7 ADMIN ASSISTANT Interview Questions and Answers (PASS!)

Admin Assistant Interview Questions & Answers - CareerVidz

1. Summary

This video by Richard McMunn from CareerVidz provides comprehensive interview training for aspiring admin assistants. It focuses on seven key interview questions commonly asked in admin assistant interviews, offering example answers and emphasizing the use of the STAR method for situational questions. The video also provides tips on researching the company and using the job description to anticipate interview questions. Free resources are also offered for further preparation.

2. Key Takeaways

* **Predict Questions:** Use the job description to anticipate interview questions.

* **STAR Method:** Apply the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique to answer situational questions.

* **Company Research:** Research the company and find positive news stories to mention during the interview.

* **Address Weaknesses:** Provide a real weakness and how you are working on improving it.

* **Free Resources:** Download slides with questions and answers and access free online interview training.

3. Detailed Notes

**I. Introduction (0:00:00 - 0:00:21)**

* Richard McMunn introduces himself and the video's purpose: to help viewers pass their admin assistant interviews.

* The video will cover 7 interview questions and answers.

* Slides with all of the questions and answers will be available for download.

**II. Important Tips (0:01:11 - 0:02:23)**

1. **Use the Job Description:**

* Analyze the job description to identify key skills and responsibilities.

* The highlighted requirements in the job description will be the core of your interview questions.

* Examples include providing support, planning/organizing, managing diaries, note-taking, prioritizing, and communicating.

* The interviewer often wants to know how you've demonstrated these skills.

2. **Use the STAR Technique:**

* The STAR method is designed for situational type questions.

* **Situation:** Describe the context.

* **Task:** What needed to be done?

* **Action:** What did you do?

* **Result:** What was the positive outcome?

3. **Be Positive and Upbeat:**

* Research the company before the interview.

* Find positive news stories about them.

* Incorporate this information into your answers.

**III. Sample Interview Questions and Answers (0:04:51 - 0:15:02)**

* **Note:** Answers provided should be adjusted to match the candidates' experience.

1. **Question 1: Why do you want this job and what can you bring to the role? (0:05:02 - 0:06:11)**

* **Key Elements:** Refer to the job description. Highlight relevant skills and experience.

* **Sample Answer:** "I have studied the job description in detail and I feel strongly that I have the skills, qualities, and experience to match the role. For example, part of the role requires an ability to plan, organize and be responsible for the organization's day-to-day activities. In my previous role, I was praised for this type of work and I believe I have extensive experience of organizing all types of work. I can be relied upon to organize all of your tasks and I will never miss an important deadline. In addition to being organized, I set myself very high standards, have solid communication skills, can be trusted to deal with your customers and clients and am competent in all administrative software packages such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. I feel strongly you will be impressed with my work ethic and I will not let you down if I'm successful at interview today."

2. **Question 2: Describe a situation when you had to plan and organize multiple tasks. (0:06:15 - 0:08:09)**

* **Key Elements:** Provide a specific example. Use the STAR technique. Include a time element.

* **Sample Answer:** "In my previous job, I had a situation one day where the managing director required multiple tasks to be completed within a very short time frame. A situation occurred whereby a key member of staff was off sick, so somebody needed to step up and get the work done in super-fast time. The tasks involved: organizing an important meeting for the following day, taking notes and recording minutes for another meeting that afternoon, and also collating sales data for the next day's meeting and briefing my managing director. So I set about creating a plan for each task based on the priority and importance. The following day's meeting was organized first of all. I booked the meeting room, sent out invitations and created the meeting agenda. I then planned for the meeting that afternoon by reading the meeting notes from the previous meeting to make sure I was fully briefed and aware of the action points and agenda. Following the meeting, I wrote up my notes before starting work on the collation of sales data. It became apparent that I would not finish the collation of data in time for 5:00 p.m., so I briefed my manager that I would stay late and send over the figures as soon as they were ready. He was happy with my suggested resolution. By 5:45 p.m., I had completed the work and went in to brief my manager. He thanked me for my hard work was impressed with my organization and planning abilities."

3. **Question 3: Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer or client. (0:08:29 - 0:10:01)**

* **Key Elements:** Give a specific example. Remain calm and in control. Show problem-solving skills.

