1. Share your experience that you have in administrator roles?
Here is your chance to run through all of your experience. Be concise and if you have done multiple roles, mention something specific for each one. Show that you have a lot of experience and are flexible.
2. What you enjoy the most about this type of work?
This is similar to the strengths/weaknesses questions - what you like least must be turned into a positive trait. Say that you enjoy the challenge of meeting deadlines and of working in a team environment. For what you like least, say that you do not like it when you see disorganised work and a poorly managed diary; you feel the need to help organise and manage the workload.
3. How to feel about multitasking at work?
Multitasking is a necessary part of an administration job, so say that you enjoy multitasking and the challenge of ensuring that multiple functions and jobs are completed accurately and on time is part of what motivates you in your work.
4. Why you think that it's important to be positive in an admin role?
Being positive is important because often a person's attitude to their work can come across in their writing and presentation. Administrators sometimes provide the first impression a customer has of a business, so a positive and professional outlook is needed at all times.
5. Do you enjoy to meeting with new people and interacting with customers?
Meeting people and speaking to customers is often a vital part of being an administrator. Say that you enjoy talking to people and that interaction with other people is often what makes the work most interesting.
6. How to cope with busy, stressful periods?
Answer that by staying organised and keeping a strict diary you find that stress does not become a real issue. As soon as you identify a possible delay due to high work volumes you raise this with your manager to see if the work can either be reallocated or given priority.
7. Example of a time you have delivered great customer service?
Ideally you have some real work experience that you can talk about. Talk in some detail about what you did and why it was great. If you have no direct work experience then talk of an event where you helped a friend to resolve a problem and that these skills can be used in administration and customer care work.
8. Tell me are you able to use any relevant software packages?
If you have experience, mention the packages you have used. If not, get some training in the most important packages before your interview. Ask your recruitment consultant what are the best packages to learn.
9. What are your communication skills that you have?
Say that they are very good and that you can communicate well face-to-face, on the telephone and via the Internet on email. Tell us about a time in your professional career when you went out of your way to complete a task for someone else.
Hopefully you have some real experiences - but you may have forgotten them by now. Think back and try to recall a time that you may have helped somebody when they were under pressure or off sick.
10. Are you good at solving problems?
Not all administrators need to be excellent problem solvers so if you are not the best, be honest and say so. You could say that you are not good at solving problems but you understand the skills of your colleagues well and will always be able to persuade somebody to assist.
11. How to deal with authority?
Say that you deal with authority as you deal with customers - with integrity, professionalism and politeness.
12. How to react if you felt that you were being pushed too far at work?
If pushed too far you would consider speaking to your manager about workloads and expectations and try to resolve the situation.
13. How you make emplyees or seniors feel good?
In a meeting with your boss, for example, mention something one of your workers did well. If your boss happens to mention to that worker that you said something good about them, they're likely to feel that you appreciate them and made the effort to put in a good word. That sort of compliment doesn't go unnoticed.
14. So do you have any other skills such as shorthand/touch typing?
Ideally you will be able to touch type well, so say yes to this. Shorthand is a dying art and fewer people are learning how to do this well. If you have the opportunity to learn it, then do so, because some managers like their administrators to be able to take down shorthand.
15. Which role do you think an administrator plays in the office dynamic?
Say that an administrator plays an important role in ensuring that diaries are properly managed and that all outgoing correspondence is well written and all incoming correspondence is read and delivered to the relevant managers quickly.
Don't be the kind of person who never shoots for the moon. Staying measured in your goals doesn't mean that you should always play it conservative, never setting high goals. A manager who never punches above her weight can come across as lacking ambition. Even the conservative poker player knows they need to go 'all-in' from time to time.
17. What is the idea of "Under-promise, over-deliver"?
This idea can apply to several different areas of life, but it's a great managerial mantra. Do you want to be the kind of person who has wildly optimistic goals that they never meet, or do you want to be the kind of person who sets measured goals and ends up exceeding them by leaps and bounds? Although this is about image, image is extremely important.
18. How you make sure each employee knows what's expected?
Having concrete goals empowers your employees and keeps them focused on work. Explicitly outline what you expect, when the deadline is, and what you'll do with the results.
19. How you offer goal-oriented feedbacks?
Meet in small teams or one-on-one, and go over your comments in detail.
Set up a schedule for feedback. Offer it regularly so that your employees know when to expect it and can make space for it in their workflows.
20. How you can hold yourself as manager to the highest standards?
We all know the kind of manager who constantly shouts or bitterly complains when mistakes are made but gives himself a 'pass' when he fails. Don't be this kind of manager. Ideally, be harder to on yourself than you are on your employees. This can have a trickle-down effect: Employees see the types of goals and standards you set for yourself and want to emulate you because they look up to you.
21. How to keep yourself organised when dealing with tasks and requests from multiple soucrces?
The best way to stay organised is to keep a log of every request and each task completed so that nothing is accidentally left to go past a deadline. Mention any software that you use for this purpose.
22. How you delegate responsibilities?
Always try to Start small. Give people tasks that, if performed incorrectly, can be fixed. Take the opportunity to teach and empower your employees. Then gradually give them tasks with greater responsibility as you come to understand their strengths and weaknesses.
23. Why admin shouldn't take credit for employees' achievements?
Let them take credit for their own achievements. This motivates them to continue to chase after success. The successful manager is like a conductor. He orchestrates the music so that each element sounds as good as possible and resonates with the group as a whole. A great conductor will lead by example, blending into the background.
24. Why the manager should assign tasks that will stretch employees?
As your workers begin to take on more responsibility and demonstrate that they're capable, give them tasks that will expand their skills and help them take more ownership of their work. Not only are you finding out how much your employees can handle, you're making them more valuable to the company.
25. How you communicate effectively?
Don't be one of those managers who inadvertently makes an employee feel like they're bothering you when they bring up a question or concern. Instead of seeing it as another crisis to manage, look at it as an opportunity to show your employee how much you want this organization to be a fulfilling place to work.
