Working in admin can open you up to a wide range of career opportunities once you get your foot in the door. The great thing about working in administration is that you gain a nice variety of transferable skills that can take your career in different directions. You could end up working as a project manager or a senior administrator, or it could even lead you down the HR route.
But how do you get started with a career in admin? What are the most essential admin skills for your CV?
Before you jump straight into applying for admin roles, you want to make sure it’s right for you.
People who work in admin tend to be organisation-obsessed and get a kick out of transforming chaos into order. They enjoy working in steady environments with lots of processes, rather than fast-paced environments that are constantly changing. Admin roles are heavily computer-based and involve a lot of paperwork, so you’ll also need to enjoy working on computers.
Being organised is an absolute must for an admin worker. As the backbone to a business, you’re responsible for keeping all paperwork in check. In your CV, make sure you mention any responsibilities where you used your organisational skills.
Examples of organisation skills:
Administrators constantly handle important letters, contracts and numbers, so you need to have excellent attention to detail to avoid any mistakes slipping through the cracks. You must tell employers you have an eye for detail and are in the habit of triple-checking your work.
Business administration is often divided into different functions to make the work more manageable, and so administrators often work in packs. As a result, you’ll need to be able to work well and communicate with other people in order for the business’ admin function to operate smoothly. This is a great skill for your admin CV!
Since administrators are often typing letters and liaising with people over email, they need to have an excellent level of English. Employers need to know they can rely on you to use English in a professional context, and that their correspondence won’t contain any embarrassing typos!
Administrators need to be computer literate since they’re usually using software, spreadsheets and programs such as Excel to complete their work. In your CV, always highlight whenever you’ve used software or computers to process or record data.
As an administrator, you’ll be following processes and procedures on a daily basis. But not everybody can easily follow processes. So make sure you include this skill on your CV to show you’ve got what it takes.
Data entry is a key part of any administration role. Whether it’s entering customer details onto systems or recording important business figures onto software or spreadsheets, you’re likely to be inputting data on a daily basis.
Employers look for administrators who can multitask and prioritise workloads. Administrators often have a long list of tasks to do, so you’ll need to be able to spot and manage the things that need your attention most urgently.
If you really want to stand out from the crowd, you can take an online course in something admin-related. Here are some skills that will really make your CV pop:
Although these are all great skills and keywords to include in your CV, it’s important to remember to give tangible examples of how you’ve demonstrated these skills at work, rather than just listing buzzwords! If you can do that, it won’t be long before you’re in that interview room delivering a winning elevator pitch.
We're always looking for talented admin candidates. Click below to send us your CV today and we’ll be in touch with any relevant positions!
Vanessa Ramkissoon | Recruitment Content Expert
