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Principal secretary skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Allison White,

Allison White

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical principal secretary skills. We ranked the top skills for principal secretaries based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 16.2% of principal secretary resumes contained purchase orders as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a principal secretary needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 principal secretary skills for your resume and career

1. Purchase Orders

Here's how principal secretaries use purchase orders:

Prepare purchase orders while maintaining accurate inventory then distributing to appropriate departments.
Created purchase order requisitions for educational materials and various other supplies.

2. Schedule Appointments

Here's how principal secretaries use schedule appointments:

Schedule appointments for teacher observations.
Schedule appointments and meetings in accordance with supervisor's policies and priorities, and coordinate with the supervisor as necessary.

3. Office Equipment

Here's how principal secretaries use office equipment:

Contacted outside services for office equipment repair as needed.
Keep an updated inventory of office equipment and supplies.

4. Financial Reports

Here's how principal secretaries use financial reports:

Prepare the monthly financial reports for the Director of Finance for review.
Prepared Federal, State and City financial reports .

5. Word Processing

Here's how principal secretaries use word processing:

Prepared invoices, reports, memos, and other documents, using word processing, spreadsheet or other database.
Perform computer data entry, word processing, and text management activities on video terminals and/or micro-computers as required.

6. Administrative Tasks

Here's how principal secretaries use administrative tasks:

Performed a variety of secretarial and administrative tasks.
Assisted the Principal in administrative tasks, including preparing correspondence for district departments, staff, students, and parents.

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7. Clerical Support

Clerical support performs activities that must be done in every workplace in order to support the company going forward. These duties, which come within the category of clerical support, are typically delegated to entry-level employees since they are simple and easy to learn. Even though clerical duties like printing and filing are easy, they require time and in many instances, other workers are preoccupied with other activities and unable to keep up with all that needs to be accomplished. As a result, many businesses employ clerical support staff who are solely responsible for these duties.

Here's how principal secretaries use clerical support:

Provided clerical support to the Principal supporting 115 certified staff and 36 support staff.
Type evaluations and provide clerical support to all finance divisions as needed.

8. Travel Arrangements

Here's how principal secretaries use travel arrangements:

Provide Administrative support to the Principal including scheduling travel arrangements.
Coordinated meetings and make travel arrangements when requested.

9. Telephone Calls

Telephone calls are a communication means through which a caller is connected to the called party. The call is done through a telecommunications device called a telephone. The caller can use a landline, mobile phone, or satellite phone to make the call.

Here's how principal secretaries use telephone calls:

Received incoming telephone calls and visitors, scheduled appointments, correspondence.
Field all telephone calls to the Division, type and/or research information for statistical monthly reports concerning Application Processing, Q.C.

10. Office Procedures

Office procedures are the protocols and standards which define how the staff works together. The office procedures can be a set of rules and regulations which guide the employees and help them run the office operations smoothly. Paperwork, customer interaction, taking messages, handling calls in and out all fall under the office procedures.

Here's how principal secretaries use office procedures:

Supervised clerical staff and related office procedures.
Assist staff and clientele in accordance with office procedures and district policies - Oversee all maintenance work orders and deliveries.

11. Office Machines

An office machine is a mechanical and electronic device that is used to get work done in an organization or establishment, to finish multiple works in a short time, and to enhance productivity. Office machines are essential in running a modern office and range from calculators to printers to computers.

Here's how principal secretaries use office machines:

Operate a variety of business equipment including typewriter, calculator, copiers, computer equipment and other school office machines.
Serve as key operator for all office machines.

12. Secretarial Support

Here's how principal secretaries use secretarial support:

Provided executive level secretarial support to faculty and department chair, including complex clerical and office group leadership duties.
Provided secretarial support to media steering committees - agendas, minutes and informational materials.

13. Student Attendance

Here's how principal secretaries use student attendance:

Maintained personnel files and processed daily student attendance.
Use of PowerSchool to record student attendance, contact information, create reports, and access records.

14. Staff Attendance

Here's how principal secretaries use staff attendance:

Assist teachers in securing substitutes and record staff attendance.
Maintain daily staff attendance records and substitute records.

15. Powerschool

Here's how principal secretaries use powerschool:

Job Responsibilities: PowerSchool - I am proficient with PowerSchool.
Enrolled and discharged students; requested records from prior schools and distributed records to other schools as needed utilizing PowerSchool software.

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What skills help Principal Secretaries find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on principal secretary resumes?

Allison White

Associate Professor, Ohio University

Knowledge of spreadsheets software such as MS Excel is a commonly sought-after skill. Employers want word processing and spreadsheet skills but often say they want high school graduates and pay accordingly. These skills aren't always taught in high school. Those in the field should seek these skills. Additionally, medical and legal assistants have highly sought after. Terminology courses for these specialized areas are sometimes offered at the vocational schools but are usually offered at the post-secondary level.

What soft skills should all principal secretarys possess?

Allison White

Associate Professor, Ohio University

Employers have told me repeatedly that soft skills are often the most important. They will ask for my reference after I've gotten to know a student and been able to identify their communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. They want someone to take the initiative yet know when to ask questions. Customer service skills and confidentiality were also voiced by our internship supervisors. Verbal and non-verbal communication is a must. The applicant must be able to write well!!

What hard/technical skills are most important for principal secretarys?

Allison White

Associate Professor, Ohio University

In addition to production software skills, including MS Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, we often taught database skills using MS Access. Every employer has an employee database and a customer/client database that requires input and sometimes maintenance by office personnel. Keyboarding (65+ wpm), basic bookkeeping/accounting, and filing skills are a must.

What technical skills for a principal secretary stand out to employers?

Amanda Carpenter

Director, California State University Channel Islands

-Data analytics skills are critical technical skills that stand out to employers in today's market. According to NACE (2018), the use of data analytics is projected to have the most significant impact on an organization's operational efficiency and revenue generation.
-Source (NACE): www.naceweb.org

Do you want to know more?

List of principal secretary skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a principal secretary resume and required skills for a principal secretary to have include:

Purchase Orders
Schedule Appointments
Office Equipment
Financial Reports
Word Processing
Administrative Tasks
Clerical Support
Travel Arrangements
Telephone Calls
Office Procedures
Office Machines
Secretarial Support
Student Attendance

Staff Attendance
Powerschool
Fax Machines
Multi-Line Phone System
PowerPoint
Report Cards
Computer System
Office Operations
HR
Bank Deposits
State Reports
Provides Administrative Support
Attendance Reports

Direct Calls
Student Enrollment
Student Database
Financial Transactions
PTO
School Administration
Student Schedules
Expense Reports
IEP
Standardized Testing
FMLA
Graduation Ceremony

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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