What does an associate administrative assistant do?

An associate administrative assistant is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the business operations, ensuring the timely submission of deliverables. Associate administrative assistants work closely with the financial department, especially on organizing financial reports, issuing invoices, verifying time sheets for payroll purposes, and releasing petty cash. They also manage meeting and conference schedules, coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors for inventories, and sort documents for reference. An associate administrative assistant must have excellent communication and organization skills, as well as the knowledge of the data processing procedures to update information and track business transactions within the database.
Associate administrative assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real associate administrative assistant resumes:
- Direct correspondence and communications, monitoring emails and phone calls and managing social media and online presence on Facebook and website.
- Support medical doctors, manage sensitive and confidential records pertaining to high risk patients with emphasis on accuracy.
- Reconcile credit card purchases and identify and resolve all payroll discrepancies.
- Post photos of available properties on company's Facebook page.
- Prepare spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and documentation.
- Create spreadsheet to calculate payroll information collect from audit to determine findings.
- Implement a solution for staffing restructure that reduce overall salary expense while maintaining productivity for a rehabilitation inpatient nursing unit.
- Interpret sensitive information to Latino residents who are not proficient.
Associate administrative assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Associate Administrative Assistants are proficient in Customer Service, Data Entry, and PowerPoint. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Associate Administrative Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 13%
Put merchandise in customers cart Provided excellent customer service Met goals set by management Answered questions and informed customers/members about memberships
- Data Entry, 10%
Created RTD Excel Reports for departmental supervisors, providing statistical information on data entry accuracy.
- PowerPoint, 7%
Develop PowerPoint Presentations for Executive teams of Research and Development conference.
- Financial Reports, 5%
Assisted and compiled periodic financial reports for senior management.
- Payroll, 5%
Created spreadsheet to calculate payroll information collected from audit to determine findings.
- Travel Arrangements, 5%
Coordinated extensive domestic/ international travel arrangements and itineraries including visas and medical specifications for international countries.
Common skills that an associate administrative assistant uses to do their job include "customer service," "data entry," and "powerpoint." You can find details on the most important associate administrative assistant responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an associate administrative assistant to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "secretaries and administrative assistants interact with clients, customers, or staff." Associate administrative assistants often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "demonstrated excellent interpersonal, organizational, written and verbal communication skills and ability to work independently. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling associate administrative assistant duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "secretaries and administrative assistants keep files, folders, and schedules in order so that an office runs efficiently." According to an associate administrative assistant resume, here's how associate administrative assistants can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "completed word processing assignments and utilized outlook for organizational purposes. "
Writing skills. This is an important skill for associate administrative assistants to perform their duties. For an example of how associate administrative assistant responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "secretaries and administrative assistants write memos and emails when communicating with managers, employees, and customers." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an associate administrative assistant: "perform administrative duties such as word processing, filing, proofreading, and writing. ".
The three companies that hire the most associate administrative assistants are:
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center19 associate administrative assistants jobs
- SSM Health17 associate administrative assistants jobs
- PepsiCo8 associate administrative assistants jobs
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Associate administrative assistant vs. Administrative support
Administrative support specialists provide different types of governmental assistance. They carry out varied clerical duties in almost all industries. Most of these duties revolve around supervising and distributing information within an organization. This typically includes taking memos, answering phone calls, and managing, storing, and organizing files. They are also responsible for receiving and sending correspondence and greeting customers and clients. Some administrative support may be required to have vast professional knowledge as their duties are more specialized than the others.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an associate administrative assistant are more likely to require skills like "hr," "pos," "sales floor," and "schedule appointments." On the other hand, a job as an administrative support requires skills like "phone calls," "patients," "excellent organizational," and "human resources." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that administrative supports earn slightly differ from associate administrative assistants. In particular, administrative supports are 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an associate administrative assistant. Additionally, they're 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Associate administrative assistant vs. Administrative staff
As the administrative staff, they primarily provide administrative and secretarial support for the department. Typically, they do report-writing, filing and scheduling, and payroll. They plan department weekly meetings, schedule conference calls, and work on solving administrative related concerns and issues. They do a complex task that involves multi-tasking from the preparation of department reports, analyzing data, and finding solutions. It is a requirement to be an experienced, collaborator, and trained cross-functional communicator. Moreover, other duties will include scheduling company-initiated activities, meetings, and events.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that associate administrative assistant responsibilities requires skills like "customer service," "data entry," "hr," and "pos." But an administrative staff might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "personnel actions," "scheduling appointments," "resource management," and "hard copy."
In general, administrative staff achieve similar levels of education than associate administrative assistants. They're 3.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Associate administrative assistant vs. Administrative associate
An administrative associate is responsible for performing various tasks such as handling and processing paperwork, attending meetings and preparing minutes, responding to inquiries and other forms of correspondence, keeping accurate records, updating databases, and monitoring the company's financial activities. They also communicate with various department personnel, ensuring coordination should any important matter would arise. Furthermore, as an administrative associate, they are in charge of procuring supplies, implementing company policies, and supporting any staff members if needed.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from associate administrative assistant resumes include skills like "hr," "pos," "sales floor," and "schedule appointments," whereas an administrative associate is more likely to list skills in "patients," "medical terminology," "patient care," and "eagle. "
Administrative associates typically earn similar educational levels compared to associate administrative assistants. Specifically, they're 2.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Associate administrative assistant vs. Administrative assistant/technical
An administrative assistant/technical is primarily responsible for performing clerical and support tasks in a company, ensuring efficiency and timeliness. They must produce progress reports, process documentation, receive communication letters, manage schedules, and even greet visitors. There are also instances when an administrative assistant/technical has to answer calls and correspondence, respond to inquiries, address issues and concerns, and resolve them promptly and professionally. Furthermore, it is essential to maintain records of all transactions, coordinate with different departments, and adhere to the company's policies and regulations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between associate administrative assistants and administrative assistant/technicals, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an associate administrative assistant might have more use for skills like "customer service," "pos," "sales floor," and "schedule appointments." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of administrative assistant/technicals require skills like "patients," "access database," "provides administrative support," and "scheduling appointments. "
Administrative assistant/technicals reach similar levels of education compared to associate administrative assistants, in general. The difference is that they're 2.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of associate administrative assistant
Updated January 8, 2025











