15 Interview Questions for Administrative Assistants
Author:
Haya Bakour, MSc I/OIf you're hiring an Administrative Assistant, it's important to assess their key skills for success as well as their motivation and values. To help you make informed decisions about candidates, we've compiled a list of interview questions that cover these areas. Check out our top Administrative Assistant interview questions below.
Focus area:
Question
1
What are two or three things you are looking for in a new position as Administrative Assistant?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate shares occupational motivations aligned with your organizational mission and values
Explore tips
- Highlights different skill sets they hope to utilize
- Wants to make a defined impact in the role
- Identifies learning goals and expresses a desire for career growth/development
- Describes assets they will bring to the role and the company
- Exhibits an interest in more than just financial and career progression
Question
2
Communication skills are really important to this role. When it comes to that skill set, what aspect are you best at, and can you share an example of how you've done this in a previous role?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to understand their strengths and how communication is critical to success
Explore tips
- Clearly highlights their specific strengths in communicating
- Shares key communication tactics (e.g. active listening, tailoring to audience)
- Uses evidence from past experience to justify their strengths
- Tailors response with examples relevant to the position and organization
Question
3
What kinds of writing have you done in your job? Can you compare the similarities and differences between two different types of documents you have written?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate displays experience and proficiency with different formats of written communication
Explore tips
- Demonstrates breadth through different formats (e.g., blogs, reports, executive summaries, technical documents)
- Emphasizes the importance of an outline/structure in most documents
- Considers formality/informality in style of writing
- Tailors writing style and language to the relevant audience
- Emphasizes the importance of proofreading all work before disseminating
Question
4
Tell me about a time you successfully completed a task or project with limited resources. How were you able to be successful despite the resource constraints?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to be resourceful when completing tasks
Explore tips
- Describes the context (identifies inefficiencies, goals, steps and results)
- Elaborates on how their strategy made the best use of existing resources
- Uses evidence to show why the project was successful (e.g. quantified results)
- Discusses key learnings and takeaways from the experience
Question
5
Imagine the office is overspending on supplies and the use of office supplies is not being monitored properly. How would you go about improving the use and management of office supplies?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to be resourceful in managing material inventories
Explore tips
- Suggests creating a tracking system to ensure inventory use is monitored
- Suggests analyzing supply quantities by comparing demand, goals and limits
- Discusses best practices for tracking inventory (what, when, how often, etc.)
- Suggests setting up a reorder point to ensure inventory needs will always be met
Question
6
Imagine you have a tight deadline coming up in one hour. You haven't finished your work, and you only have one hour to complete it. What would you focus on?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to prioritize quality of work and minimizes errors/inaccuracies
Explore tips
- Emphasizes the importance of delivering high quality work
- Analyzes context to decide whether the deadline can be pushed
- Spends the final hour minimizing errors and ensuring quality
- Monitors quality of work as they work/develop projects
Question
7
How do you ensure accurate data entry when processing expenses and preparing reports?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to ensure accuracy while entering data
Explore tips
- Discusses strategies for ensuring accuracy when preparing reports
- Draws on past experience with preparing reports to justify claims
- Discusses a system for quality-checking the documents at various stages
Question
8
Imagine management asks you to help create a report on [insert subject] to help with their decision-making. How would you approach this task?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to collect and summarize information
Explore tips
- Would clarify the main objective of the report and information that is needed
- Would define timeline, potential information sources, and relevant stakeholders
- Discusses researching the topic and checking best practices
- Would summarize the findings and focus on key takeaways for management
Question
9
Tell me about a time you made an error on an invoice or report. What did you do and how would you avoid making that mistake again in the future?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to spot and fix errors in reports
Explore tips
- Clearly describes the situation and the error they made
- Elaborates on how the error was spotted and fixed
- Understands what caused the error and the implications of it
- Discusses key learnings and takeaways to avoid the mistake in the future
Question
10
Describe a time you improved an aspect of the office document management system to support efficiency in business operations. What did you do and what was the outcome?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to develop an effective office document management system
Explore tips
- Describes the context and identifies why an improvement to the system was needed
- Clearly explains the improvements they made to the filing system
- Elaborates on the outcome of their actions
- Explains how they introduced/communicated the new system to their colleagues
- Discusses best practices and takeaways
Question
11
Describe your daily work routine for your previous job. Did you follow a specific process when organizing and scheduling your work?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to organize work effectively and prioritize tasks
Explore tips
- Describes their previous daily work routine in a clear and comprehensive manner
- Discusses specific strategies they used to plan and maintain their routine
- Demonstrates multitasking strategies (creating a to-do list, prioritizing, etc.)
- Shares productivity tools/applications they used to effectively manage work
Question
12
Think back to an incredibly busy work day where you had multiple tasks to do and competing priorities. What strategies did you employ to manage your day?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to organize their workload and prioritize effectively
Explore tips
- Describes a day with multiple tasks; may identify unexpected conflicts/issues
- Shows an ability to remain calm while making plans to accomplish tasks
- Provides a logical and valid rationale to justify how they prioritized the work
- Shows they can effectively deal with conflicting issues under pressure
- Draws from past experience and highlights key learnings and takeaways
Question
13
Imagine you are asked to contact vendors for an event and research suppliers for office supplies. You also have to answer calls, reply to emails and provide support to office visitors. How do you prioritize these tasks?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate has the ability to prioritize competing demands and tasks on a daily basis
Explore tips
- Distinguishes between important tasks and urgent tasks
- Considers the time and value of each task (deadlines, business impact, etc.)
- Shares examples of prioritizing from past experience
- Elaborates on an effective prioritizing system for administrative tasks
Question
14
Based on your past work history and professional experience, in what type of work environment were you the happiest and most productive?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate shares preferences for organizational culture and workstyle aligned with your company
Explore tips
- Discusses attributes that align with your organization
- References different organizational factors (people, place, work, etc.)
- Highlights the values that shaped the environment/culture
- Shares a story from past experience to support their claims
- Justifies why it made them happy and productive
Question
15
What is one thing you wish I had asked you in our conversation today?
What does this question reveal?
Candidate displays self-awareness of unique strengths and value-add
Explore tips
- Gives a response that is relevant to the role in question
- Justifies their suggestion by explaining their value-add
- Exhibits strengths that were not previously covered
- Further demonstrates their value-add and competitiveness as a candidate
