Hire an administrative assistant

An administrative assistant keeps an office or team running by handling scheduling, correspondence, records and day-to-day requests. The role frees managers and staff to focus on their own work and keeps routine business from slipping. Typical responsibilities include: manage calendars, meetings and travel arrangements for managers and teams; prepare and proofread correspondence, reports and presentations; answer calls and emails and route requests to the right person.

Look for calendar management, business writing, microsoft Office, document filing, phone etiquette and expense reporting. Experience with Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Excel, Google Workspace and Zoom is common in this role.

Yes. An administrative assistant is one of the roles employers most often hire on contract, for projects, busy periods, leave cover and vacancies. Contract-to-hire is also an option if you want to work together before making a permanent offer.

Choose an administrative assistant for shared team support such as scheduling, filing and phones. Choose an executive assistant when one senior leader needs confidential, high-judgment support, including calendar prioritization, board materials and communication on their behalf. The scope and discretion required are what separate the two.

Many duties, such as visitor greeting, mail and supply handling, require someone on-site, while scheduling, document prep and email management can be done remotely. Decide which tasks make up most of the workload, and hire for that mix, or consider a hybrid arrangement.