About
Administrative Assistants are required to have a range of skills in order to thrive in their role. As such, the recruitment process is likely to include aptitude and psychometric assessments to match the suitability of a candidate with the role requirements, as well as an interview.
When preparing for your interview, ensure that you have researched the specific role responsibilities so that you understand the competencies the employer is looking for you to demonstrate. It is worthwhile researching the company itself, so that you can show an understanding of, and synergy with, the company’s ethics. Make sure you highlight any key work experience that is relevant to the role you have applied for.
Clerical and administrative roles require an individual to support other members of staff with day-to-day office responsibilities. As such, strong communication skills, teamwork and organisational skills are essential. The types of assessments you can expect to face as part of the selection process have been outlined below:
Verbal Reasoning – these tests are designed to evaluate your ability to use and understand English. Typically, you will be presented with a short passage of text, and you will be expected to answer questions relating to this information.
Numerical Reasoning – these tests are designed to assess your ability to work with numbers and apply basic mathematical concepts such as percentages, ratios and fractions.
Error Checking – these tests will determine your attention to detail, as this is a key skill within a clerical role. These types of tests will provide you with data that you will need to review and you will be expected to highlight any errors that you find.
Situational Judgement – this test will present you with work-like scenarios that you may face within an administrative assistant role. You will be expected to choose the most appropriate course of action based on the information provided.
It is common for a personality test to be included within an assessment day, so make sure you have familiarised yourself with the format of these types of tests. We have dedicated a number of useful web pages that can help you prepare for a personality test, which we have listed below:
Personality test practice
Personality test tips
16PF Questionnaire
Myers Briggs Test
DiSC Personality Test
Administrative Assistant Skills Assessment
Some employers will ask you to complete a specific skill based assessment that is relevant to an administrative assistant role. Such tests include:
A touch typing test
Note taking exercise
Proof-reading exercise
Microsoft office exercise (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Make sure you are prepared by signing up to our Administrative Assistant Practice Test Package today!
