Here’s How to Make Your Administrative Resume Stand Out!

The unemployment rate is falling, salaries are rising, and competition for skilled talent is getting intense as businesses expand in this robust economy.

Although it may be easier to find a job than it was during the Great Recession, you still need a stand-out resume to get the admin position you really want. With hiring managers looking for keywords and phrases from their job postings in applicant resumes, it’s crucial for your resume to reflect the listing for the job being sought. For instance, if a company is trying to find an admin with experience “processing invoices,” you should use this same phrase in your resume, instead of a similar phrase.

It’s also important to consider your career stage when writing an administrative resume. Consider the following career stages and how to address an administrative resume for each one.

Entry-level stage

An entry-level admin is trying to find her or his first full-time job out of college. These folks may not have their career fully mapped out, but neither that nor a lack of work experience ought to be a major drag on the resume.

Because they don’t have much, if any, work experience, entry-level admins should use an objective section to summarize their work thus far and the skills they want to bring to a full-time position. An entry-level admin isn’t attempting to hide their lack of work experience. Rather, they should want to emphasize who they are, what they’ve done and what they can brings to the table.

A skills-oriented, or ‘functional’, resume format is ideal for entry-level admins. This format puts abilities and education up front to show academic achievements. For the experience section, an entry-level job seeker must use what they have – listing any internship and part-time work that might be relevant. While these aren’t full-time jobs, they show some degree of experience.

Mid-career stage

A mid-career admin has been employed by numerous businesses and has a range of experiences. While a conventional reverse-chronological resume can highlight valuable experience, a skills-based format can give the reader an overview of abilities that goes beyond work history. This can differentiate a mid-career admin and set a narrative path for career growth. Emphasizing abilities can help a mid-career admin move into more senior jobs while leaving the door open to opportunities as an admin.

Late-stage career

A late-stage admin should be looking spotlight experience as an executive administrative assistant by way of a conventional reverse-chronological format. The work history section should focus on upward mobility at and indicate a range of experience. An experienced admin should also include the titles of those whom they have worked for over the years, with words like “CEO” and “VPs” helping to lay out substantial experience.

Education, while valuable, is less crucial to an experienced admin’s career goals than experience, so this section ought to be at the conclusion of the resume. This type of resume can help an experienced admin move into an executive assistant position, or another type of administrative position.

At Career Concepts, we regularly help job seekers write great resumes. If you’re currently looking for a new job search, please contact us today!