The short answer
Use the administrative assistant posting to choose relevant vocabulary, then support it with work you can explain. These are illustrative skill groups, not a ranking of keywords or a guarantee about an employer's ATS.
What to emphasize for administrative assistant roles
Show how you keep an office's information and commitments organized. Instead of listing office duties as one broad responsibility, identify the records, schedules, documents, or people you supported and the checks you used to keep work accurate.
Start by separating the posting into essential requirements, preferred experience, and day-to-day responsibilities. Identify which requirements you meet, where the evidence appears in your background, and which gaps you should explain rather than conceal. A job description is a selection brief, not text to paste wholesale into a resume.
Skill groups to compare with the posting
Use only the terms that fit your experience and the particular opening. Expand important abbreviations once when doing so makes the resume easier to understand. Put tools in a compact skills section and show their use in the relevant experience or project.
- Office coordination: scheduling, meeting logistics, incoming correspondence, visitor support.
- Records: document management, data entry, invoice tracking, filing systems, proofreading.
- Team support: purchase requests, travel arrangements, onboarding logistics, supplier communication.
- Software: specific spreadsheet, email, scheduling, or document tools you used for the work.
Examples that show the work
The following are fictional examples of structure and specificity. Replace the context, tools, and results with your own facts. When you have a reliable number, add its scope and time period; when you do not, explain the output or the problem you helped resolve.
Record accuracy
Reconciled invoice details against purchase records and flagged missing approvals before the monthly payment run.
Coordination
Managed meeting invitations, room bookings, and briefing documents for the department's recurring planning sessions.
Review before applying
Distinguish work you owned from work you assisted with. If you used spreadsheets, describe the operations you can perform rather than applying an unsupported advanced rating.
Keep the formatting readable, verify the contact details, and inspect the exported document rather than only the editor preview. After an employer parses the resume, review job titles, dates, and education for errors before submitting. Save the version you used so interview preparation matches the application.
Sources and further reading
Provider and employer requirements can change. Follow the instructions for the particular application or integration.