Administrative Assistant Resume Keywords (2026): 60+ ATS Skills

Q: What ATS keywords do administrative assistant resumes need?

Core coordination skills (calendar management, travel coordination, expense reporting), the specific software named in the posting (Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Concur), and soft skills like confidentiality and multitasking spelled out explicitly rather than implied.

Q: Should I list Microsoft Office as a skill?

Yes, but be specific where you can — 'Advanced Excel (VLOOKUP, Pivot Tables)' scores and reads better than 'Microsoft Office' alone, since it signals a concrete skill level rather than baseline familiarity.

TL;DR — keyword categories

Category	Examples	Count
Core skills	Calendar Management, Travel Coordination	14
Software & tools	MS Office, Google Workspace, Concur	12
Office operations	Vendor Management, Records Management	10
Soft skills	Confidentiality, Multitasking	10
Certifications	CAP, MOS	4
Action verbs	Coordinated, Streamlined, Facilitated	10

01Core skills

These are the day-to-day functions most postings screen for first.

Calendar Management Travel Coordination Meeting Scheduling Expense Reporting Correspondence Management Records Management Data Entry Document Preparation Board Meeting Coordination Event Planning Onboarding Support Front Desk / Reception Filing Systems Inventory Management

02Software & tools

Name specific proficiency where you can — "Advanced Excel (Pivot Tables)" beats "Microsoft Office" alone.

Microsoft Office Suite Excel (Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP) Outlook Google Workspace Concur Slack Zoom DocuSign SharePoint QuickBooks Salesforce Asana

03Office operations

Vendor Management Budget Tracking Office Management Procurement Cross-Departmental Coordination Policy Compliance Project Support Report Preparation Process Improvement Facilities Coordination

04Soft skills & certifications

Confidentiality Multitasking Attention to Detail Time Management Cross-Functional Communication Problem-Solving Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Notary Public

05How to actually use these keywords

Software and tools can go straight into a Skills line. But "organized" and "detail-oriented" only become credible when they're embedded in a bullet next to a measurable outcome, using what we call the X-Y-Z formula — Accomplished X, measured by Y, by doing Z.

Weak:   "Responsible for scheduling and organization."
Better: "Managed calendar and travel for a team of 4 executives."
Best:   "Managed calendar and travel coordination for 4 executives, cutting scheduling conflicts 40% while handling expense reporting for a $500K annual budget."

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Pull from the posting, not this list

This list is a reference, not a checklist to copy wholesale. The keywords that actually move your score are the ones that appear in the specific job description — paste it into our free scorer and it'll surface exactly which ones you're missing.

06Frequently asked questions

What ATS keywords do administrative assistant resumes need?

Core coordination skills, the specific software named in the posting, and soft skills like confidentiality and multitasking spelled out explicitly rather than implied.

Does "Executive Assistant" need different keywords than "Administrative Assistant"?

Largely overlapping, but Executive Assistant postings weight stakeholder-facing skills more heavily — confidentiality, C-suite calendar management, board meeting coordination.

Should I list Microsoft Office as a skill?

Yes, but be specific where you can — "Advanced Excel (VLOOKUP, Pivot Tables)" scores and reads better than "Microsoft Office" alone.

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