What does a student office assistant do?
Student office assistants are responsible for answering and directing phone calls, taking messages, and communicating with customers and other staff members. Other duties and responsibilities of a student office assistant include making and arranging appointments, monitoring and restocking office supplies, and helping with some administrative tasks. They are also responsible for computing, recording, and proofreading data such as timesheets, reports, and records. This role's qualifications may vary from one organization to another, however, the basics include excellent communication skills and proficiency in MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
Student office assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real student office assistant resumes:
- Manage operational FedEx relationship through order fulfillment, shipment tracking, and communication with parties involve in shipment transaction.
- Perform various office tasks as needed: copying, collating, filing, filling briefing bags.
- Develop relationships with prospective students, parents and donors; engage alumni, and aid office operations
- Welcome combat veterans with minor to severe mental health issues.
- Create PowerPoint presentations and present to undergraduate business classes.
- Ensure sensitive information pertaining to veterans are kept secure.
- Mentore other work-study office assistants in correct processes and protocols.
- Employ internet research to locate alumni whose contact information is either inaccurate or outdate.
- Learned interpersonal communication and organization.
- Compose and update public service announcements of clinic services on their FaceBook page.
- Assist with set-up and are responsible for maintenance of department's Facebook account and postings.
- Learned interpersonal communication and organization.
Student office assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Student Office Assistants are proficient in Data Entry, Phone Calls, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Customer-service skills, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Student Office Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Data Entry, 13%
Categorize and label numerous documents -Chronologically organize receipts; file various student and faculty Microsoft software receipts -Data entry -Clerical duties
- Phone Calls, 12%
Manage program administrative tasks and computer lab, recruit/train student staff, triage student appointments/drop-ins/phone calls/ meeting facilitation.
- Customer Service, 8%
Provided customer service to visitors/students in various departments, prepared materials for student files, interdepartmental correspondence, arranged special events/lectures.
- Front Desk, 8%
Front desk receptionist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Innovation Center.
- Financial Aid, 6%
Processed financial aid applications, forms; review for completeness, accuracy; verify information reported on student applications.
- PowerPoint, 6%
Created PowerPoint presentations and presented to undergraduate business classes.
Common skills that a student office assistant uses to do their job include "data entry," "phone calls," and "customer service." You can find details on the most important student office assistant responsibilities below.
Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a student office assistant to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "general office clerks perform many clerical tasks that require attention to detail, such as preparing bills." Student office assistants often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "perform computer data entry of financial aid and tuition deposits with attention to detail and accuracy. "
Customer-service skills. Many student office assistant duties rely on customer-service skills. "general office clerks often provide general information to company staff, customers, or the public," so a student office assistant will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways student office assistant responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "utilize strong multitasking skills to manage customer service, data entry, and inventory control. "
Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of student office assistants is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday student office assistant duties, as "general office clerks file and retrieve records." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "mass data entry, and organizational skills. "
The three companies that hire the most student office assistants are:
- University of Alaska12 student office assistants jobs
- Metropolitan State University of Denver7 student office assistants jobs
- Laramie County Community College7 student office assistants jobs
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Compare different student office assistants
Student office assistant vs. Office worker
An office worker is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the daily operations of the business. Office workers assist in receiving calls to respond to the clients' inquiries and concerns, as well as welcoming visitors, verifying their appointments, and leading them to the appropriate personnel and department for their business needs. They also do data processing, sorting mail, and filing documents for easy retrieval and reference, especially during meetings and company activities.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a student office assistant are more likely to require skills like "phone calls," "financial aid," "alumni," and "student body." On the other hand, a job as an office worker requires skills like "payroll," "computer programs," "credit card," and "computer software." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Office workers earn the highest salaries when working in the education industry, with an average yearly salary of $40,267. On the other hand, student office assistants are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $27,843.On average, office workers reach similar levels of education than student office assistants. Office workers are 1.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Student office assistant vs. Office clerk
Office clerks are administrative employees who handle clerical activities for the organization. They are in charge of managing company records, organizing and storing documents, filing and sorting hard copies of documents, and liaising with other departments or external partners. They are also in charge of handling and scheduling meetings and appointments, managing the reservation of office meeting rooms, and manning telephone lines. Office clerks may also be in charge of ordering office supplies, preparing purchase requisitions for office needs, sending out and receiving official company documents, and other correspondences.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real student office assistant resumes. While student office assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "phone calls," "financial aid," "alumni," and "student body," office clerks use skills like "payroll," "hr," "bank deposits," and "purchase orders."
On average, office clerks earn a higher salary than student office assistants. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, office clerks earn the most pay in the transportation industry with an average salary of $31,504. Whereas student office assistants have higher pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $27,843.office clerks earn similar levels of education than student office assistants in general. They're 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Student office assistant vs. Assistant secretary
An assistant secretary is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the daily operations of various departments and management personnel and ensure the efficiency of business functions. Assistant secretaries usually assist in business communications, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, reaching out to existing clients to schedule appointments, welcoming guests on the office, and routing calls to the appropriate department. They also handle data entry procedures, updating customer information on the database, as well as creating reports on business and financial transactions.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, student office assistants are more likely to have skills like "data entry," "phone calls," "customer service," and "financial aid." But a assistant secretary is more likely to have skills like "payroll," "financial statements," "federal agencies," and "travel arrangements."
Most assistant secretaries achieve a similar degree level compared to student office assistants. For example, they're 2.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Student office assistant vs. Student employee
Student employees are students who have a job within a school campus. Their duties may include working in the classrooms, cafeterias, and dorms. These employees receive a salary for their work, provided they maintain the grade requirements set by the school. The requirements for this position vary for every school. These may include having a minimum of 3.0 for graduates and 2.0 for undergraduates. They typically work 40 hours a week and may hold two or more positions to reach the required number of work hours.
Types of student office assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
