Secretary Resume Examples and Templates for 2023

Jacob Meade headshot

Jacob Meade

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, ACRW)

Jacob Meade is a resume writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience. His writing method centers on understanding and then expressing each person’s unique work history and strengths toward their career goal. Jacob has enjoyed working with jobseekers of all ages and career levels, finding that a clear and focused resume can help people from any walk of life. He is an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) with the Resume Writing Academy, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches.

Create a professional resume in minutes for free.

Build Resume

The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the number of employment opportunities for secretaries and administrative assistants to drop by 9% between 2019 and 2029, a loss of approximately 327,400 jobs. Much of the decline can be attributed to automation, which reduces the need for human intervention in processes like transcribing audio files, booking meeting rooms, and scheduling appointments.

As the number of jobs available decreases, you’ll be competing with more applicants for every opening, especially the desirable situations. One way to make yourself stand out from the crowd is to prepare a strong resume that effectively communicates your knowledge, skills, abilities and work experience to hiring managers. Below you’ll find downloadable resume templates for entry-level secretaries and secretaries with years of experience. You’ll also find helpful tips for tailoring your resume to each job description to improve your chances of landing an interview.

Downloadable Resume Examples

Entry-level
Secretary_Entry-level.pdf

Example #1 Entry-level

Mid-career
Secretary_Mid-career.pdf

Example #2 Mid-career

Senior-level
Secretary_Senior-level.pdf

Example #3 Senior-level

Secretary Resume Examples

Years of Experience
  • Entry-level Entry-level
  • Mid-career Mid-career
  • Senior-level Senior-level

Jerry Jackson
(123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | 123 Main Street, Tampa, FL 33609

Profile

Secretary with 3 years of experience. Skilled in Microsoft Office, Outlook Mail, CRM systems, and client booking systems. High aptitude for customer service, problem-solving, and administration. Dedicated to advancing business success and raising operational efficiency. Certified Administrative Professional.

Key Skills

  • Business Administration
  • Client Booking Systems
  • Data Sorting & Validation
  • Information Technology
  • Microsoft Office Suite
  • Office Management
  • Team Collaboration

Professional Experience

Secretary, Pitcher & Company Tampa CPA Firm, Tampa, FL | August 2020 to Present

  • File and scan client’s legal documents
  • Schedule client travel arrangements, meetings, and interviews
  • Update all calendars and diaries for managerial staff
  • Answer incoming calls and emails
  • Organize and file all office paperwork and documents

Secretary, Walter S. Sanders & Associates, Tampa, FL | October 2019 to August 2020

  • Scheduled meetings and drafted meeting agendas
  • Arranged travel and hotel bookings for senior staff members
  • Performed basic bookkeeping and invoicing functions
  • Organized incoming paperwork
  • Answered all phone and email inquiries

Education

Bachelor of Arts (BA) Business Administration, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL

Certifications

Certified Administrative Professional, The International Association of Administrative Professionals

Sarah Clark
(123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | 123 Main Street, Cape May, NJ 08204

Profile

Secretary with high administrative and IT competency. Strong experience using Microsoft Office and complex CRM systems. Recognized for consistently raising standards of customer service and administrative team efficiency.

Professional Experience

Secretary, Gibbons & O’Neill, Cape May, NJ | January 2017 to February 2021

  • Manage and update diaries and calendars for senior staff members
  • Responded to all phone and email inquiries
  • Managed CRM systems
  • Scheduled all meetings and interviews
  • Worked in Excel daily, performing data calculations and creating formulas, charts, and graphs
  • Trained junior team members to improve efficiency by 45%

Secretary, Cape Bookkeeping Tax & Insurance Center, Cape May, NJ | April 2014 to November 2017

  • Drafted all meeting agendas and kept notes during meetings
  • Organized and stored office paperwork
  • Issued and created invoices for clients
  • Provided administrative support to company directors
  • Answered all incoming calls
  • Streamlined invoice operations, raising efficiency 70%

Education

Bachelor of Science (BS) Business & Technology, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ | 2014

Key Skills

  • Client Communications
  • CRM System Updates
  • Customer Service & Relations
  • Diary & Calendar Management
  • Office Administration & Management

Certifications

Universal Class Certified General Secretary, New Jersey State Secretary Association | 2016

Alice Hanson
(123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | 555 Second Street, Huntington Beach, CA 01234

Profile

Reliable Secretary with 12+ years of administrative experience supporting managers and staff members. Equally efficient working independently or on a team. Adapt readily to new work challenges, conditions, and priorities.

