The secretary is one of the most crucial parts of an office mechanism. The secretary is the single most responsible authority for the scheduled and systematic flow of information in the business. The secretary is also the face of the top management of the company, right from the CEO to the middle managers.
Therefore, there are several aspects of the business that the secretary should be aware of. The Secretary Interview then, should have questions that confirm whether the secretary is aware of these aspects.
This article is aimed for employers – i.e. interviewers. Though, the interviewee may also receive the info he seeks.
you may be also interested in reading administrative assistant interview and executive assistant interview.
Questions for secretary job interview: Questions and Answers
Here are some of the interview questions and the suggested answeres for secretaries:
Are you Patient?
Patience is a virtue that few people can boast about. However, patience is one of the biggest advantages one would have in the corporate world. Nobody needs the valor of patience as a secretary would. The interviewer should therefore gauge this quite initially into the interview.
Work Experience?
Make sure that you find out that work experience of the candidate for the post of a secretary in the company. The secretary is literally the face of the company to the highest of managements. Therefore, the post of a secretary should be handled by an experienced and talented person.
Working with the immediate superior
One related question would be asking her experience working with her immediate superior. Every person has some wanted and some unwanted experiences in the professional life. The job interview would be a good occasion to ask about the unwanted experiences that the secretary has faced and how he or she has faced it.
Comfort Working
A secretary’s job is more about interacting and liaising with various other individuals. Therefore, a secretary should be comfortable with talking with various people and interacting with them. Basically, the secretary should be a people’s person and should be comfortable talking with people.
Leaves
The secretary is one of the most important individuals in the business. The secretary will be the person who handles quite a few of the integral processes in the company. Therefore, a secretary taking a holiday will make quite a drastic difference to the company. So, make sure that you have an idea about how many leaves the person takes on a monthly basis. This will save you a lot of heartburn when and if you hire the person as a secretary with the company.
Qualities and Traits
The traditional post of the secretary has changed quite a lot today. Years ago, a secretary would have to content themselves with just sending telegrams, but today, with the advent of globalization and technologically adept solutions, the secretary would have to know all about email, VoIP, the basic use of the Internet and the computer.
All around player
Another related question would be the number of telephone connections that the secretary can handle. Also, you would have to find out whether the candidate can handle everyday office technology like EPBAX machines, etc.
These are just some of the secretarial interview questions.
You may also refer to competency based questions examples acrticle for further information .
