If you are hoping to land an administrator job, or similar office support position, it’s vital that you have an effective CV.
An administrator CV that stands out from the crowd, and highlights your most in-demand skills will attract recruiters and win plenty of interviews for you.
This guide along with 5 administrator CV examples, will teach you everything you need to know about writing a winning CV and securing top admin roles.
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Administrator CV example
Sales administrator CV example
Contract administrator CV example
HR administrator CV example
Senior Administrator CV example
The above CV is a good example of an experienced administrator who has worked in a range of office support roles across numerous firms.
It should give you a good steer on how your CV might end up looking, but the following guide will walk you through step-by-step, the process of writing your own admin CV (curriculum vitae).
Admin CV structure
Before you start writing your CV, you will need to plan how you will layout the information and style the document. This stage is very important because the structure and format of the document will help you to create a pleasant reading experience for recruiters, and give you a professional first impression.
This infographic shows you what sections are needed in your CV, how they should be ordered, and some tips on styling.
Formatting tips
- Try to keep your CV to around 2 pages in length – it’s just the right length to get enough information across without boring readers.
- Keep the style simple with a clear crisp font, and modest colour scheme – there’s no need to over-complicate your CV.
- Divide sections with bold headings and borders to allow recruiters to navigate your CV quickly.
- Break text up for easy reading, and don’t add images or logos – they will distract from the all-important content.
Structuring your admin CV
Once you have your CV well-formatted, the following sections need to be included in order:
- Contact details – Add these at the very top of your CV… You don’t want them to be missed
- Profile – An introductory paragraph to reel recruiters in and summarise your skills
- Work experience / career history – List your work experience in reverse chronological order
- Education – Academic record and qualifications
- Interest and hobbies – Optional section
Now that you understand how your CV should be structured, I will take you through the sections in detail, and show you how to write each one.
CV contact details
At the very top of your CV, list your name and contact details so that recruiters can contact you easily.
Quick tip: Reduce the top page margin to push these details right to the top of the page, and create more space for the body of your CV.
The only contact details your CV needs are:
- Telephone number
- Email address (use a professional sounding address – no nicknames)
- Location
- Maybe a link to your LinkedIn profile if you have one
These are the only contact details required – there is no need to include your full address, date of birth, marital status etc. They are not required at such an early stage in the application process, and you shouldn’t circulate too much personal information online for security purposes.
Administrator CV profile
The top of your CV plays a very important role, because it is the first thing a recruiter will see upon opening the document, and you only have a few seconds to get their attention.
To ensure you make an instant good impression, head your CV up with a punchy profile that provides a rounded summary of your skills, and ensures people will commit time to reading your CV in full.
Your profile (sometimes called a personal statement by junior candidates) should be an introductory paragraph of about 5-10 lines.
These are the keys to creating a strong CV profile:
- Keep it short and sharp, you only have a few seconds to get your message across
- Tailor it towards your target roles by researching the core candidate requirements before you start writing
- Avoid generic clichés like “hardworking team player” – they are overused and don’t tell readers anything factual about you
Quick tip: If you worry that your spelling and grammar might not be correct, try using our quick-and-easy CV Builder to eliminate the risk of making mistakes.
This is an example of a good admin CV profile.
You can see more CV profile examples here.
As an administrator, these are the types of content that should be going into your profile:
Where you have worked – What types of organisation have you worked for? Large corporate firms? Small high street offices? If you have no work experience, you can always draw on school or university experience.
Qualifications – IT, maths and English qualifications can be important in admin work, as can vocational administrative qualifications
Essential admin skills – Although every administration role will be unique, there are certain skills that are likely to be required in all of them. Skills such as data entry/management, reporting, typing, filing, diary management etc.
Types of people you support – Who have you supported in previous roles? Head of departments? Global directors? Large teams?
System/software knowledge – Many admin roles will require the use of common systems and software such as Outlook and Microsoft Excel.
Boost your profile with a core skills section
To create an even bigger impact at the top of your CV, add a core skills section underneath your profile.