Professional Experience

Administrative Secretary, J&J Products, Huntington Beach, CA | December 2016 to Present

  • Support 2 directors and 6 managers by maintaining calendars, booking travel, and preparing invoices
  • Perform master Excel-level calculations including VLOOKUP, pivot tables, and data work
  • Increased efficiency and accuracy by ~10% by leading the sales team to transfer paper filing systems to electronic data
  • Negotiated new vendor contracts to reduce the sales department budget by 15%+ in 2020

Secretary, Behavioral Health Services, Newport Beach, CA | June 2010 to December 2016

  • Greeted clients, answered multi-line phone system, and directed callers to the appropriate department
  • Performed clerical duties including copying, printing, scanning, mailing, and organizing medical charts
  • Managed office equipment and ordered new supplies as needed

Education

Associate of Applied Science in Administrative Assistance, Long Beach Community College, Long Beach, CA | 2010

Key Skills

  • Cross-Functional Collaboration
  • Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
  • Reporting & Documentation
  • Task Prioritization
  • Time Management

Certifications

Professional Administrative Certificate of Excellence (PACE), ASAP | 2017

Common Skills and Action Verbs for Secretary Resumes

Hiring managers don’t have a lot of time to review each application. The easier you make it for them to see that you meet the minimum requirements for a secretarial job, the more likely it is that you’ll be interviewed. Using action verbs at the beginning of each bullet point makes it easy for hiring managers to see what you’ve done and what kind of skills you have.

Many employers also use applicant tracking systems (ATS), which are programmed to search for keywords that relate to each job opening. Including these action verbs in your resume can help you make it past the automated screening.

Key Skills & Proficiencies
Arithmetic Call routing
Communication skills Discretion
Documentation Meeting planning
Organization Problem-solving
Scheduling Time management
Word processing
Action Verbs
Administer Analyze
Assist Calculate
Collate Collect
Compose Coordinate
Create Distribute
Evaluate Execute
Greet Implement
Manage Operate
Organize Plan
Resolve Review
Route Schedule

Tips for Writing a Better Secretary Resume

Ditch the phrase “attention to detail”

For nearly any secretary role, attention to detail is key.

But countless other professionals in various fields cite “attention to detail” as a key skill on their resume. The phrase is so overused that it no longer means anything to recruiters and hiring managers.

How can you express this theme in a more precise and compelling way? Simple: Convert it to a verb phrase. Specifically, start a sentence with “Closely attend to,” “Closely track,” or “Closely monitor.” Then flesh it out with details from your job experience.

Quantify your secretary experience

When you give specific numbers and results, hiring managers can better grasp the scope and impact of your work. Within each bullet point of your Experience section, see if you can include answers to the questions “How much?” or “How many?” If you don’t know the exact number, you can use the tilde (~) symbol to indicate an estimate or average.

Examples


  • Increased efficiency and accuracy by ~10% by leading the sales team to transfer paper filing systems to electronic data
  • Negotiated new vendor contracts to reduce the sales department budget by 15%+ in 2020

How to Align Your Resume With the Job Description

Hiring managers often receive more than 100 applications for a single job opening, which means they typically skim resumes instead of reading them line by line. If you want to grab their attention right away, it’s important to review the job description carefully and use the same language in your resume.

If you’re not sure which skills and experience to highlight in your resume, read the job description several times. Hiring managers usually put the most important qualifications in the first paragraph; they may also repeat essential skills two or three times. Compare your resume to the job description and make sure it includes every essential qualification. Instead of copying and pasting, use action verbs to make it clear that you’re qualified for the job.

Example Secretary Job Description


Mercy Hospital was recently ranked one of the top hospitals in Arizona due to its focus on clinical excellence. Put your secretarial skills to work in the hospital’s CAP-accredited pathology department, which processes more than 100 specimens per day. Utilize your typing and data entry skills as you transcribe dictations and prepare reports for physicians. This position requires excellent organizational skills and the ability to collaborate with team members to solve problems.

Responsibilities:

  • Transcribe pathology reports based on the content of physician dictations
  • Prepare correspondence to be sent to reference laboratories, medical specialists and patients
  • Support the chief of the department by scheduling meetings, creating presentation slides and locating research materials
  • Order and distribute office supplies
  • Schedule pathology department conferences and educational events
  • Process paperwork for department interns and medical students

Qualifications:

  • High school diploma; secretarial certification preferred
  • Extensive knowledge of medical terminology
  • 2-3 years of experience as a secretary or administrative assistant
  • Proficient in using Microsoft Word to prepare correspondence, memos and reports
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills
  • Minimum typing speed of 65 WPM
  • Minimum 10-key data entry speed of 10,000 KPH

According to the job description, the ideal candidate should possess the following qualifications:

  • Verbal and written communication skills
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Word
  • Advanced typing and data entry skills
  • Knowledge of medical terminology
  • Experience as a secretary or administrative assistant
  • Transcription capabilities

To strengthen your resume, take what you highlighted in the job description and incorporate it into your resume. The following example shows you how to make sure your resume matches the language of the job description.

Secretary Work Experience Example


Medical Secretary

Jones Memorial Hospital, August 2018 – Present

  • Transcribed operative reports, discharge summaries, progress notes and other documents
  • Typed memos, reports, letters and other documents with an averaging typing speed of 72 WPM
  • Used knowledge of medical terminology to verify the accuracy of medical reports
  • Displayed excellent verbal communication skills when interacting with patients, medical professionals and vendors
  • Utilized Microsoft Word to create transcription templates and prepare documents for mailing
  • Prepared presentation slides for medical conferences (Microsoft PowerPoint)