How to hire secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.
• Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.
• Greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs.
• Operate electronic mail systems and coordinate the flow of information, internally or with other organizations.
• Operate office equipment, such as fax machines, copiers, or phone systems and arrange for repairs when equipment malfunctions.
• Schedule and confirm appointments for clients, customers, or supervisors.
• Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.
• Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent]
• Strong active listening, speaking, reading comprehension, writing, monitoring and critical thinking skills
• Working knowledge of administrative, English Language, computers and electronics and customer and personal service
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $22.86 an hour ($47,540 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to create, maintain, and enter information into databases. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to operate electronic mail systems and coordinate the flow of information, internally or with other organizations. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
6. Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
7. Tell me about written instructions, a policy or a manual you had to follow closely. How did you make sure you followed it correctly?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive do

• Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.
• Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.
• Greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs.
• Operate electronic mail systems and coordinate the flow of information, internally or with other organizations.
• Operate office equipment, such as fax machines, copiers, or phone systems and arrange for repairs when equipment malfunctions.
• Schedule and confirm appointments for clients, customers, or supervisors.
• Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.
• Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningSpeakingReading ComprehensionWritingMonitoringCritical ThinkingAdministrativeEnglish LanguageComputers and ElectronicsCustomer and Personal Service

Education, experience and outlook for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 1 to 2 years (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Short-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: -6% over ten years, declining · about 163,900 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
• Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
• Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.