Hi, everybody. My name is Richard McMunn and in this interview
training video, I'm gonna teach you how to pass your admin assistant interview. So if you've got an administrative interview
coming up, this interview training video is for you. I'm gonna give you 7 interview questions,
but I'm also going to give you the answers. So please stick around. And I'll also tell you where you can download
the slides, which include the answers, to help you during your preparation. So welcome to this interview training video. That's me there on the right-hand side. My name is Richard McMunn. I've been helping people like you to pass
interviews for many, many years now. Lots of people who use my training end up
passing the interview. So please stick from beginning to end because,
as I say, I'm gonna actually give you the slides where you can download all of these
questions and answers. Please, I'd really appreciate it, if you do
like the video, you gave it a thumbs up, and don't forget to subscribe to this channel. Just click the red button below because then
you'll get notified as soon as I create further interview training videos, which I do virtually
every week. Okay, so let's get straight into the training
and get you passing your admin assistant interview. So three important tips, first of all, before
I give you the questions and answers. Tip number 1, make sure you use the job description
to predict the interview questions. Now, I'm gonna show you a sample job description
for an admin assistant, which will be pretty much the same as the one that you'll have
to go through. But if you follow this process, then you can
virtually predict the interview questions, and I'll show you what to do in a second. Tip number 2, use the STAR interview technique
when answering situational type questions. So a situational-type question would be, "Can
you give an example of when you have planned and organized multiple tasks as an admin assistant?" Okay, that's where you have to give a situation,
you have to describe it. So I'll show you in a second, again, how to
do that. Now tip number 3, be positive and upbeat about
the company you are applying for. So you're being interviewed for an admin assistant
role, make sure you research the company, but go on their website and see if you can
find any positive news stories about them that you can then relay back to them during
the interview, when they say to you, "Tell us about our company," then you can give them
some positive information. Okay, the first tip is use the job description
to predict the interview questions. So admin assistant job description, let's
have a look at a sample. So here we go, "We are looking for a responsible
admin assistant to perform a variety of admin tasks and clerical tasks. The duties of the admin assistant include
providing support to our managers and employees, planning and organizing daily tasks, managing
diaries and appointments, note taking, prioritizing tasks and communicating with our customers
and clients." So I'm going to put that up again, but if
you notice here, I've highlighted in red the key qualities and attributes required to do
the job, and these are the interview questions that you'll get asked. So you'll have to give evidence of when you
provided support, when you planned and organized, you managed diaries and appointments, you
took notes, you prioritized tasks and you communicated with customers or clients. So I'm going to give you sample interview
questions and responses in a second. And by the way, if you have an admin interview
coming up, please feel free to put the type of interview it is in the comments section
below the video and I'll come on and I'll predict the interview questions for you. Okay, so let's have a look at some sample
interview questions based on this job description. Number 1, give an example of when you've provided
support to a team within an administrative role? Question 2, describe a situation when you
have to plan and organize multiple tasks. And by the way, I'm going to give you the
responses to these interview questions very soon. Question 3, give an example of when you have
took notes during an important meeting. And question 4, describe a situation when
you've communicated effectively with customers and/or clients. So you can see there, by just getting the
job description at the top, I've then highlighted the key elements of the role, and then worked
out what the interview questions will be. And this will be pretty much the same for
all of you. Okay, the other tip that I mentioned was using
the STAR technique when answering situational type admin assistant interview questions. So you construct your responses in this manner. You tell them the situation you were in, so
describe the situation you were in. Then explain to the interview panel the tasks
that needed to be done. Then say what action you took. And then tell them what the result was. And I put there in brackets, positive, so
you want the result to be positive. So situation, task, action, result. That's how to structure your responses to
the situational type admin assistant interview questions. Okay, let's now get in to these interview
questions and answers that I keep going on about. And as I say, I'm gonna tell you where to
download these exact slides that you can use during your preparation soon. Question 1: Why do you want this job and what
can you bring to the role? So refer to the job description in your answer,
tell them you already have experience within this type of role, and list the qualities
you have that match the job description. So I'm gonna give you my sample response to
