

6. Positivity. Being positive adds more value to an applicant looking to succeed in an office job. Positivity can generally be beneficial in various positions. It’s a unique soft skill because it enhances just about any other ability you bring to the table. Optimism just makes you a better employee to work with. That can be useful in a fast-paced environment with a lot of different responsibilities, like administrative work.

   Positivity Can Help With:

   • Solving problems

   • Developing rapport

   • Patience

   • Being seen as a leader

   • Motivating others

   • Reducing stress

   • Self-control

   • Resilience to difficulty

7. Ability and Willingness to Learn. This is a biggie for recruiters seeking candidates in office positions. Administration requires knowledge in a lot of different areas, and usually, these areas are subject to evolve.

   Maybe, upon hire you know everything there is to know about your position. There’s always a possibility that six months from now everyone will be required to learn the details of a new system or database. Employers want to be sure that you’ll be equipped to take on new information quickly and ask questions when you need clarity.

   Learning Skills Involve:

   • Analytical thinking

   • Applying previous knowledge when applicable

   • Communication

   • Flexibility

   • Passion

   • Practicing until competency

   • Paying attention to detail

   • Information retention and application

Resume Examples Showcasing Office Skills:

Resume #1- Executive Assistant

14 Barnes Ave

New York, NY 12789

(404)-391-2287

EbonySmith@gmail.com

Ebony Smith

SKILLS

EXPERIENCE

Whitmore Realty, New York, NY

— Office Assistant

September 2017 – PRESENT

Brooklyn Design, Brooklyn, NY

— Personal Assistant

January 2015 – June 2017

EDUCATION

Fordham University, New York, NY

— Business

August 2011 – May 2015

Resume #2- Secretary

Albert Vincent

77 Washington St.

Portland, OR, 98211

(398)-112-9234

AVincent@gmail.com

Professional and motivated Secretary with 7 years of experience working for large organizations. Strong communication and interpersonal skills. Seeking a position to utilize secretarial and organizational skills.

Professional Experience

Richard amp; Smith Law Firm

, Portland, OR

Executive Secretary September 2016 — Present

Portland City Chiropractors

, Portland, OR

Secretary, June 2013 — August 2016

Woodwork Arts Center, Portland, OR

Personal Assistant, October 2011-March 2013

Skills

Education

University of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

B.A. in Marketing, May 2011

Resume #3- Office Management

Blake Klein

1708 Kinsey Lane, Denver, CO, 90202 (668)-220-1118 BlakeKlein@gmail.com

Passionate manager with 5+ years experience in a fast-paced office setting. Possess a B.A. in Economics and an MBA. Strong skills in delegation, motivation, and project management.

Professional Experience

Smiles and More Dental Practice, Denver, CO

Office Manager, September 2018 — July 2020

Links Window Installation, Denver, CO

Office Manager, June 2015 — August 2018

Lexington Home Development, Aurora, CO

Office Associate, September 2013-May 2015

Skills

Education

University of Denver, Denver, CO

B.A. in Economics, May 2010

University of Colorado, Denver, CO

M.A. in Business Administration, May 2013

Author

Sky Ariella

Sky Ariella is a professional freelance writer, originally from New York. She has been featured on websites and online magazines covering topics in career, travel, and lifestyle. She received her BA in psychology from Hunter College.