* **Sample Answer:** "Recently, we received a complaint via email from a who had ordered some goods from our website that ended up being faulty. I immediately took control of the situation and contacted the customer by both email and telephone to explain I would be the point of contact. The customer was clearly angry and upset at the situation. Well, I listened to their concerns and demonstrated empathy during the call. I managed to persuade the customer to give me the opportunity to resolve the situation, which they agreed to. Now, after I had got to the bottom of the situation, I apologized to the customer and detailed very clearly the steps I was going to take in order to resolve it. I asked our warehouse team to dispatch the new goods on a priority delivery service and arranged for a courier to also pick up the faulty goods to save the customer having to do it themselves. I then arranged to call the customer the day after the goods were delivered to check they were happy with the service and goods they had received. When I spoke to the lady on the phone, she thanked me for sorting out the problem quickly and to her satisfaction. Whenever dealing with customers or potentially problematic situations, I can be relied upon to sort things out quickly and will always take responsibility for a situation."

4. **Question 4: What are your strengths? (0:10:02 - 0:11:18)**

* **Key Elements:** Relate to the job requirements. Use positive keywords. Demonstrate ability to handle pressure and take responsibility.

* **Sample Answer:** "I believe I have a number of key strengths and qualities that would be highly useful within this role. To begin with, I am highly organized and can plan tasks effectively in order to make sure they are successful. I also have the ability to work alone as well as part of a team. I am a strong communicator, both face-to-face and via email. I set myself high standards and feel I can be a positive role model for your company. Finally, one of my key strengths is that I can be relied upon to deliver my work to a very high standard. I fully understand it's important for you to employ an admin assistant who can be left alone to get on with their work and deliver the tasks you need doing. I feel strongly that if you employ me, I will work hard to perform my duties competently and professionally at all times."

5. **Question 5: What are your weaknesses? (0:11:18 - 0:12:41)**

* **Key Elements:** Provide an actual weakness. Turn the weakness into a strength. Show a desire for improvement.

* **Sample Answer:** "I feel my main weakness is that I sometimes take on too much work, simply because I don't want to say no. But by taking on too much work, it can potentially have a detrimental impact on my other tasks. So I am learning to complete tasks thoroughly first before agreeing to take on additional tasks. Having said that, I do feel it is my responsibility to take on as much work as possible and I can be relied upon to work hard and complete tasks thoroughly. If I feel there is a task put my way that I cannot deliver on time and to the right standard, I will always look to find someone else within the office who is equally as competent to take on the role. Finally, I'm always looking to personally develop and improve my skills based on reflective analysis of my performance."

6. **Question 6: What is the most difficult part of being an admin assistant? (0:12:41 - 0:13:56)**

* **Key Elements:** Demonstrate knowledge of the role. Demonstrate ability to embrace difficult parts of the job. Give an example of completing a challenging task.

* **Sample Answer:** "I find the most difficult part of the admin assistant role is having to rely on external partners and organizations to get a specific task completed. Now when I'm relying on external partners or businesses to respond to queries or questions, it can be challenging and frustrating, as the success of your own task relies on them responding and doing their part of the job in a timely manner. Now, although this part of the role can be frustrating, I actually quite enjoy chasing people and putting pressure on them to do their task, simply because my job is reliant on them performing."

7. **Question 7: What would you do if you didn't get on with someone in the office? (0:13:56 - 0:15:02)**

* **Key Elements:** Assess maturity and professionalism. Don't mention a past situation. Provide a step-by-step approach.

* **Sample Answer:** "Although I've never found myself in this type of situation, I feel I could handle it maturely and professionally. I understand that sometimes we can't get on with everyone, but I would always try my best to be friendly, professional, and helpful with anyone I worked with. If there was someone I didn't get on with, I would first of all go out of my way to try and make friends as this would be beneficial to the team environment. I would also look at my own actions to see if I were actually doing anything that was potentially contributing to the situation. If I had tried absolutely everything and we still didn't get on, I would always be friendly and professional as the goals and aims of the organization must always come first."

**IV. Conclusion (0:15:02 - 0:15:59)**

* Recap of the questions and answers.

* Encouragement to download slides and access further resources.

* Call to action: Give a thumbs up, subscribe, and leave comments.

* Best wishes for the interview.