Secretary Resume Examples You Can Use This Year

What To Highlight in a Secretary Resume

A secretary manages a variety of specific and important tasks within a company. There are different types of secretaries, such as administrative assistants or legal secretaries, and the responsibilities vary depending on the field. However, there are a few basic skills all secretaries need to fulfill the role. Secretaries need to be well-versed in multitasking, communicating and planning. When applying for a secretarial role, you will need a great resume that shows you have these skills. Let’s take a look at how you can create the most professional resume for a secretary position.

Structure of a Secretary Resume

The structure of your perfect resume will depend on the resume format you use. There are different formats used to achieve different goals. For example, the chronological resume highlights a job seeker’s experience. The functional resume highlights skills. The combination resume is used to highlight both. Regardless of the format you use, there are five crucial sections to include in your resume:

• Header

  Your contact information is an important section of your resume. Without it, recruiters will have no way of contacting you. As the name suggests, a header is positioned at the very top of the resume to make it easier for recruiters to find. Include your name, email address, phone number, location and professional social media job networking links, like your LinkedIn profile.

• Resume summary or objective

  A resume summary or objective is a 2-3 sentence paragraph that introduces yourself to the recruiter. You want to hook the hiring managers by mentioning the best parts of your skills and experience. For a secretary position, you’ll want to mention any experience in a similar role, as well as your most prominent hard skills or soft skills. If you lack work experience, write a resume objective that will highlight your skills and career goals rather than experience.

• Skills

  The skills section is where you list the secretary skills you can bring to the table. These can be soft skills or technical skills. The skills you list should be as relevant to the job as possible. Here are some relevant skills you can include in your resume:

  • Organization
  • Communication 
  • Problem-solving 
  • Multi-tasking 
  • Microsoft Office proficiency, including spreadsheets and PowerPoint
  • Time management
  • Bookkeeping 
  • Data entry 
  • Interpersonal 
  • Ability to make travel arrangements
  • Faxing documents
  • Knowledge of filing systems
  • Ability to create legal documents and memos
  • Familiar with office equipment
  • Experience ordering office supplies

• Work experience

  In the work experience section, list the work experience you’ve held over the past 10 years. If you’ve had many jobs, only list the ones that are most related to the position that you are applying for. If the jobs were related to any type of office management, making phone calls, or administrative duties, list them in this section.

• Education

  The education section is where you’ll list your academic merits, certifications, relevant courses and degrees. Most entry-level secretary positions only require a high school diploma. However, there are certain executive secretary positions that require a business administration degree or similar due to the advanced administrative support that a higher level secretary needs to provide.