the interview question, "Why do you want this job and what can you bring to the role?" "I have studied the job description in detail
and I feel strongly that I have the skills, qualities and experience to match the role. For example, part of the role requires an
ability to plan, organize and be responsible for the organization's day-to-day activities. Now, in my previous role, I was praised for
this type of work and I believe I have extensive experience of organizing all types of work. I can be relied upon to organize all of your
tasks and I will never miss an important deadline. In addition to being organized, I set myself
very high standards, have solid communication skills, can be trusted to deal with your customers
and clients and am competent in all administrative software packages such as Excel, Word, and
PowerPoint. I feel strongly you will be impressed with
my work ethic and I will not let you down if I'm successful at interview today." That's a great response to the admin assistant
interview question, "Why do you want this job and what can you bring to the role?" Question 2: Describe a situation when you
had to plan and organize multiple tasks. So three tips: Give a specific example of
when you've managed multiple tasks; don't forget to use the STAR technique for responding
- situation, task, action, and result; and try to add a time element to the situation. So what I mean by that is you have to say,
"Do two or three important tasks within a set time period." Here's my response to this interview question
that you can use. "In my previous job, I had a situation one
day where the managing director required multiple tasks to be completed within a very short
time frame. A situation occurred whereby a key member
of staff was off sick, so somebody needed to step up and get the work done in super-fast
time. Now the tasks involved: organizing an important
meeting for the following day, taking notes and recording minutes for another meeting
that afternoon, and also collating sales data for the next day's meeting and briefing my
managing director. So I set about creating a plan for each task
based on the priority and importance. The following day's meeting was organized
first of all. I booked the meeting room, sent out invitations
and created the meeting agenda. I then planned for the meeting that afternoon
by reading the meeting notes from the previous meeting to make sure I was fully briefed and
aware of the action points and agenda. Now, following the meeting, I wrote up my
notes before starting work on the collation of sales data. It became apparent that I would not finish
the collation of data in time for 5:00 p.m., so I briefed my manager that I would stay
late and send over the figures as soon as they were ready. He was happy with my suggested resolution. And by 5:45 p.m., I had completed the work
and went in to brief my manager. He thanked me for my hard work was impressed
with my organization and planning abilities." Another great situation and response to that
question. I've actually given three tasks that had to
be done in the same day, but I also demonstrated how I planned them, and this is important,
based on priority. Which was the most important? And then I also demonstrated that I stayed
behind after work, which shows that I'm flexible. Okay? And that's an important part of the admin
assistant role. Question 3: Describe a time when you had to
deal with a difficult customer or client. Okay, virtually a guaranteed question. So three things: Give a specific example of
when you have to deal with someone who is difficult; demonstrate an ability to remain
calm and in control; and show you have the ability to resolve problems on your own. Okay, here we go. Here is the answer. "Recently, we received a complaint via email
from a who had ordered some goods from our website that ended up being faulty. I immediately took control of the situation
and contacted the customer by both email and telephone to explain I would be the point
of contact. The customer was clearly angry and upset at
the situation. Well, I listened to their concerns and demonstrated
empathy during the call. I managed to persuade the customer to give
me the opportunity to resolve the situation, which they agreed to. Now, after I had got to the bottom of the
situation, I apologized to the customer and detailed very clearly the steps I was going
to take in order to resolve it. I asked our warehouse team to dispatch the
new goods on a priority delivery service and arranged for a courier to also pick up the
faulty goods to save the customer having to do it themselves. I then arranged to call the customer the day
after the goods were delivered to check they were happy with the service and goods they
had received. When I spoke to the lady on the phone, she
thanked me for sorting out the problem quickly and to her satisfaction. Whenever dealing with customers or potentially
problematic situations, I can be relied upon to sort things out quickly and will always
take responsibility for a situation." A great answer. Question 4: What are your strengths? Okay, three things: Relate your answer to
the attributes required to do the job competently, and I'll show you how to do in a second; always
use positive keywords in your response to this question; and describe how you like to
be put under pressure and you can take responsibility because being an admin assistant means you
have to work under pressure. Some people can't handle that, but you can. You're going to demonstrate this in your response. Here we go. "I believe I have a number of key strengths
and qualities that would be highly useful within this role. Now, to begin with, I am highly organized
