Hi, everybody.
My name is Richard McMunn and in this interview training video, I'm gonna teach you how to
pass your admin assistant interview.
So if you've got an administrative interview coming up, this interview training video is
for you.
I'm gonna give you 7 interview questions, but I'm also going to give you the answers.
So please stick around.
And I'll also tell you where you can download the slides, which include the answers, to
help you during your preparation.
So welcome to this interview training video.
That's me there on the right-hand side.
My name is Richard McMunn.
I've been helping people like you to pass interviews for many, many years now.
Lots of people who use my training end up passing the interview.
So please stick from beginning to end because, as I say, I'm gonna actually give you the
slides where you can download all of these questions and answers.
Please, I'd really appreciate it, if you do like the video, you gave it a thumbs up, and
don't forget to subscribe to this channel.
Just click the red button below because then you'll get notified as soon as I create further
interview training videos, which I do virtually every week.
Okay, so let's get straight into the training and get you passing your admin assistant interview.
So three important tips, first of all, before I give you the questions and answers.
Tip number 1, make sure you use the job description to predict the interview questions.
Now, I'm gonna show you a sample job description for an admin assistant, which will be pretty
much the same as the one that you'll have to go through.
But if you follow this process, then you can virtually predict the interview questions,
and I'll show you what to do in a second.
Tip number 2, use the STAR interview technique when answering situational type questions.
So a situational-type question would be, "Can you give an example of when you have planned
and organized multiple tasks as an admin assistant?"
Okay, that's where you have to give a situation, you have to describe it.
So I'll show you in a second, again, how to do that.
Now tip number 3, be positive and upbeat about the company you are applying for.
So you're being interviewed for an admin assistant role, make sure you research the company,
but go on their website and see if you can find any positive news stories about them
that you can then relay back to them during the interview, when they say to you, "Tell
us about our company," then you can give them some positive information.
Okay, the first tip is use the job description to predict the interview questions.
So admin assistant job description, let's have a look at a sample.
So here we go, "We are looking for a responsible admin assistant to perform a variety of admin
tasks and clerical tasks.
The duties of the admin assistant include providing support to our managers and employees,
planning and organizing daily tasks, managing diaries and appointments, note taking, prioritizing
tasks and communicating with our customers and clients."
So I'm going to put that up again, but if you notice here, I've highlighted in red the
key qualities and attributes required to do the job, and these are the interview questions
that you'll get asked.
So you'll have to give evidence of when you provided support, when you planned and organized,
you managed diaries and appointments, you took notes, you prioritized tasks and you
communicated with customers or clients.
So I'm going to give you sample interview questions and responses in a second.
And by the way, if you have an admin interview coming up, please feel free to put the type
of interview it is in the comments section below the video and I'll come on and I'll
predict the interview questions for you.
Okay, so let's have a look at some sample interview questions based on this job description.
Number 1, give an example of when you've provided support to a team within an administrative
role?
Question 2, describe a situation when you have to plan and organize multiple tasks.
And by the way, I'm going to give you the responses to these interview questions very
soon.
Question 3, give an example of when you have took notes during an important meeting.
And question 4, describe a situation when you've communicated effectively with customers
and/or clients.
So you can see there, by just getting the job description at the top, I've then highlighted
the key elements of the role, and then worked out what the interview questions will be.
And this will be pretty much the same for all of you.
Okay, the other tip that I mentioned was using the STAR technique when answering situational
type admin assistant interview questions.
So you construct your responses in this manner.
You tell them the situation you were in, so describe the situation you were in.
Then explain to the interview panel the tasks that needed to be done.
Then say what action you took.
And then tell them what the result was.
And I put there in brackets, positive, so you want the result to be positive.
So situation, task, action, result.
That's how to structure your responses to the situational type admin assistant interview
questions.
Okay, let's now get in to these interview questions and answers that I keep going on
about.
And as I say, I'm gonna tell you where to download these exact slides that you can use
during your preparation soon.
Question 1: Why do you want this job and what can you bring to the role?
