How To Become A General Office Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a general office assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

General office assistants are responsible for performing clerical duties, mailing and filing correspondence, preparing payrolls, placing orders, and answering calls. They may also need to interact with clients, visitors, and vendors. An essential aspect of their job is to sort and manage mail.

They may need a high school diploma or equivalent degree. Some employers, however, require an associate's degree. They need to have advanced computer skills, and they typically have strong time management and organizational skills.

Office assistants make $29,868 per year or $14.36 per hour. They can even earn more in tech industries if they can handle the software.

ScoreGeneral Office AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $30,764

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.12%

Asian 9.13%

Black or African American 9.00%

Hispanic or Latino 21.69%

Unknown 4.80%

White 54.27%

Gender

female 79.18%

male 20.82%

Age - 50

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 50

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.3

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a general office assistant

Explore general office assistant education requirements

Most common general office assistant degrees

Bachelor's

40.8 %

Associate

24.1 %

High School Diploma

21.6 %

Start to develop specific general office assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Entry	26.05%
Customer Service	11.78%
General Office Assistance	9.42%
Front Desk	7.31%
Schedule Appointments	5.96%

Complete relevant general office assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New general office assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a general office assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real general office assistant resumes.

Gain additional general office assistant certifications

General office assistant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific general office assistant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for general office assistants include Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) and Medical Assistant.

More About Certifications

Research general office assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
Utilize QuickBooks to prepare checks and process for submission to insurance companies.
Assign jobs to the installers into the computer by their installer identification number, addressed any payroll questions from the installers.
Distribute payroll and verify accuracy.

Prepare your general office assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your general office assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a general office assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable general office assistant resume templates

Build a professional general office assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your general office assistant resume.