In this article:
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Common skills tested:
Time management
Organization
Attention to detail
Active listening
Microsoft Office/Google Suite
Resourcefulness
Multitasking
Adaptability
How to test for these skills:
Administrative assistants help ensure that their department and the executives they support are as efficient as possible. Assistants are often responsible for managing calendars, distributing communications, coordinating travel/events, and reporting. To do these things effectively, they must know how to pay attention to details, manage competing priorities, and utilize available resources.
Luckily, you can use Vervoe to assess the skills mentioned above. We recommend setting up scenario specific questions that are relevant to your organization. Then, asking the candidate to respond to that situation. This will give the candidate an idea of the type of work that they would be required to do in the job role, while showcasing to you how the candidate would handle a realistic situation.
If your administrative assistant will be asked to manipulate spreadsheets; you can include a Google Sheets immersive question with sample data that asks the candidate to organize the document. You could even include a question with a recording of a phone call and ask the candidates to take notes. The candidate would then have a limited time to type up the notes from the call. Their response would then give you a good indication of their listening skills along with their ability to multitask.
When creating an assessment, consider what skills are most important for your organization and type these out in our skills assessment builder to create a bespoke assessment.
Read this article that explains how to use our skills assessment builder.
You can also start from one of our premade assessments titled Administrative Assistant under the expert section in our library. You can choose to customize the template or use it as-is.
Follow Best practices for higher completion rates and AI accuracy:
- Use a variety of question types
- Include no more than 10 questions
- Include an intro about your company and the job role. This would be a great use of any company videos.
- Start with an easy question and build up to the more difficult ones later in the assessment
- Restrict the use of timers, only use them in scenarios where an employee would be required to react in a limited amount of time
Where in the funnel should I use an assessment?
Administrative assistant jobs tend to have a high volume of candidates especially roles that are remote.
You can start out with a short assessment that evaluates the nonnegotiable skills (e.g., can they use Google Sheets, do they speak more than one language, etc.). From there you can progress candidates that pass that stage to a second assessment that assesses additional skill requirements.
We recommend allowing all candidates who apply to complete the assessment first. Make sure to include details of the process in your job description. This way candidates are prepared and know what to expect.
Read more about how to craft the perfect job description to attract quality candidates here.