Professional Profile
As an administrative assistant, you’ll know the importance of organisation and presentation. With your CV, you’ll need to set yourself apart using the same structure and attention to detail you’re used to using in the workplace. CVs showcase your skills and professional experience, and your professional profile section introduces your professional story to potential employers. In this section, you’ll want to summarise your personality and details relevant to the job position you’re applying for.
Why do we include a professional profile section?
Including a professional profile introduces you to potential employers. While other sections of your CV may zoom in on more technical aspects of your career, such as your formal education qualifications or your previous job roles, your professional profile gives you the chance to creatively convey your career aspirations and motivations. Think of your professional profile, otherwise known as a personal statement, as your first impression with employers!
When writing your professional profile, it might be easier to ask yourself the following questions: What can I bring to this job role? How can I stand out from the crowd? What aspects of my personality would help me be an ideal candidate for this role? Where possible, weave in relevant career accomplishments or details, and do your homework on the companies you’re applying to.
Attentive and efficient administrative assistant with over five years experience providing excellent customer service. Highly adaptable and able to work well in fast-paced environments. Proficient at providing administrative support, managing customer and client relations, and working collaboratively to achieve company goals and objectives. Currently completing a Bachelor of Commerce at the National University of Ireland and looking to join a proactive and professional company after graduation.
Employment History
Your employment history section should include a master list of your previous job roles. If you’re just starting out or you’ve recently adjusted your career aspirations, we recommend creating a skill-focused CV to emphasise your professional value in other ways. Otherwise, list your previous job roles in order of most recent to least recent. You’ll want to include your job title, the name of the company, the length of time you spent in that position, and any notable achievements or tasks fulfilled. It’s especially important to highlight job duties that would signal why you’d be a successful candidate in the job role you’re applying for. Be sure to scan the job description and don’t be afraid to incorporate keywords into your employment history section where relevant!
Administrative Assistant at Isle & Co, Galway
January 2019 — April 2021
- Organised and arranged travel itineraries for senior staff and managed company finances, initiating reimbursements, invoices and communication with the Isle & Co payroll team
- Recorded minutes for meetings and disseminated to staff members as required
- Ordered and managed office equipment and supplies as necessary
- Answered all company emails and phone calls
Marketing Assistant at Shamrock Sean's, Galway
February 2017 — December 2018
- Created social media content for Shamrock Sean's Instagram and Facebook accounts, growing the company's Instagram account by over 1250 followers, and the company's Facebook account by over 1000 followers
- Developed social media strategies to improve customer retention, including evaluating metrics to create Shamrock Sean's posting schedule and reaching out to collaborate with other brands and influencers
- Maintained relationships with customers and assisted with content creation for Shamrock Sean's fortnightly newsletter
Receptionist at Galway Gains, Galway
March 2016 — December 2016
- Onboarded clients interested in gym memberships
- Greeted customers and answered queries and concerns
- Processed payments for gym goods and services, including personal trainer fees and nutritional supplements
- Regularly ensured the gym environment was kept clean and tidy
- Responded to emails and phone calls
Skills: Highlight your value
Are you a wiz on the computer? Can you work your way through an Excel spreadsheet? Fluent in more than one language? Employers want to know! The skills section of your CV should demonstrate any relevant qualifications and abilities that would help highlight your value to potential employers. As an administrative assistant, you’ll want to list skills related to communication, organisation and office management.
When listing your skills, your keywords matter. Just like you would in the employment history section, try to incorporate words from the job description in your skills section – this will help sidestep any Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that are tasked with filtering out applications based on the language an applicant has used. Even if you have the right qualifications and a shining professional profile, if you don’t use the right keywords or language, the ATS algorithm won’t push your CV to employers.
Hard skills
Hard skills are more technical skills required for certain job roles. For example, administrative assistants might have coding, project management or accounting skills that make them strong candidates for administrative job roles.
Soft skills
Soft skills, on the other hand, are more interpersonal skills. They usually involve interaction with others, and can include problem solving, leadership, communication or critical thinking. A well-balanced skills section tends to combine a mix of both hard and soft skills.
- Computer Skills
- Customer Service
- Communication Skills
- Bookkeeping
- Data Entry
Education
No matter where you are in your professional career, your education section is a great way to let employers know what type of education qualifications you have and help you stand out from other candidates. In this section, you’ll want to list your most recent educational qualification. For example, if you received a Master’s degree in Communication and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication, the Master’s degree should be listed first.
If you don’t have any educational qualifications obtained from an institution, you can also list your Leaving Certificate or any courses you may have taken that are relevant to your career pathway. The main point to remember when writing your education section is that you’ll want to include relevant, specific details that will help employers see you as the ideal candidate for the role.
Bachelor of Commerce, National University of Ireland, Galway
September 2020 — Present
- Currently in the process of completing a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG)
CV Formatting & Layout
At CVapp.ie, boring formatting and design layouts are not an option. To take your CV to the next level, choose one of our CV design templates. Whether you’re looking for a modern, professional, creative or simple design layout, we’ve got you covered. We recommend choosing a template that matches the tone of the company you’re applying for. It’s always good to do extra research on the company and to read the job description a few times to make sure you have a good understanding of the job role. With our CV Builder, we make it easy to create impressive CVs to land your next interview. Go n-éirí an bóthar leat – good luck!