The core skills section is a series of bullet points split over 2 or 3 columns which highlight your most valuable skills and knowledge for admin roles.
The effect this section has, is that it allows readers to gain a good overview of your suitability, from just a quick glance at the CV – great for ensuring recruiters notice you.
Your work experience
Once you’ve given recruiters an overview of your abilities with the top of your CV, it’s time to start detailing your career history to give them some more in-depth insight into what you can do.
(If you have no direct work experience, don’t worry – you can write about any other experiences that could be relevant like school/university projects, personal projects, school work placements, voluntary work, or anything you can draw relevant skills from)
List your work experience in reverse chronological order (latest to oldest) because employers will be more interested in your recent work to assess your current capabilities.
As you move down your CV, you can shorten older roles because they won’t receive as much scrutiny from recruiters or employers.
Structuring your roles
It’s important that you structure your role descriptions in a way that is easy for recruiters to read, and allows them to gain a quick understanding of your work and impact.
Don’t make the mistake of writing your roles as big unbroken chunks of text, they are a reader’s worst nightmare.
Instead, use a structure like the one below to create a pleasant reading experience for everyone.
Here’s how you should populate each section of your administrative roles:
Outline
Build context for recruiters by providing an overview of the company you work for, where you fit within the organisation for and a brief summary of the role.
E.g.
“Working within business support team for global publishing business, providing administrative support to a number of busy teams and managing 2 assistants”
Key responsibilities
List the responsibilities within your role in short bullet points, and demonstrate as many important skills as possible – showing who you interact with, and how your actions benefit your employer.
E.g.
- Acts as first point of contact for email, telephone and in-person enquiries, responding professionally and providing information, referring on as appropriate
- Coordinating meetings, compiling agendas, taking minutes and distributing documents
Key achievements
To prove the impact you make in the workplace, finish the role with some achievements that have had a big positive impact on the business.
E.g.
- Introduced new file storage system which allowed managers to access documents with more speed and accuracy
- Resolved all data queries within 24 hour time period, reducing wait time by an average of 50%
See our best CV templates and Word CV template for more examples of role structures.
Education
Add your full education towards the bottom of your CV, listing GCSE’s, A-levels, degree and any vocational qualifications.
Don’t forget that if you have any qualifications that are highly relevant to the admin roles you are applying for, you should also mention them at the top of your CV in the profile.
Hobbies and interests
It’s up to you whether you include your hobbies and interests in your CV or not – They won’t usually make a big difference in any hiring decisions (good or bad)
If you have any interests that are somehow related to the roles you are applying for, then it could be worth mentioning them.
Common interests such as watching TV or eating out, aren’t worth mentioning.
Essential skills for your admin CV
Although there are many different types of administrative roles, the following skills tend to appear frequently in the candidate requirements for admin staff.
Business/office support – Most administrative roles revolve around the support of senior figures in the business or the office as a whole. Your CV should contain examples of who you support, and how your input helps the business to run smoothly.
Data entry and management – Admin often requires staff to deal with large volumes of data, ensuring that it is properly stored, processed and distributed. Highlight your ability to handle business-critical data and any tools or systems used in the process.
Document preparation – Preparing letters, emails, reports and other important business documents is an essential part of administration.
Communications – Communicating with colleagues to provide updates and information is a valuable skill for any administrator.
Microsoft Office – In most workplaces across the globe, Microsoft Office is the go-to business tool suite. Your CV must demonstrate your abilities with Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDF and any other widely used programmes.
Writing your admin CV – conclusion
Creating a strong administrator CV requires a blend of effective structure and impressive content.
If you are able to catch recruiters’ attention with a punchy profile, and prove the impact you make with well written role descriptions, you should certainly be able to land interviews for admin roles.
Remember that research and relevance is the key to a good CV. So research your target roles before you start writing and pack your CV with your skills that closely match the job requirements.
Good luck with the job search.
You can also check out our receptionist CV example or find more CV writing tips across our blog.