All About Hiring an Admin Assistant

Do you ever think about how some people always stay on top of things despite having so many responsibilities? 

Where do they find the time and energy to be with their loved ones? Or perhaps even indulge in their hobbies?

Guess what? So can you, with the help of an administrative assistant.

Let’s take a look.

What Does An Administrative Assistant Do?

An administrative assistant essentially provides administrative support to their client. They usually perform clerical tasks that address daily office needs.

Admin assistants can either provide administrative support to one person, such as a high-ranking executive. (Hence why some of them go by the title of “executive assistant.”) They can also sometimes perform administrative tasks for an entire office or department. 

Some also take on a full-time or part-time role, depending on their schedules and their client’s needs.

Administrative Assistant Job Description

Basically, it’s an administrative assistant’s job to ensure that an office runs smoothly and efficiently. They also enable their client to do the same if they are supporting a key executive.

Administrative Assistant Job Responsibilities:

As mentioned above, an administrative assistant’s role can vary depending on their client’s needs and the scope of their contract. However, the common administrative tasks that come with this job title include the following:

• Answering and routing phone calls as needed
• Scheduling appointments
• Preparing and updating regular spreadsheets and reports
• Developing and maintaining a filing system
• Setting meetings, taking detailed notes, and distributing these to the parties involved
• Drafting and sending official correspondence and memos, often via email
• Keeping company policies and procedures up to date
• Updating and maintaining contact lists for suppliers, customers, and other relevant stakeholders
• Restocking office supplies and finding new suppliers with better deals if necessary
• Handling travel arrangements like plane tickets, hotels, and transportation
• Generating and reconciling expense reports
• Sometimes acting as the point of contact for internal and external clients
• Coordinating with executive and senior administrative assistants to address the needs and requests of other senior managers or key executives

Administrative Assistant Skills And Qualifications:

So, what skills and qualifications should you look out for when hiring an admin assistant? Here are just a few you should zero in on when looking through applications:

• A working knowledge of office management systems and procedures (though these can be addressed through the onboarding process or initial training)
• Basic proficiency in MS Office software (MS Word, MS Excel, etc.)
• Attention to detail
• Resourcefulness
• Problem-solving skills (e.g., the ability to resolve problems or issues with minimal supervision)
• Good time management and organizational skills 
• Excellent command of the English language, as evidenced by their written and verbal communication skills
• The ability to multitask efficiently

Education And Experience Requirements

To be worthy of this job title, someone with a high school diploma ought to suffice, provided that they have all the other qualifications listed above.

Though, of course, it’s also possible to require your administrative assistant to have a more advanced educational background if they will have to take on specialized and complex tasks, such as doing a bit of bookkeeping or transcribing medical or legal documents on occasion.

In most cases, however, experience is more valuable. Often, the most effective administrative assistants are those who have spent years working as virtual assistants for executives or company offices, virtual office admin, and so on.

What Makes A Good Administrative Assistant?

How can you tell if you’ve hired an administrative assistant that’s worth cultivating? Generally, the ones that really create value for their clients display any or all of the following qualities:

• Initiative and drive. The best admins don’t just follow orders. They are also very proactive about streamlining processes, finding ways to make operations more efficient, and developing and implementing standard operating procedures for themselves and their clients.
• Excellent communication skills. This is so crucial that it deserves mentioning more than once. After all, an administrative assistant’s main job is to handle all communications that their clients are too busy to deal with.

 Executive assistants, in particular, answer emails and take phone calls on behalf of the key executives they work for, so they must be able to communicate in an impeccable manner.

• IT literacy. Administrative assistants have to be proficient in all the applications and software crucial to getting their jobs done. Knowledge of certain project management applications would also be a good bonus, especially if they work remotely all the time.
• Utmost discretion. Since they work closely with their clients (who are often in upper management), these assistants are privy to a lot of classified information as they go about their jobs. These may include trade secrets, confidential figures, and private communications. 

Thus, you want an assistant whom you can trust to safeguard this information. (Though Remote Staff also has some basic non-disclosure agreements or NDA’s in place for your peace of mind.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Thinking of hiring your own administrative assistant, but still have a lot of questions? Check out some of the most commonly-asked ones below:

Who Does an Administrative Assistant Work With?

Admin assistants tend to work closely with the chief executive officer or the company founder, though some are also hired by a company’s managing director.

In smaller companies, however, it isn’t unusual for them to be coordinating with several department heads and staff in order to support an entire office.

Is There An Alternate Role For Administrative Assistant?

They’re sometimes referred to as executive assistants or even virtual assistants. There really isn’t much difference in this case, except that the former tend to work for one key executive in particular, while the latter is a very general term that covers a lot of other roles that may go beyond administrative functions (e.g., graphic design, data entry, etc.)

Do You Have Any Admin Assistant Interview Questions?

Usually, each client has their own set of interview questions for each candidate depending on their needs and how they’d like to determine if someone would be a good fit for them and/or their organization.

However, if it’s your first time hiring someone remotely, Remote Staff can help you come up with a good set of interview questions or at least set things in motion for you.

No need to worry about uploading several job postings on several various platforms and sifting through hundreds of CV’s, though! We’ll handle all of those and prepare a shortlist of the best candidates in our pool within a week of your initial call – we’ll even take care of coordinating the interviews for your chosen candidates too!

Can You Customize The Sample Job Advertisement For Virtual Administrative Assistants?

Absolutely!

The more specific your requirements for your ideal virtual administrative assistant are, the better! 

This will also make it a lot easier for us to narrow down the candidates in our rich talent pool to produce a shortlist of the most suitable ones for you.

How Do Virtual Admin Assistants Get Ready For An Interview?

Once you select a candidate or two from the shortlist we’ll prepare, we’ll get in touch with them to coordinate the interview schedule based on your preferences and their availability. 

After that’s settled, we’ll let you know about the final arrangements and make sure you both have no trouble getting connected at the appointed day and time.

For your convenience, we usually advise the chosen candidates to ensure that they set up in an area with a strong internet connection, have a working webcam, and proceed with the interview in a place with a neutral background that’s devoid of distracting noises.

Is an Administrative Assistant A High Position?

In terms of access, an administrative assistant often occupies a key position because they’ll be working closely with you and as mentioned earlier, will have access to plenty of classified information.

And over time, many of them end up getting so familiar with the workings of an individual executive’s or company’s operations that they often end up making things more efficient and creating so much value in the process that they become highly valued members of the team and/or the company.

How Much Should You Pay for An Admin Assistant?

The rates vary, depending on certain factors, such as the scope of the job. Will you need them to work full-time or part-time? What sort of responsibilities will they be expected to take on? Will they be reporting only to one person or will they be supporting the operations or activities of an entire office?

Then there’s the candidate’s experience and skill set. Obviously, the more experienced and the more varied their skill sets are, the higher their rate will be.

But of course, not everyone needs a highly-specialized assistant. In most cases, someone with basic qualifications will do quite nicely, and these can be supplemented with additional training.

You can rest assured that Remote Staff will work hard to match you with staff that meets your unique needs at a competitive rate- and thanks to the exchange rate being in favor of the US dollar, that rate will also be a fair compensation for your chosen candidate should both of you choose to move forward with the working relationship.

Find Top Admin Candidates Today

Ready to find the assistant that can help you scale your business faster – while freeing up more of your time so you can do more of the things you love with the people you love?

Click here to schedule a callback with Remote Staff so we can get started today.