Five Minute Guide: Starting Your Career in Admin

If you’re looking for a stable 9-5 job, then a career in admin is always a great option. Admin jobs have their challenges but compared to other fields the required qualifications are relatively low while the potential for progress is high.

In this five minute guide we’ll be exploring how to get an admin job. We’ll be discussing tips for tailoring your CV, the requirements of entry-level admin jobs, and the benefits of administrative mentors.

Admin Qualifications

Generally speaking, admin jobs don’t demand specific qualifications, although having them never hurts. That said, entry-level admin jobs do generally require good English and maths skills at a GCSE level.

If you’re looking for an admin job and you don’t have a passing GCSE (or equivalent qualification) in English and maths, then you may want to consider resitting. Even outside of admin, having those passing grades will always be helpful in your career journey.

Aside from GCSEs, more specialised higher education could be helpful depending on the area you’re going into. For example, if you have a degree in law, then that would certainly help when applying to admin roles for legal firms.

You may also be able to gain admin specific qualifications. Again, these are useful but not necessary, particularly if you’re looking for entry level work. Some companies may even be willing to help you get qualifications if they feel there are areas they’d like you to be more knowledgeable about.

Securing Your First Role

If you want to secure your first ever admin job, then you’re going to need a first-rate CV. Of course, there’s a lot of advice online about how to write a good CV and the basics will translate to almost any role. That being said, there are a few things you can do to tailor your CV more directly towards an admin job.

First and foremost you need to strike a good balance between hard and soft skills. Hard skills are good because they’re generally easier to demonstrate – particularly if you hold qualifications. Soft skills, on the other hand, although crucial to an admin role, can be harder to prove. As such, when designing your CV be sure to give examples of where your soft skills have come into play in previous roles while avoiding cliches.

For example, you might well be a great communicator but that phrase alone isn’t going to get you any jobs. Instead, talk specifically about how you’ve used those communication skills in previous job roles. If this is your first job role then you may instead want to point towards work experience or college/university projects.

Because admin jobs tend to be heavier on soft skills than most roles, you may have to rework your CV a few times before it really starts to land you roles. The best approach is to send out rounds of applications, making small adjustments in between until you start getting the responses you’re looking for.

Of course, even once you start getting interviews, it can still be easy to run into walls and roadblocks. If you find you’re getting stuck at any stage of the process then don’t be afraid to reach out to people working in the field. If you know anyone personally, then ask them to take a look over your CV. If you don’t, then you might want to consider finding yourself a mentor.

Administrative Mentors

Any entry-level admin role should place you with an experienced professional to learn and train from, but if there’s one thing hiring managers love it’s employees who need minimal training. Being able to say that you’ve worked with a mentor in the field who’s taught you the basics of the role could make a huge difference.

Furthermore, if you want to know more about how to get an admin job in the first place then a mentor will be able to help. They’ll be able to give you tips and tricks for what to say in the interview as well as helping you to perfectly tailor your CV to the role.

In many ways, a mentor is a chance to jump the career queue. Instead of having to go through that long process of refinement, a mentor could help you do all of that in just one step, all while teaching you everything you need to know to get the job.

And it doesn’t end when you get hired – not if you don’t want it to. Many companies struggle to provide the required support to entry level roles, but with a mentor you could get help and advice so that you can build your skills and become an even more valuable employee.

It’s time to get your admin career on the road with Career Navig8r!