13 Common Secretarial Interview Questions

Sample secretarial interview questions frequently asked by interviewers. The interview answer guidelines will help you prepare your best answers to land the secretary job you want.

Secretarial jobs require a broad base of skills and experience. The
questions asked in the interview for a secretarial or administrative
professional job will vary depending on the employer, the level of the
job and the candidate's experience.

However, this is a good sample of the interview questions that are most commonly asked in secretarial recruitment.

13 Key Secretarial Interview Questions and Answers

Expect questions that explore key secretarial skills including:

• computer skills and data management
  
• planning, organizing, scheduling and prioritizing
• handling inquiries and correspondence
  
• maintaining confidentiality and discretion

1. Describe how your work experience relates to this job.

Look
at this from the employer's point of view. Focus on the aspects of your
experience and any formal or on-the-job training that apply to the
tasks and responsibilities of this secretary job and the needs of the
company.

Analyze the secretary job posting to determine the key skills required
for the job and detail your experience in each of these areas - examples
include:

• writing and editing correspondence
• scheduling
• dealing with
  inquiries
• information management
• maintaining confidentiality
  

One of the key secretarial interview questions. Explain how you schedule and prioritize your tasks and activities appropriately. How do you decide which are the most important tasks?

Focus
on key aspects like:

• finding out the urgency of the task
• determining
  deadlines
• working out how long the task will take
• setting realistic
  targets for yourself

When
do you develop your list of activities to be completed - at the start
of the day or before you go home ready for the next day? How do you
reshuffle your priorities as situations arise that demand a change in
your priorities?

8. What sort of correspondence were you responsible for generating?

Detail
the types of correspondence you were responsible for with the focus on
your written communication skills, accuracy, spelling and grammar
ability.

• highlight
  the level of responsibility you were given - reports, letters, memos
  etc.
• refer to the methods you used to send and distribute
  correspondence

9. What kind of inquiries did you have to respond to?

Secretaries
and administrative professionals are expected to have excellent
communication and interpersonal skills. Describe the type of
interactions you had with colleagues, management and clients.

Highlight how you used your knowledge of the department, organization and business to respond efficiently to these queries.

10. Describe what record-keeping you were responsible for.

Secretaries
or administrative professionals serve as information managers for the
company. They are responsible for objective and detailed record keeping.

Explain which record keeping you were entrusted with and how you
made sure these records were updated and accurate. What methods did you
use? Highlight your attention to detail and accuracy.

11. What sort of confidential information did you have to deal with?

Confidentiality
and discretion are key skills for a secretary. Expect secretarial
interview questions that explore your ability to handle confidential
information. Detail the sort of sensitive information you had access to.

Explain how you made sure the information was kept confidential. How was the information stored and destroyed?

12. What cash handling experience do you have?

Explain
what types of transactions you handled - check, cash, bankcard - and
what procedures you used to process and document these.

• how much money
  was involved
• focus on accuracy in terms of collection, receipting,
  reconciliations and banking

13. Tell me about the manager/s you worked for?

When
answering secretarial interview questions about previous managers avoid
saying anything that can be seen as negative. It sends up a red flag
about your attitude to authority and supervision. Find positive aspects
to highlight. Focus on the areas in which you worked well together.

Find sample answers to the question How would you describe your previous manager?

Secretary interview questions - competencies and motivation for the job

Be ready for the secretary interview questions that explore your competency and motivation for the job. Prepare your own winning answers using the sample answers.

Questions to ask in your secretarial job interview

The job interview is a two way process - you will be expected to ask questions throughout.

Have a list of smart and insightful questions ready to ask the employer
and impress as a committed and confident job candidate. This list of questions to ask in your secretary interview sets you up for success.

How to prepare for your secretary interview

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