So refer to the job description in your answer, tell them you already have experience within
this type of role, and list the qualities you have that match the job description.
So I'm gonna give you my sample response to the interview question, "Why do you want this
job and what can you bring to the role?"
"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.
Now, 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."
That's a great response to the admin assistant interview question, "Why do you want this
job and what can you bring to the role?"
Question 2: Describe a situation when you had to plan and organize multiple tasks.
So three tips: Give a specific example of when you've managed multiple tasks; don't
forget to use the STAR technique for responding - situation, task, action, and result; and
try to add a time element to the situation.
So what I mean by that is you have to say, "Do two or three important tasks within a
set time period."
Here's my response to this interview question that you can use.
"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.
Now 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.
Now, 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.
And 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."
Another great situation and response to that question.
I've actually given three tasks that had to be done in the same day, but I also demonstrated
how I planned them, and this is important, based on priority.
Which was the most important?
And then I also demonstrated that I stayed behind after work, which shows that I'm flexible.
Okay?
And that's an important part of the admin assistant role.
Question 3: Describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer or client.
Okay, virtually a guaranteed question.
So three things: Give a specific example of when you have to deal with someone who is
difficult; demonstrate an ability to remain calm and in control; and show you have the
ability to resolve problems on your own.
Okay, here we go.
Here is the 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."
A great answer.
Question 4: What are your strengths?
Okay, three things: Relate your answer to the attributes required to do the job competently,
and I'll show you how to do in a second; always use positive keywords in your response to
this question; and describe how you like to be put under pressure and you can take responsibility
because being an admin assistant means you have to work under pressure.
Some people can't handle that, but you can.
You're going to demonstrate this in your response.
Here we go.
"I believe I have a number of key strengths and qualities that would be highly useful
within this role.
Now, 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."
Great response.
And don't forget, stick around still because very soon, you're gonna get the slides with
these exact responses that you can use.
Question 5: What are your weaknesses?
So that's obviously entirely different from what are your strengths.
Now, make sure you actually give a weakness, so give a specific weakness.
Those people who say they don't have any weaknesses, in my opinion, are not telling the truth.
We all do have weaknesses, but it's what you do about them that's important.
So turn your weakness into a strength, and I'll show you how to do that in a second.
Tell the interview panel you are continually looking to improve and develop.
Here's my response to the question, "What are your weaknesses?"
"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."
Great response.
Question 6: What is the most difficult part of being an admin assistant?
So what is the most difficult part of being an admin assistant?
This question assesses your knowledge of the role because you can't say like it's all really
easy because some parts are challenging, so you have to demonstrate you understand the
role.
So demonstrate you can embrace difficult parts of the job and give an example of when you've
successfully completed the difficult aspect of the role.
Here we go, here's my answer that you can use.
"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.
I am always courteous and polite when dealing with people, companies or partners, but I
do find that being in regular contact with them during the task completion process helps
to get the job completed more quickly.
Question 7: What would you do if you didn't get on with someone in the office?
Okay, now this question assesses your level of maturity and professionalism.
So don't say you have had this type of situation before because we want you to get on with
everybody.
So what you have to do is you say what you would do if this situation arose.
So give a step-by-step explanation of what you would do.
And here's my response for you.
"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."
Okay, great.
So to get these slides, click the link below the video, okay, and you will see that I've
put in the description below the video, and you might have to click the Show More link,
then you'll see I've uploaded these slides to SlideShare where you can download straight
away.
Also, to get another 50 training video interview questions and answers to help you pass the
admin assistant interview, click the link below the video or go to the website passmyinterview.com
and you can get access to a free training course.
And there is literally over 50 training videos with questions and answers.
Guys, I hope you've enjoyed that video.
Please, give it a thumbs up.
Don't forget to subscribe and also say hi in the comment section.
And if you'd like me to create any videos for you, or you want me to answer any questions,
stick them in the comments section, and I'd be more than happy to help.
Thank you very much for listening and watching.
And I wish you all the very best in your pursuit to passing your admin assistant interview.