Administrative assistant resumes can sometimes fail to present your best experience and qualifications, particularly in an interview setting. Many skills and experiences presented in a resume require further explanation to fully present the value you provide to a hiring manager. It simply isn’t enough to reiterate the bullet points on your resume in an interview setting. You need to arrive prepared to describe exactly how each experience and project has prepared you for the job you are applying for.

Software Experience
Hiring managers are constantly looking for administrative candidates who are ready to hit the ground running when they start a new job. This often involves being familiar with common office software programs used on a regular basis to complete administrative tasks. Be prepared to describe, in detail, what programs (and what versions of those programs) you are familiar with.

Familiarity with common software programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel are often required. Help yourself stand out from the crowd by describing your experience with additional programs such as Adobe Acrobat, InDesign, or Sharepoint. If a particular software program is mentioned in the job description that you don’t have a strong background in, drive home your ability to learn new programs quickly and efficiently, and don’t be afraid to use examples of when you have done so in the past.

Provide Real World Examples
One of the most powerful tools at your disposal in an interview setting is the ability to show, not tell, your experiences. When it comes to proving your skills in various software programs, consider bringing samples of your past work. If you don’t have any recent samples available, then come prepared to tell the story of how you have created various spreadsheets in programs such as Microsoft Excel from scratch, exported data from different formats, created tables and graphs, and briefly describe the situation or project that required you to perform these tasks to solidify your experience in the mind of your interviewer.

Focus on Common Administrative Duties
Admin assistant positions are often focused around the need to provide the support and organization high-level employees require to keep up with their business. Expense reports and travel coordination are two examples of common administrative duties that managers require their admin team to assist them with. Coming to an interview prepared with examples of your effectiveness with such tasks will help flesh out the bullet points shared on your resume and drive home how qualified you are for the job you are interviewing for.

Again, it is most helpful to describe and explain your processes to the interviewer, which furthers their understanding of how you approach your daily tasks as an administrative professional.

Source: https://meziesblog.com/how-to-highlight-your-experience-as-an-administrative-executive-in-an-interview/