Administrative assistant job description template, with classification notes and screening questions

An administrative assistant job description should say, before anything else, who the person supports and what their day is made of. "Supports the office" can mean answering a front desk, running three managers' calendars, processing invoices or all of those, and candidates who are excellent at one are often unhappy in another. Below is a copy-ready template, the pay, classification and EEO wording, how each must-have becomes a screening question and scorecard row, and the mistakes that make admin postings vague or inflated. The general method is in how to write a job description that screens.

Decide who and what the role supports

Ask the hiring manager to list a typical week's tasks with rough hours each. That list becomes the duties section, and the two or three biggest items become the must-haves.

The administrative assistant job description template

Administrative Assistant, [department or office]
[Company], [city] — [On-site / Hybrid: days]
Pay: $[min]–$[max] [per hour / per year]. [Benefits summary, if
required.]

SUMMARY
You will keep the [department / office] of [N] people running:
[calendars and meetings for N managers / the front desk / invoices and
vendor records]. You will report to [title] and work most closely with
[roles].

WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Schedule meetings across [N] calendars in [Outlook / Google
  Calendar], resolving conflicts and booking rooms or video links.
- Prepare documents, slides and spreadsheets from drafts or notes in
  [Word, Excel, PowerPoint / Google Docs, Sheets].
- Handle [incoming calls, visitors, mail and deliveries].
- [Process purchase orders and invoices in [system] and track
  approvals.]
- Arrange [travel, events, new-hire setup].
- Keep shared files and records organized and confidential.

YOU MUST HAVE
- Managed calendars or schedules for at least [two] people at once.
- Produced clean, correctly formatted documents and spreadsheets in
  [Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace] without heavy correction.
- Handled confidential information, such as personnel, financial or
  client records.
- [Front desk: been the first point of contact for visitors or
  callers.]

NICE TO HAVE
- Experience with [system: expense, purchasing, HR].
- Experience in [industry].
If you meet the must-haves and none of these, please apply.

FIXED CONDITIONS
- Hours: [8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday]; [occasional early
  starts for events].
- On-site: [all days / N days]; [front desk coverage requires on-site
  presence].
- [Offers are subject to [checks] as permitted by law.]

[EEO STATEMENT]
If you need an adjustment to apply or interview, email [address].

Pay, classification and EEO statement

Classification first. Decide whether the role is exempt or non-exempt before writing the pay line, because it decides whether you post an hourly rate or a salary. The federal administrative exemption has three parts: a salary of at least the standard level, a primary duty of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or its customers, and the exercise of discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance; the fact sheet adds that job titles do not determine exemption status (DOL Fact Sheet #17C). As of October 2026 the Department of Labor lists the standard salary level as $684 per week (DOL salary levels). The regulation also says discretion and independent judgment does not include clerical or secretarial work or other routine work (29 CFR 541.202(e)), so check the actual duties carefully rather than assuming from the title.

Pay range. Leave the placeholder until the range is approved on the requisition, then check pay transparency laws by state for what the posting must include where you hire. For an outside check, BLS publishes wage estimates for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive (SOC 43-6014) through its OEWS program; this page does not quote figures.

EEO statement. The EEOC lists the federal protected characteristics and warns that ads which discourage applicants because of them may violate the law (EEOC). A common closing statement:

[Company] is an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified
applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including
pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin,
age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or
any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

From must-haves to screening questions and scorecard rows

The full screen, including a five-minute inbox exercise and when typing tests are appropriate, is in administrative assistant screening questions. If the role turns out to be close support for one leader, use executive assistant screening questions instead. Admin roles are often a good internal move for receptionists or coordinators; if you post internally first, the internal job posting template covers eligibility and manager notification.

A filled-in summary (invented example)

A candidate can see the mix of work from that paragraph and judge whether it suits them. The figures are invented for the example; replace them with your own.

Common mistakes in administrative assistant job descriptions

"Proficient in Microsoft Office"

Everyone writes it, so it screens nobody. Name the tasks: "builds meeting packs in PowerPoint", "maintains a spreadsheet tracker with filters and simple formulas". Then test the task, not the claim.

The everything list

Postings that add bookkeeping, HR administration, social media and event planning to a team assistant role describe three jobs. Candidates good at the core work assume they are underqualified; others apply because they did one item once. Keep to the work that fills most of the week.

Degree and years as filters

"Bachelor's degree and five years of experience" for a team assistant excludes capable people from retail, hospitality and reception backgrounds. Require demonstrated capability instead.

Coded wording

"Gal Friday", "young and bubbly", "recent graduate" and "digital native" signal a sex or age preference, which is the kind of wording the EEOC warns about. "Polished appearance" invites judgments unrelated to the work. Describe tasks and standards instead.

Physical demands copied from a warehouse template

"Must lift 50 pounds" in an office role is usually untrue. If the job involves moving supply deliveries, describe it as it happens and add an accommodations line.

Before you publish

• The summary says who is supported and what fills the week.
• Software is described as tasks you will test.
• Classification is settled and the pay line matches it.
• Hours and on-site expectations are specific.
• The EEO statement and an accommodation contact close the posting.

If you paste the finished posting into Interview Signal, it builds the screen's question guide from these must-haves and quotes the candidate's answers in the scorecard, which helps when several managers share the hiring decision.