Landing an Administrative Assistant Job in Lancaster, PA With No Experience

When you are applying for any job, it is important to stand out from the rest of the candidates. If you are lacking experience in the field, it may seem impossible to find a job. However, people looking to work in an office setting should consider looking for a role as an admin assistant. It is one of the most popular job listings online today and it can help you get on an administrative career path with little to no experience.

While an administrative assistant certification or Associate’s degree can help you land an admin job, those things aren’t necessary. In fact, you can land an administrative assistant job with no previous work history in the field. Keep reading to find out how.

What is an Administrative Assistant?

The description of an administrative assistant is pretty straightforward. They are in charge of executing various administrative tasks, as assigned by their direct supervisor. Admin assistants can be employed by a wide variety of different businesses, including small employers, large corporations, law firms, and more. Just about every organization in every industry needs the help of an administrative assistant. They are charged with keeping everything in the office flowing smoothly on a day-to-day basis.

What Does an Administrative Assistant Do?

So, you may be wondering what exactly an administrative assistant does? If you haven’t worked as an admin in the past, many of the job descriptions may seem vague. Administrative assistants actually wear many hats in an organization. They are often the people who are scheduling meetings, providing communication, and offering support where it is needed.

The day-to-day tasks an administrative assistant may be asked to do widely vary from job to job. Some positions may require you to keep up with expense reports and make travel arrangements for people in the region. Others will have you performing other basic admin tasks like filing, writing communication to vendors, scanning things, sending faxes, answering the telephone, scheduling appointments, etc. The specifics will depend on the job and industry you are working in.

Administrative Assistant Qualifications

As mentioned above, additional certifications and higher education can help you land some admin jobs. They aren’t necessary for many entry-level admin roles though. For the most part, you will need to be well-versed in Microsoft Office, including Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and Outlook. Be sure you list these on your resume. It will help you stand out as employers are scanning through resumes because these are the top skills they are looking for.

You should mention that you are wanting to pursue work as an administrative assistant and explain how your previous experience and skill set will help you. For instance, admins need to have good communication skills, both written and verbal. They also need to be well-organized and have impeccable time management.

Landing an Administrative Assistant Job With No Experience

The key to landing a job with no experience is to target your search on entry-level administrative assistant jobs. These positions will help you build the skills and experience you need to get higher-paying admin jobs. Some employers will even pay for you to pursue certifications and further education if you make a good impression. There are a few things you’ll need, even if you have no experience.

As mentioned above, you should be well-versed in Microsoft products. Computer literacy, human relations, and organization are also key to success in this field. You should also take time to do the following to help yourself in landing an admin assistant job with no experience.

Research Admin Jobs in Lancaster, PA

As you embark on your administrative assistant job search, take the time to look into jobs in your area or area of choice. You might want to pay special attention to industries that are considered “hot” right now. They are more likely to be looking for admin help. Right now, these industries include healthcare, real estate, manufacturing, financial services, and tech-based companies.

Choose an industry you think you’d be interested in and look at what is required to pursue an entry-level admin job. What are the necessary education requirements? Is there any on-the-job training provided? Do you have the basic skills needed to land a job? Then consider what you need to do, if anything, to pursue an administrative assistant job.

Tailor Resume to Job Description

Once you know where you want to look and have taken the requirements into consideration, tailor your resume to the job description. Embellish the experience you have, but don’t lie. For instance, most of us have some experience working with a team. You can mention this on your resume and even play it up, but if you’ve never worked on a team, don’t lie. It’s easy to check the information on your resume and being caught in a lie isn’t the kind of impression you want to make.

Make Connections

Speaking of making impressions, you will meet a lot of new people once you start working in the admin field. After you start working as an admin assistant you can start making connections in the industry. Consider taking an internship or volunteer opportunity in the industry. This can help you get your foot in the door, build skills, and make the necessary connections to land an administrative assistant job in the sector.

Consider an Administrative Temp Job

When it comes to getting your foot in the door, many administrative professionals get their start in the field as temp workers. If you don’t have any previous experience as an administrative assistant, a temp job can help you gain skills and experience to add to your resume. Once you have that first job under your belt, landing other work will be so much easier.

Benefits of Working with Administrative Temp Agencies in Lancaster, PA

Accelerate Administrative Assistant Job Search

Making the choice to look for temporary or temp-to-hire jobs will greatly accelerate your job search because there will be so many more opportunities available. Instead of seeing only full-time direct-hire opportunities, you will expand what’s available to temporary jobs, part-time positions, temp-to-hire, and anything in between. Most temp jobs are also placed through staffing agencies, which will help speed up your time to hire as well.

Expand Your Network

Temporary jobs also help you expand your network. Even if you aren’t offered a full-time job at the end of it, you will meet new people and expand your professional network. When you make these connections, it will improve your chances of eventually landing a full-time admin job, no matter what your work history looks like.

Build Resume

Another great reason to consider an administrative temp job if you have no experience is that it gives you a chance to build new skills to add to your resume. You will have the entry-level experience to add to your CV and potentially new skills to add as well. This will help you build up your resume and, hopefully, land a permanent position as an administrative assistant.

What is Temp-to-Hire?

Temp-to-hire positions are common within the administrative job space. Oftentimes, you can find these jobs through administrative assistant temp agencies or staffing firms. In this arrangement, the employer agrees to hire you on a temporary basis with the potential for the job to become a full-time assignment.

During the temporary placement, the employer gets a feel for how you work with the rest of the team. They also get an idea of what your skills are and where you might need training. After they have assessed your performance, you will either be offered a full-time job at the end of your temp contract or you won’t. Either way, the job provides you with good experience and gives you the opportunity to get feedback from an employer in the industry.

There are a number of benefits to pursuing this type of employment. Of course, you will gain more experience and it can possibly lead to a full-time position. It also gives you a chance to test out the employer, industry, and job itself before you make a long-term commitment to the profession. After all, without any experience as an administrative assistant, you might discover you don’t enjoy the work as you get to know more about it.

Find an Administrative Assistant Job in Lancaster, PA with TriStarr

All of that being said, there is a lot of competition for administrative assistant jobs, whether they are temporary or not. While the position is still in demand, they aren’t as plentiful as they used to be, making it harder to find a job as an admin with no experience.

Thankfully, that is where administrative temp agencies like TriStarr come in. Employers work directly with agencies to find administrative assistants and other admin professionals. This means that you can receive a referral for a job from the agency without having prior experience. You simply have to work with a recruiter to polish your resume and discuss your career goals.

If you are looking for administrative staffing agencies in Lancaster, PA, look no farther than TriStarr. Our professional job recruiters will help you find an admin assistant job that fits your needs. Contact us to learn more about how we can assist you with your search.