Secretary Interview Questions And Answers

A secretary, personal assistant, or administrative assistant is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication, or organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit of more than one. In other situations a secretary is an officer of a society or organization who deals with correspondence, admits new members, and organizes official meetings and events.

A secretary has many administrative duties. Traditionally, these duties were mostly related to correspondence, such as the typing out of letters, maintaining files of paper documents, etc. The advent of word processing has significantly reduced the time that such duties require, with the result that many new tasks have come under the purview of the secretary. The duties may vary according to the nature and size of organisation. These might include managing budgets and doing bookkeeping, attending telephone calls, handling visitors, maintaining websites, and making travel arrangements. Secretaries might manage all the administrative details of running a high-level conference or arrange the catering for a typical lunch meeting.

Job of a secretary has a steady place on the list of most popular positions amongst women in the United States. Many people do not understand it, because they do not grasp the real quality of this job. They believe that all she has to know to do is making good coffee and answering calls with smile on her face…

In fact, this is very far from the truth. A modern secretary has an important role in a company and often manages the entire office. She does lot of administrative work, prepares a schedule for the boss and takes part on meetings. All of this is reflected in a job interview. What more, she is often the one responsible for the good atmosphere in the office, which is crucial nowadays. Good companies need good secretaries and they do they very best to hire them in an interview.

► Why do you want to become a secretary?
► Why do you want to be an assistant here, and not somewhere else?
► What do you want to accomplish on this position?
► Where do you see yourself in five years time?
► Can you tell me a little bit about your past working experience?
► What makes from you a better personal assistant than other applicants?
► How do you imagine a typical day in work if we choose you for this position?
► Tell me about a situation when you needed to work under pressure. How did you handle that?
► Can you work with MS Office?
► How would you rate your skills with typical Office software components?

► What are your strengths and weaknesses?
► Would you mind working overtime?
► Would you mind accompanying your boss on business trips?
► How would you cope with an angry customer or business partner?
► Have you ever prepared a weekly schedule for someone?
► Can you cook?
► When are you able to start?
► Do you have any questions?

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Use the information you gathered from your background research to prepare for this interview question, this way you will stand out from the other candidates for the secretarial vacancy. Find something specific about the company and position that attracts you.

What does motivate you will depend on your background and experience but try to make it relevant to what this position and company provides. Different motivators include challenge, increased responsibility, team involvement, interpersonal interaction, task complexity, learning opportunities and growth.

Focus on three or four strengths that refer directly to the secretarial job requirements. Potential examples include organizing and planning, adaptability, information management, attention to detail, problem-solving, reliability, initiative , discretion, multi-tasking, prioritizing, good judgment and communication and interpersonal skills. Back up your answer with specific examples that demonstrates your strength in the work context.
It is best to refer to one or two true weaknesses and then to detail the steps you have taken to try to overcome the weakness.

Look at this from the employer's point of view. Focus on the aspects of your experience and any formal or on-the-job training that apply to the tasks and responsibilities of this secretary job and the needs of the company.

Analyze the secretary job posting to determine the key skills required for the job and detail your experience in each of these areas - examples include writing and editing correspondence, scheduling, dealing with inquiries and information management.

List the packages you are familiar with. Discuss how much experience you have with each package, describe the functions you regularly used and the type of work you have generated. You can support your interview answer by taking along some work samples.

Detail your knowledge of Excel. Relate your data management skills to the job requirements. Use examples of the functions you are familiar with such as creating, modifying and formatting spreadsheets to support your proficiency level.

Detail the actions you have taken to set up and co-ordinate meetings such as organizing the venue and times, informing participants, preparing agendas and organizing documentation. Go on to describe your experience in taking minutes, typing them up and distributing them. This is another opportunity to provide a work sample.

Focus on your organizational and planning skills in answering secretarial interview questions like this.

kept yourself informed and up to date with your manager's commitments and co-ordinated his or her appointments and meetings.

Secretaries and administrative professionals are expected to have excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Describe the type of interactions you had with colleagues, management and clients. Highlight how you used your knowledge of the department, organization and business to respond efficiently to these queries.

Secretaries or administrative professionals serve as information managers for the company. They are responsible for objective and detailed record keeping.

Explain which record keeping you were entrusted with and how you made sure these records were updated and accurate. What methods did you use? Highlight your attention to detail and accuracy.

I'm not looking for just another pay check. I enjoy my work and am proud of my profession. Your company produces a superior product/provides a superior service. I share the values that make this possible, which should enable me to fit in and complement the team.

Describe the qualifications listed in the job posting, then connect them to your skills and experience.

Prepare in advance, and in a word, research, so, you can provide relevant and current information about your prospective employer to the interviewer. Start by researching the company online. Review the "About Us" section of the company web site. Google the company, read blogs that mention it, and check Discussion Boards and social networking sites.
Use the information you have gathered to create a bulleted list of relevant information that you can easily remember during the interview. Taking the time to research will help you make a good impression with how much you know about the company.

You can also mention that you are motivated by challenges, have the ability to effectively meet challenges, and have the flexibility and skills necessary to handle a challenging job.
You can continue by describing specific examples of challenges you have met and goals you have achieved in the past.

I've learned from each boss I've had. From the good ones I learnt what to do, from the challenging ones - what not to do.
Early in my career, I had a mentor who helped me a great deal, we still stay in touch. I've honestly learned something from each boss I've had.

I chose advertising because I have always been a strong communicator with a good eye for design. I have a particular interest in creating dynamic eye-catching pieces that support a new product being introduced to the market. I also like the fast-paced high-energy environment that seems to be commonplace in the advertising industry."
Advice: Your answer needs to convince the interviewers that your skills are exactly what they want. They want to know if you have a realistic view of what it is like to work in their industry. Be specific; show them that their industry and your career goals are in sync.

Beyond this job as a marketing assistant, I see myself moving up through marketing analysis into brand management and eventually running a category. I'm aware that there are several skills I need to develop in the interval, and I believe with your continuing-education program and my own motivation for self-improvement, I'll have those skills when the opportunities arise for greater responsibility. That's why I'm determined to learn from the ground up, starting as a marketing assistant.

If possible, tell about a personal disappointment i.e. the early death of a parent, child, or school friend. Believe it or not, it is okay to have not had a "greatest" disappointment.

I do not have a pet peeve. If something is bothering me, I step back, analyse "why", and find a good solution. If you asked my teenage daughter she would tell you my pet peeve is the volume on her radio!