How To List Administrative Skills on a Resume With Examples, Tips, and Guide

Regardless of your role in the workplace, you use administrative skills such as organization, collaboration, and solution-seeking. This article will help you understand, own, and demonstrate these skill sets on your resume.

Why Administrative Skills Matter on Your Resume

An administrative professional directs and manages a workgroup’s operations, whether an entire company, an organizational unit, or a project. Think of them as a ship’s captain, without whom the vessel would not stay on course to reach its destination. And the company would not achieve its goals). Individual team members also use office administration skills, time management, and communication to contribute to a company’s goals.

Enhancing your employability

If you want to advance in your profession, whether in salary or visibility, grow your ability to oversee projects and the work of others in addition to your technical skills. Working is about achieving goals through other people, processes, and tasks.

Administrative skills contribute to workplace productivity. For example, a project manager’s ability to solve internal team conflicts increases efficiency.

Meeting employer expectations

Employers prioritize administrative skills in their hiring process because, regardless of job title, candidates must be able to oversee and execute their work or the work of others. Listing your administrative skills on a resume shows how you can meet the job requirements.

Critical Administrative Skills To Include on Your Resume

Organizational skills

These skills ensure smooth and efficient office operations. Without someone organizing data, people, or processes, chaos usually ensues.

Examples: file management, scheduling, multitasking, meeting or project management, delegation

Communication skills

Both verbal and nonverbal communication is crucial for sharing expectations and shepherding a team toward a common goal.

Examples: verbal and written communication, email etiquette, customer service

Time management

This helps you and your team prioritize work to meet deadlines.

Examples of time management skills: prioritizing tasks, meeting deadlines, managing calendars

Technical proficiency

Technology can automate and remove repetitive tasks from your schedule so that you can focus on higher-level responsibilities, such as managing people and planning strategy.

Examples of technical skills: Microsoft Office Suite, Google Workspace, database management, artificial intelligence, PowerBI

Solution-seeking skills

Murphy’s Law abounds. There will always be challenges related to people, processes, or money to resolve. Show how you’ve analyzed problem causes, evaluated solutions, and implemented them.

Examples: conflict resolution, troubleshooting, and decision-making

Attention to detail

Paying attention to details ensures high-quality work and minimizes errors.

Examples: accuracy in data entry, proofreading, and managing sensitive information such as patient records.

Interpersonal skills

Working positively and effectively with clients and colleagues requires collaboration, delegation, and diplomacy. If others have said, “You are good with people,” you probably have these talents.

Examples: teamwork, adaptability, emotional intelligence

Project management

Once you’ve mastered coordinating workflow, human and financial resources, and processes in project delivery, you’ve learned much about managing entire teams and enterprises. Your track record of delivering results will benefit you by allowing you to seek more extensive responsibilities.

Project management skills include coordinating events, managing office projects, and overseeing budgets.

How To Identify the Best Administrative Skills for Your Resume

Analyze job descriptions

Read the job posting you’re interested in and note the administrative skills mentioned. List your related skills on your resume. This way, you tailor your resume for each job you apply to.

Example: A recent posting for a medical office manager requires abilities in event management and digital marketing coordination. If you have those skills, you’d include them.

Conduct a self-assessment

Take time for some self-reflection to determine your most vital skills. Read descriptions of jobs you’re interested in, noting the skills that consistently appear. Are they part of your daily tasks?

Leverage feedback from supervisors and colleagues

Gather feedback on your administrative skills from peers and managers. If they are seasoned professionals, they have the perspective of comparing your work to many others.

How To List Administrative Skills on Your Resume

Create a dedicated skills section

Build a section denoting the skills that you want to highlight. You can subhead the section by type of skills, such as Administrative, Technology, and Related.

Integrate skills into the work experience section

Don’t stop at listing skills. Show how you used them within your experience section. Use action verbs to describe how you addressed challenges and your positive impact.

For example, to demonstrate coordination skills, you might say, “Plan and execute up to 25 customer appreciation events annually, receiving consistently positive reviews.”

Use certifications and training to validate skills

If you have certifications related to your career field, listing them can give you credibility in the eyes of future employers.

Examples: Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Medical Assistant (CMA), Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS), SalesForce SuperUser

Examples of How To List Administrative Skills on Your Resume

Find complete administrative resume examples here.

Entry-level administrative roles

Mid-level administrative professionals

Senior administrative professionals

Specialized administrative roles (e.g., legal, medical)

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Listing Administrative Skills

Being too vague or generic

Be specific in describing your abilities. For instance, instead of saying “good at multi-tasking,” say “balance multiple priorities, maintaining optimum productivity.”

Overloading the resume with too many skills

Be selective about the skills you list on the resume. Read the job posting(s) you are interested in carefully, note the skills the employer requested, and place only your relevant skills on the resume. Make it easy to find what they seek in an appropriate, succinct list.

Failing to keep skills updated

To enhance your marketability, stay current with administrative tools and practices that the market demands. Read relevant job postings regularly, even if you aren’t seeking a new position. Then, seek employer or online training to boost your knowledge of popular tools. Track new skills in a spreadsheet to add to your resume as needed.

Final Tips for Showcasing Administrative Skills on Your Resume

Proofread for clarity and accuracy

Take the time to use spell check and grammar tools to demonstrate professional communication. Ask trusted colleagues for feedback on your skill lists and thoughts on those you may have omitted. For specialty software, check vendor spelling to ensure correct representation.

Seek feedback

Ask peers and mentors in your field for their perspectives on in-demand skills. Check the LinkedIn profiles of others in your profession with roles you aspire to for standard skill sets. Then, make a plan to gain those you don’t yet possess. Remember to include them on your updated resume.

Use online resources for skill development

Look for specific online training sponsored by your professional association. Certifications in some professions can indicate competence in administration, such as the Project Management Professional (PMP) for project management or the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) for marketing and communications professionals. Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning are just three portals available.

Additional Resources

Links to administrative skills training and certification programs

• American Management Association
• Coursera
• Google Project Management Certificate 
• SkillsSoft
• Udemy

Online tools for skills assessment and resume writing

• Career Onestop
• Resume Templates

Career advice articles and job application tips for administrative professionals

• https://www.coursera.org/articles/transferable-skills
• https://www.zippia.com/advice/promotion-interview/

Andrew Stoner

Executive Resume Writer and Career Coach

Andrew Stoner is an executive career coach and resume writer with 17 years of experience as a hiring manager and operations leader at two Fortune 500 Financial Services companies, and as the career services director at two major university business schools.