and can plan tasks effectively in order to make sure they are successful. I also have the ability to work alone as well
as part of a team. I am a strong communicator, both face-to-face
and via email. I set myself high standards and feel I can
be a positive role model for your company. Finally, one of my key strengths is that I
can be relied upon to deliver my work to a very high standard. I fully understand it's important for you
to employ an admin assistant who can be left alone to get on with their work and deliver
the tasks you need doing. I feel strongly that if you employ me, I will
work hard to perform my duties competently and professionally at all times." Great response. And don't forget, stick around still because
very soon, you're gonna get the slides with these exact responses that you can use. Question 5: What are your weaknesses? So that's obviously entirely different from
what are your strengths. Now, make sure you actually give a weakness,
so give a specific weakness. Those people who say they don't have any weaknesses,
in my opinion, are not telling the truth. We all do have weaknesses, but it's what you
do about them that's important. So turn your weakness into a strength, and
I'll show you how to do that in a second. Tell the interview panel you are continually
looking to improve and develop. Here's my response to the question, "What
are your weaknesses?" "I feel my main weakness is that I sometimes
take on too much work, simply because I don't want to say no. But by taking on too much work, it can potentially
have a detrimental impact on my other tasks. So I am learning to complete tasks thoroughly
first before agreeing to take on additional tasks. Having said that, I do feel it is my responsibility
to take on as much work as possible and I can be relied upon to work hard and complete
tasks thoroughly. If I feel there is a task put my way that
I cannot deliver on time and to the right standard, I will always look to find someone
else within the office who is equally as competent to take on the role. Finally, I'm always looking to personally
develop and improve my skills based on reflective analysis of my performance." Great response. Question 6: What is the most difficult part
of being an admin assistant? So what is the most difficult part of being
an admin assistant? This question assesses your knowledge of the
role because you can't say like it's all really easy because some parts are challenging, so
you have to demonstrate you understand the role. So demonstrate you can embrace difficult parts
of the job and give an example of when you've successfully completed the difficult aspect
of the role. Here we go, here's my answer that you can
use. "I find the most difficult part of the admin
assistant role is having to rely on external partners and organizations to get a specific
task completed. Now when I'm relying on external partners
or businesses to respond to queries or questions, it can be challenging and frustrating, as
the success of your own task relies on them responding and doing their part of the job
in a timely manner. Now, although this part of the role can be
frustrating, I actually quite enjoy chasing people and putting pressure on them to do
their task, simply because my job is reliant on them performing. I am always courteous and polite when dealing
with people, companies or partners, but I do find that being in regular contact with
them during the task completion process helps to get the job completed more quickly. Question 7: What would you do if you didn't
get on with someone in the office? Okay, now this question assesses your level
of maturity and professionalism. So don't say you have had this type of situation
before because we want you to get on with everybody. So what you have to do is you say what you
would do if this situation arose. So give a step-by-step explanation of what
you would do. And here's my response for you. "Although I've never found myself in this
type of situation, I feel I could handle it maturely and professionally. I understand that sometimes we can't get on
with everyone, but I would always try my best to be friendly, professional, and helpful
with anyone I worked with. If there was someone I didn't get on with,
I would first of all go out of my way to try and make friends as this would be beneficial
to the team environment. I would also look at my own actions to see
if I were actually doing anything that was potentially contributing to the situation. If I had tried absolutely everything and we
still didn't get on, I would always be friendly and professional as the goals and aims of
the organization must always come first." Okay, great. So to get these slides, click the link below
the video, okay, and you will see that I've put in the description below the video, and
you might have to click the Show More link, then you'll see I've uploaded these slides
to SlideShare where you can download straight away. Also, to get another 50 training video interview
questions and answers to help you pass the admin assistant interview, click the link
below the video or go to the website passmyinterview.com and you can get access to a free training
course. And there is literally over 50 training videos
with questions and answers. Guys, I hope you've enjoyed that video. Please, give it a thumbs up. Don't forget to subscribe and also say hi
in the comment section. And if you'd like me to create any videos
for you, or you want me to answer any questions, stick them in the comments section, and I'd
be more than happy to help. Thank you very much for listening and watching. And I wish you all the very best in your pursuit
to passing your admin assistant interview.
