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.
Use the answer guidelines to develop your own excellent interview answers and get the secretarial position you want.
Tips secretary positions interview questions
Dress appropriately. Plan your outfit at least the night before and make sure it is clean/pressed.
Turn OFF your cell phone (a lot of people forget this one).
Bring copies of your resume and references for the interviewer as well as a pad of paper and a pen. Be polite and friendly to EVERYONE that you meet because the hiring manager may ask for their opinion.
Look the interviewer in the eyes. Speak clearly. Smile. Try to use "confident" body language.
Stay calm and try to remember that an interview is a 2 way discussion. You're trying to find out of an employer is going to be good for you, just like they are trying to find out if you will be good for them.
Prepare some answers for the typical questions like "tell me about yourself" "what are your greatest strengths/weaknesses" "where do you see yourself in x years" (you can search for interview questions and answers and see what more of the typical questions are as well as the best ways to answer them)
Try to include specific examples of your relevant skills, experience, and abilities in your answers. Remember you're selling yourself so you want to point out things that are relevant to the company.
Stay positive. Try to frame everything in a positive way, even if it is/was horrible. Never speak badly of other people or past positions/companies. There is always something polite to say.
If you find yourself flustered, its ok to ask for a moment to think about the question... it is, afterall, a discussion and discussions have pauses and silence in them.
DO YOUR RESEARCH! Look into the company, their vision, the duties of the job, and the typical pay for a similar position in your area.
Ask questions at the end. You should prepare 5-10 questions (I prepare 8 in case some get answered) based on the research you have done.
Tell me a little about yourself. This is always a tough one because you may be asking yourself “what do they want to know?” Focus on your skills, abilities and your interests. The interviewer wants to know about you and what your plans are for the present and the future. Remember to keep the answer brief because it can set the tone for the rest of the interview.
Why do you want to work for us? Here’s your chance to tell the interviewer why you chose to apply for the job. Don’t say because of the pay. While it is good to be honest, that may be pushing it. This is your opportunity to talk about how this job will help you and mention your availability.
What extracurricular activities do you participate in? This is your chance to talk about you—especially to show your personality. Your extracurricular activities are a reflection of you and your interests.
Why should I hire you? Be honest. Let the interviewer know why you are the best for the job. This is your chance to “sell” yourself and set yourself apart from the other interviewees
These questions will help you prepare for the interview.
Planning skills for Secretary
Meeting management for Secretary
Use the answer guidelines to develop your own excellent interview answers and get the secretarial position you want.
Tips secretary positions interview questions
Dress appropriately. Plan your outfit at least the night before and make sure it is clean/pressed.
Turn OFF your cell phone (a lot of people forget this one).
Bring copies of your resume and references for the interviewer as well as a pad of paper and a pen. Be polite and friendly to EVERYONE that you meet because the hiring manager may ask for their opinion.
Look the interviewer in the eyes. Speak clearly. Smile. Try to use "confident" body language.
Stay calm and try to remember that an interview is a 2 way discussion. You're trying to find out of an employer is going to be good for you, just like they are trying to find out if you will be good for them.
Prepare some answers for the typical questions like "tell me about yourself" "what are your greatest strengths/weaknesses" "where do you see yourself in x years" (you can search for interview questions and answers and see what more of the typical questions are as well as the best ways to answer them)
Try to include specific examples of your relevant skills, experience, and abilities in your answers. Remember you're selling yourself so you want to point out things that are relevant to the company.
Stay positive. Try to frame everything in a positive way, even if it is/was horrible. Never speak badly of other people or past positions/companies. There is always something polite to say.
If you find yourself flustered, its ok to ask for a moment to think about the question... it is, afterall, a discussion and discussions have pauses and silence in them.
DO YOUR RESEARCH! Look into the company, their vision, the duties of the job, and the typical pay for a similar position in your area.
Ask questions at the end. You should prepare 5-10 questions (I prepare 8 in case some get answered) based on the research you have done.
Tell me a little about yourself. This is always a tough one because you may be asking yourself “what do they want to know?” Focus on your skills, abilities and your interests. The interviewer wants to know about you and what your plans are for the present and the future. Remember to keep the answer brief because it can set the tone for the rest of the interview.
Why do you want to work for us? Here’s your chance to tell the interviewer why you chose to apply for the job. Don’t say because of the pay. While it is good to be honest, that may be pushing it. This is your opportunity to talk about how this job will help you and mention your availability.
What extracurricular activities do you participate in? This is your chance to talk about you—especially to show your personality. Your extracurricular activities are a reflection of you and your interests.
Why should I hire you? Be honest. Let the interviewer know why you are the best for the job. This is your chance to “sell” yourself and set yourself apart from the other interviewees
These questions will help you prepare for the interview.
- Give an instance where you dealt with an angry customer. How did you deal with the situation?
- What is the highest function you know how to do in MS Word?
- A client calls and asks for your boss however he is not in at the moment. How do you handle the caller?
- Have you dealt with proprietary information ion the past? In what form?
- You boss askes you to stay late to complete a project but you have committments at home tonight. How do you handle the situation?
- What are your career goals for Secretary?
- What is your greatest weakness?
- What kind of salary are you looking for Secretary?
- What are key tasks for Secretary?
- What are techniques/methods list that you used in your work as Secretary? Please explain how to you use them?
- Please tell me applications/software that you used for your work as Secretary?
- How do you apply ISO 9001 for your secretary job?
- What are most common mistakes for secretary job and how to solve them?
- What are top 3 skills for Secretary?
Language skills for Secretary
Written communication skills for Secretary- What were your grades in Math? English? Spelling?
- How are your proof reading skills? Describe how you proof read.
- Do you speak any other languages?
- Please provide a few examples of written communication (just mention) for example ? writing to embassies or central banks.
- Please elaborate on all the types of business communication you have dealt with.
- What program or application do you use for your written communication?
- Can you please edit this letter within 5 minutes?
- What mistakes do you normally make in written communication?
- Please explain how you would edit a letter that you have to type up. Will you only correct the spelling mistakes or do you make changes to the sentences and format of the letter as well?
Planning skills for Secretary
- How do you setup your workspace?
- Do you prefer everything to be stored in one place or do you have a system for remembering where stuff is?
- How do you make sure that colleagues can find information or files if you are not around?
- Provide an example of where you had to organize a schedule, people or work space and elaborate on how you went about doing it.
- What do you perceive as the worst part in your present/last job?
- We have problems with___________ Please provide us with a solution to it.
Soft skills and abilities for Secretary
IT interview questions for Secretary- Tell me about the most difficult person you have ever dealt with over the phone and what did you do?
- Tell me about the most difficult person you have dealt with face to face and what did you do?
- Tell me about the last time you had information that you could not tell anyone else about?
- Tell me about the last time that you had to prioritize jobs because you had so many things going at once?
- Are you able to multitask? Are you capable of handling multiple inquiries: staff, front door, students, phone?
- How do you handle stressful situations?
- Do you consider yourself a brisk worker or one who is slower paced yet persistent and consistent?
- Give an example of a major problem you faced at work and how you solved it.
- Are you capable of handling multiple inquiries; staff, front door, customers, phone?
- Do you know how to use MS Excel?
- Can you create a calendar of projects for each manager in Excel?
- What have you done on Excel? What is most complicated thing you have done on Excel?
- What kinds of word documents have you done?
- What office equipment are you able to use? What software are you comfortable using?
- What computer skills do you possess? What programs are you proficient in using? WORD? EXCEL? ACCESS? WORKS? OMNI FORM/FILLER?
- Can you take dictation in shorthand? If not, how do you take notes that a supervisor wants converted to letter, form, etc.?
- Can you use macros?
- What is your typing speed?
- What software are you comfortable using?
- What is your experience with meeting planning and calendar maintenance?
- How do you coordinate and schedule a meeting?
- If I asked you to schedule a meeting and insure that all aspects of the meeting are taken care of, what will you do?
- What is your experience with meeting planning and calendar maintenance?
Handling works for Secretary
Work priority scheduling for Secretary
Records management for Secretary- Provide an example of a conflict situation where you had to select between priorities and how did you reach a compromise?
- How do you handle a too large workload?
- Provide an example of where you had to deal with an angry colleague about work and explain how you resolved the issue.
- Provide an example of a strict deadline you had to deal with recently and explain how you kept the deadline.
- Provide examples of what you see as tight deadlines.
- What was the most recent job overload situation with a tight deadline and how did you deal with it?
- How do you plan work priorities? Do you use a specific system and if so, explain?
- When you have three or more important projects scheduled for the same day, do you have a system in place to decide which one needs to be finished first?
- On what do you base your decision for the priority level of the work?
- How do you work with confidential information?
- What are the different means by which documents may be filed?
- Tell me about the last job you did that involved record-keeping or bookkeeping?
- Describe your filing system. (Do they mention both cabinet filing and computer filing?) How would you “file” computer files?
Good luck in finding the perfect fit!
These are just some of the secretarial interview questions. You may also refer to Competency Based Questions Examples article for further information.
These are just some of the secretarial interview questions. You may also refer to Competency Based Questions Examples article for further information.
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